Be Ready to Play, Arrive Thirty Minutes Early...

Make your game a little more enjoyable, and arrive to the golf course thirty minutes earlier and properly warm up.  We all have done it, arrived at the course with only minutes to spare before your first tee shot.  You take no practice swings, not putts, no chips, and before you know it, you have played two to three holes with a terrible start.

Take some advice, be at the course earlier and get ready to play.  You pay good money to play golf, so why not be ready to play at the first tee.

This is how you use your thirty minutes to warm up:

Step 1-spend five minutes of stretching your entire body, especially your golf muscles.

Step 2-spend ten minutes to warm up and hit some balls

a.       Two minutes hit a few short irons

b.      Two minutes hit a few mid  and long irons

c.       Four minutes hit a few hybrids, fairway woods and drivers

d.      One minute hit a few different shots that fade and draw

e.      One minute hit a few shots from different yards using your sand or lobe wedge, example 20 yards, 30 yards, 40 yards, and 50 yards etc…

Step 3-spend fifteen minutes for your short game

a.       Four minutes hit a few chips shots from different distances with carry and roll factors

b.      One minutes to hit a few bunker shots both short and long distances

c.       Ten minutes on putting….the most important area to warm up is your putting.  Do a few long putts, mid range putts, short putts and a few breaking putts that break both left and right.  Always end on a putt that goes in the hole, this helps create the positive mind set needed to putt well during your round.

Step 4-spend last two minutes relaxing, hydrating and going over your anticipated round of golf.  Have a course strategy to help you play your best golf.

You will find out that by following this warm up routine, you will be ready to play at the first tee. 

John Nelson is the South Florida PGA Hall of Fame Class A Teaching Professional who is the Director of Instruction at the Golf Academy located at the County Club of Coral Springs, Coral Springs, Fl. 954-752-4500 x 204, email: jnelson@ccofcs.com, Web page:  www.ccofcs.com.