Golf Tips

What is the proper way to warm up prior to a round? Many people do things differently, but here are some suggestions:

1- Go to the range first and warm up with your wedges. Hit half shots first and gradually work into a full swing as you get into your woods. Ideally, hit every other iron, i.e. wedge, 8 iron, 6 iron, 4 iron, 3-wood and driver.
2- If there is a bunker near the range, hit some practice shots to get a feel for the consistency of the sand.
3- As your tee time approaches, get to the putting green and hit some chip shots. Hit a variety of shots: high shots, low, running shots, and little short chips as well. Try to imagine the kinds of shots you normally are faced with during a normal round of golf.
4- Finally, hit some putts. Initially, lag some 30, 40 foot putts to gauge the speed of the greens. Move in steadily closer, rolling some 15-20 foot putts (a very common distance faced on the course), and finally some 6-10 footers followed by a handful of 3 foot putts. Make three in a row from 3 feet, and walk away from the practice green feeling confident as you poured in your last few putts.

Allow yourself about 30-45 minutes to warm up properly if you can. Stretching a bit before hitting range balls is definitely wise. Rushing to the first tee, quickly trying to stretch and take a few practice swings before teeing off invariably sets up a tempo/rhythm for the day that is too fast and out of your normal comfort zone. We rarely play our best golf when forced to do this.