GolfGist.com

A Fundamental Golf Pre-Round Warmup Routine

A brisk walk to the practice range is a great way to begin your warm-up. It will raise your body temperature and loosen your joints and muscles. Finish with stretching and swing warm-ups.	Hit some practice balls (not a bucketful) if you can. Start with your shot irons and then skip every other club. Finish by hitting with some short irons again, this time to build swing confidence.	This is a warm-up not practice. Do not try new things, just hit some regular chip shots. Then try a few long putts, finish up by holding 5-10 short putts for confidence building.

1. To prevent injury and improve performance. Warming up raises the body temperature, increases flexibility and lubricates joints. A brisk walk is a great way to start your warm up. Before a round you need to warm up, because at that point it is too late to practice.
2. To learn socially acceptable warm-ups. Some golfers do not portray themselves as athletes so it is not cool to do athletic warm-ups in front of other golfers. The same guys that ritualize warm ups before a basketball or softball game do not condone the social acceptance of golf warm ups. Taking a few extra practice swings on the first tee is only the warming up 99 percent of golfers usually do. A good warm up session will warm up your body so you can start playing better.
3. To groove the way you play. If you fade the ball during warm up, you will probably fade the ball all day. It is too late to try to change your swing, so plan on playing your fade. Warm up time is not the time to try to learn new skills or improve techniques. A good warm up session will warm up your body and you will start off playing better.

Do's and Don'ts
Use the practice range to warm up if you can. Start with your wedge, hit 4-5 balls with every other club through the driver. Finish with a few solid short iron confidence buildiers. The purpose of a warm up is to allow you to play at your maximum efficiency without injury.

« Previous Lesson | Next Lesson »