Warm Up

[Dunit507]

So many times I find myself getting right out of the car and headed right to the 1st tee and of course struggling with the 1st couple holes not even feeling loose till hole 3 or 4. Also find I struggle if I hit too many balls on the range before a round on the days I do hit some warm up shots. What’s everyone’s favorite pre round routine?

I think I’m at best when I hit maybe 15-20 shots working up from half lob wedges to full cuts and always ending with whatever shot I’ll be hitting off the 1st tee. Can’t fix swing issues before the round. I use the warmup to get loose and see what kind of swing I have for the day. 

I don’t usually hit a ton of putts prior to a round either. Usually some 20-30 footers to get feel for the speed of the greens. Some 10-20 footers and finish with some 3-4 footers with hopes to build some confidence. 

[billchao]

I usually get to the course and go right from the car to the first tee because I play very early in the morning. If I have a few minutes I'll chip/pitch a couple and maybe hit a putt or two.

I rarely hit the range before I play because when I do I only need like 12 balls and it seems like a waste to pay for 30+ balls to use less than half of them. Plus it's most likely still dark out if I get to the course with enough time to warm up before my round.

I've never found any correlation between hitting the range before my round and shooting a good score, so I can go either way with it. The only other thing is I don't like feeling like I'm rushing to the first tee so if I'm hitting at the range it means I'm at the course with plenty of time to spare and it allows me to relax a bit. I'll play better golf from that more than the actual loosening up on the range.

[Patch]

If I have time, I will warm up. A lot of my golf for a score is a spur of the moment type deal. 

In colder weather I will make it point to warm up. That said, living in the desert doesn't provide for much cold weather during the day. 

One thing that I always do is, if I do warm up, the last club I warm up with, is what ever club I am using on the first tee.

[chilepepper]

I like to warm up. 20 balls or so then putt. To avoid buying range balls I won’t hit all of I save balls if find and use them on the range

[Dunit507]

Today was my 1st time hitting any before the round in a while.... I hit 2 wedges, 2 8 irons and 4 drivers. Pounded a driver off 1. Ended up E through 5. Played the front +2 and was just a couple putts from even or under. So I’m thinking I’m gonna run with that. Just enough to get the muscles going and not enough to tire myself out. 

[RFKFREAK]

I'd prefer to warm up if given the option because if I don't, at the moment I'm not sure what my driver in particular is going to do that day.

Most of the time, though, I don't warm up and just go to the course and play. 

[Dunit507]

On 9/3/2018 at 10:39 PM, RFKFREAK said:

I'd prefer to warm up if given the option because if I don't, at the moment I'm not sure what my driver in particular is going to do that day.

Most of the time, though, I don't warm up and just go to the course and play. 

I fee ya! I don’t at all believe that right before a round is where you can fix anything but as you said it is a good idea to have an idea of where the driver is going to go. I’m happy if I can even hit 1 or 2 drivers before teeing off. Played a round at a friend’s course a couple months ago and started on 10, right next to the range. I hit 2 drivers, from next to the tee box and into the range just to get a feel for the driver. That was all I needed. Don’t like to start completely cold on the 1st tee but I don’t need a whole bucket either. 

[RFKFREAK]

8 hours ago, Dunit507 said:

I fee ya! I don’t at all believe that right before a round is where you can fix anything but as you said it is a good idea to have an idea of where the driver is going to go. I’m happy if I can even hit 1 or 2 drivers before teeing off. Played a round at a friend’s course a couple months ago and started on 10, right next to the range. I hit 2 drivers, from next to the tee box and into the range just to get a feel for the driver. That was all I needed. Don’t like to start completely cold on the 1st tee but I don’t need a whole bucket either. 

Especially if you're playing a course where you historically have trouble with the opening tee shot which may or may not have led to multiple occasions where i start the round with a penalty, stroke. 

[mcanadiens]

When I go out, it is a full, highly regimented process that starts with getting there no later than 40 minutes before tee time.

Check in

5 minutes of stretching

Range - 2 to 6 balls each - PW, 7I, 5W, 1W, SW. I do this very slowly and tend to whack bits of tees in between each club.

Green - 2 volleys of chips. Putt the result of the second volley. Then its a drill where I putt out from the hole to increasing distances, trying to keep the balls on the same line. Then I putt them back to the hole from closest to furthest.

Bathroom and water/Gatorade fill-up

Now I'm ready.

[Dunit507]

5 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

When I go out, it is a full, highly regimented process that starts with getting there no later than 40 minutes before tee time.

Check in

5 minutes of stretching

Range - 2 to 6 balls each - PW, 7I, 5W, 1W, SW. I do this very slowly and tend to whack bits of tees in between each club.

Green - 2 volleys of chips. Putt the result of the second volley. Then its a drill where I putt out from the hole to increasing distances, trying to keep the balls on the same line. Then I putt them back to the hole from closest to furthest.

Bathroom and water/Gatorade fill-up

Now I'm ready.

I’ve tried to hit that many but when I do I’ve found 2 results and neither of them good. I’ll either hit some bad balls and get in my head and my confidence isn’t there. Or I hit a bunch of good balls but by the closing stretch I start chunking shots or leaving the weight back and losing drives with a weak fade. 

 

I can can do a lot of chipping/putting and not have negative consequences. That’s the part of your warm up that does work for me. Getting a bunch of chip/putts to get the feel for a solid pitch/chip/putt stoke and feel for green speed is always a positive. Typically I only do that when we are waiting on the 1st tee and the putting green is close tho.

