Pre-Round Preparation

[richk9holes]

I was curious of other people's routines when it comes to preparing mentally and physically for a round. This can include diet, stretching routines, utilization of practice facilities, swing warm ups, practice swings on the first tee, or anything else you think goes into starting your round in the right place.

I personally have little in the way of habits pre-round. It's usually catered to my playing partners. If my dad wants to hit a driving range first I will swing 50 times before a round. If a buddy has 3 hours to play I'll jog to the first tee and grip n rip.

I'd like to develop more of a routine, I think it would help my consistency in my goal of putting a clean 9 holes together one day. So any thoughts are appreciated. 

[russtopherb]

I stretch a bit, hit the driving range just to see what swing/shape has shown up that day, and I'll roll a few putts and hit a few chips. I'm not big on hitting a lot of balls before a round.

If I'm going someplace where I know there's no range, I'll bring my Orange Whip to warm up instead.

I also start hydrating long before I hit the course if it's sunny/warm out.

[RickyBobby_PR]

My diet is based on my lifestyle goals and it doesn’t change for golf, I just change when I eat based on when I play and adjust to make sure I don’t cause energy crashes. I drink 1 gallon of water everyday so my pre round hydration is already there

Pre round I stretch the hips and back

I spend 30-45 minutes hitting balls and sometime around the chipping/putting green. I get to the course early enough to do this regardless of who I’m playing with 

 

[MacTourney]

Just like a shot, most items are taken care of beforehand, some the night before.  Mental prep not needed, and daily activities and routine between rounds, including range time, allows basically going from car to tee if needed with only some stretching and slow-motion range of motion routines on the 1st tee- not always the best results but usually playable and that's all I look for until fully warm, about the 4th or 5th hole. 

But if there are some spare pinecones around the first tee, I've been known to launch a few.

[cksurfdude]

5 hours ago, richk9holes said:

I'd like to develop more of a routine, I think it would help my consistency in my goal of putting a clean 9 holes together one day. 

Agreed! Just like a good pre-shot routine - that you do consistently - a good pre-game routine can only help, not hurt .. but you have be willing to devote at least a few minutes prep time to it.

I'm amongst the older set so on any day, not just golf days, I *need* stretching and yoga to loosen up; on golf days I'll try to be sure to run through everything - before leaving the house. Pre-departure prep can also include a few minutes on the basement putting mat, swinging an Orange Whip and/or hitting a few balls into the net in the garage. Make sure I have a few extra golf balls, glove, hat, extra layer, snack, etc etc whatever before i leave for the course.

Then at the course I like to roll a few on the practice green and then hit some at the range to *loosen up* .. important distinction vs "practice"; ie. you're not really gonna learn anything new right before playing .. so just try to get the feeling of different clubs contacting the ball and find your swing rhythm. Walking to the first tee make sure my GPS watch is turned on and "get my head in the game"!  

[Tom the Golf Nut]

Sorry, but I am the worst example of preparing for a round. I don't! Typical day of golf.

Get up, shower, shave, brush, dress. 

Get a Gatorade out of the fridge and a pack of crackers, rice crispy treat, or some type of bar. 

Put the Motocaddy and the clubs in the trunk and off I go.

Get to the course, load the bag on the Motocaddy and head to the first tee.

Put the tee in the ground and the ball on the tee.

Step back, take two driver practice swings.

Step in and hit. Then I'm off to the races. 

Probably take about 4 holes before I even take a swig of Gatorade. I'm usually on the back 9 before I have some crackers or whatever I brought.

After the round the stuff goes back in the trunk, head home and unload, go in and have a sandwich. 

I know I'm older and should know better. 

 

   

[richk9holes]

This sounds a lot like my "prep work" on a lot of days. Honestly I'm inconsistent usually so I've just noticed recently since I'm playing more that I don't have much routine pre-round. Not even sure it won't hurt my game, but I'm going to experiment with something simple I can dedicate to consistently check off before I start.

[richk9holes]

Where I am now is: 

Stretch routine about 2 minutes

A few practice swings contacting different lies away from the practice green

Chipping if allowed 4 or 5 shots from different depths of grass and putting warmup for 8-10 different lengths 5 to 25 ft away, just trying to lag inside a circle not reading the greens super close.

Visualizing the shot behind the tee box and a practice swing or 2 is my normal routine every hole teeing off.