Edited September 6, 2018 by Dunit507

[Groucho Valentine]

Im a strait to the first tee from the car guy most of the time too. Ill stretch out some on the first tee.  Most tournaments i play in require players to check in at least 45 min before your tee time, so i will hit some balls then. Usually no more than 20. Mostly gap wedges and whatever club i plan to hit off the first tee. My swing (such as it is) is so ingrained that i don't really need more than 10-20 balls to get my tempo dailed in. Which is really all im doing when i hit balls before a round. I spend most of time i have before a tournament round on the practice green or short game area. 

[mcanadiens]

1 minute ago, Dunit507 said:

I’ve tried to hit that many but when I do I’ve found 2 results and neither of them good. I’ll either hit some bad balls and get in my head and my confidence isn’t there. Or I hit a bunch of good balls but by the closing stretch I start chunking shots or leaving the weight back and losing drives with a weak fade. 

Yep. I know what you are saying. It's easy for me to get mental about darn near anything.

That's why I make a point of trying to hit the balls as slowly as possible. The actual result of whatever you just did on the range isn't really that important. It's about getting ready to play. So going slow gets me in the right pacing that I'll need on the course.

[Dunit507]

Just now, Groucho Valentine said:

Im a strait to the first tee from the car guy most of the time too. Ill stretch out some on the first tee.  Most tournaments i play in require players to check in at least 45 min before your tee time, so i will hit some balls then. Usually no more than 20. Mostly gap wedges and whatever club i plan to hit off the first tee. My swing (such as it is) is so ingrained that i don't really need more than 10-20 balls to get my tempo dailed in. Which is really all im doing when i hit balls before a round. I spend most of time i have before a tournament round on the practice green or short game area. 

Tempo. I’m the same way. That’s my focus when I do hit some prior. When my swing goes bad from the 1st tee it tends to be when I get too quick at the top and out of sync. I’ll hit my 56 and my 9 for the tempo finders.

2 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

Yep. I know what you are saying. It's easy for me to get mental about darn near anything.

That's why I make a point of trying to hit the balls as slowly as possible. The actual result of whatever you just did on the range isn't really that important. It's about getting ready to play. So going slow gets me in the right pacing that I'll need on the course.

I don’t even concern myself with where it’s going as much as just good tempo and solid contact. I’ve hit enough balls in my life I know I will find my accuracy as long as the tempo and contact is there.

[Groucho Valentine]

2 minutes ago, Dunit507 said:

Tempo. I’m the same way. That’s my focus when I do hit some prior. When my swing goes bad from the 1st tee it tends to be when I get too quick at the top and out of sync. I’ll hit my 56 and my 9 for the tempo finders.

Same for me. I hit some of my worst shots when i rush my transition. As long as I'm not aimed too far off target, i always hit a reasonable shot if my tempo is good. 

[Dunit507]

2 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Same for me. I hit some of my worst shots when i rush my transition. As long as I'm not aimed too far off target, i always hit a reasonable shot if my tempo is good. 

That’s why on the course I seldom go at a full 56 or 52. I almost always take the longer club. When I try and get every last yard out of one of those scoring clubs I get every yard alright..... skulled right over the green! I’ll choke a 52 down before I go all out at a 56!

Edited September 6, 2018 by Dunit507

[RFKFREAK]

20 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

When I go out, it is a full, highly regimented process that starts with getting there no later than 40 minutes before tee time.

Check in

5 minutes of stretching

Range - 2 to 6 balls each - PW, 7I, 5W, 1W, SW. I do this very slowly and tend to whack bits of tees in between each club.

Green - 2 volleys of chips. Putt the result of the second volley. Then its a drill where I putt out from the hole to increasing distances, trying to keep the balls on the same line. Then I putt them back to the hole from closest to furthest.

Bathroom and water/Gatorade fill-up

Now I'm ready.

Now that is a process, haha.

I'm a procrastinator and am usually rushing out the door so even if I make time for the range to warmup, I usually shortchange myself.  That said, I like to visit courses.  For example, this past weekend I drove an hour away to one course and the next day an hour and a half to another. 

1 minute ago, Dunit507 said:

That’s why on the course I seldom go at a full 56 or 52. I almost always take the longer club. When I try and get every last yard out of one of those scoring clubs I get every yard alright..... skulled right over the green! I’ll choke a 52 down before I go all out at a 56!

I feel this way about my 56* and 60* wedges.  I've incorporated what feels like half swings with other clubs to reach distances that otherwise would take full swings with those because I fear shooting it to the front right side (which may be a shank, not sure) or skulling it. 

[SPJr]

I warm up before league rounds now, but rarely will before any other friendly round.

As it stands, I have not noticed any direct correlation to a better start after warming up.

Maybe I need a better routine? Maybe it doesn't really matter? Who knows?

[Vinny Cap]

I like to get there 1/2 hr before playing and get a small bucket.

I'll stretch out a bit then 5 smooth shots with my 5i, then 3 shots with 7i and 9i.

Switch to woods and do 3-5 shots with 4w then 2w and then pull the big gun out for 3-5 shots.

This short session gives me a good idea of how I will be shooting for the day.. a friend taught me that earlier this season and I really like it.

I probably should do a lil putting but i never seem to.  Now its time to play and off we go! 

Where is the beer girl??