A note on diet: I had tons of protein last night as a result of buying stuffed cabbage in a deli. I thought there was rice involved and I thought it would be wrapped with more cabbage, but they were actually stuffed with ground chicken and onion, no rice and I definitely didn't need to cook and devour 2 of them. I had tons of energy through the round and I could've played 9 more easy.

 

[Stuka44]

On 3/6/2023 at 10:23 AM, richk9holes said:

I was curious of other people's routines

 

On 3/6/2023 at 4:52 PM, Tom the Golf Nut said:

worst example of preparing for a round. I don't!

I have to be second worst then because I am in the same boat as Tom!  I can only say I see you are 41 or so.  I can only stress to get a regular one going, as you get a little older, with no warm up those stiff, just plain bad swings last until the 3rd or 4th hole.  On the rare occasion I have gotten to the course my brother and I hit a small bucket. I will hit 10-15 7 irons again just to get loosened up.  And when the planets align further and I have time to putt, I will roll putts strictly for getting a feel for my stroke, often not at a hole, I'm not worried about making not making on the practice green.  I hit one ball, and then hit 2-3 others trying to hit them the same distance.  On the rare occasion I do warm up, it really does eliminate some really bad early swings.  So find a simple one and develop the habit of getting to the course early enough to get your short warm up.  I can't count the times, where I've raced from car to tee, and after the first driver swing I have to take a second to make sure I haven't "torn" something.

Edited March 8, 2023 by stuka44

[Tom the Golf Nut]

19 minutes ago, stuka44 said:

 

I have to be second worst then because I am in the same boat as Tom!  I can only say I see you are 41 or so.  I can only stress to get a regular one going, as you get a little older, with no warm up those stiff, just plain bad swings last until the 3rd or 4th hole.  On the rare occasion I have gotten to the course my brother and I hit a small bucket. I will hit 10-15 7 irons again just to get loosened up.  And when the planets align further and I have time to putt, I will roll putts strictly for getting a feel for my stroke, often not at a hole, I'm not worried about making not making on the practice green.  I hit one ball, and then hit 2-3 others trying to hit them the same distance.  On the rare occasion I do warm up, it really does eliminate some really bad early swings.  So find a simple one and develop the habit of getting to the course early enough to get your short warm up.  I can't count the times, where I've raced from car to tee, and after the first driver swing I have to take a second to make sure I haven't "torn" something.

I sure wish I was 41 or so. I attribute my appearance to the amount of twinkies I ate as a kid. You know all the preservatives in them must have helped. I will be 64 in three months. I guess we played together about 2 years ago now. Still thinking on moving south?

[Stuka44]

10 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I sure wish I was 41 or so.

I know, I'm a little younger than you, but OH to be 41 again. Yeah we are,  mostly we are focusing on SW Kentucky now around Lake Barkley, Kentucky Lake, smaller towns of Mayfield, Benton, and Murray.  I only have a very small toe hold, but trying to make headway that your general vicinity now is only "really" hot 3-5 months a year and the other 7-9 months are near perfect temps, but it is an uphill battle. The heat does bother her so I get it.  I'm still working full time, mostly because we went to Kenya last November, and it was so unbelievable that we want to go back again in 2024.

[pma531]

I normally stretch a little and loosen up with some practice swings at home. If the course I’m going to doesn’t have a practice facility or fairway of some sorts, I hit balls at home to square away my swing. Since I’m not a morning person, I normally putt the night before in the basement on a practice green thing I have.

Maybe crush a breakfast sandwich. That usually gases me up.

[richk9holes]

The diet thing hurts me I think. I'm not very big to begin with and if I try to play when I haven't eaten since 7pm the night before I have little strength when I get to the back nine. 

I'm not a morning eater normally, making my ideal tee time after lunch on the longest day of the year, lol.

[JerryB]

My course has no range and a putting green crammed in enough where any chipping is within about two yards.  My routine depends on the tee sheet.  If there's no one else around I'll get a little putting in, otherwise it's a couple back and forth swings to crack my back before I tee off.

[richk9holes]

3 weeks of a more steady routine, both pre-round and my practice sessions. Also have been consistent in-round with where I keep tees (right pants pocket) scorecard (right back pocket) glove when putting (left back pocket) and GPS (left jacket or pants pocket) to develop more flow while I go along. No searching for things.

Happy to report incremental improvement. I'm not up to my perfectionist standards but I have made leaps since the 4 months ago I went from playing twice a month to multiple times per week.

This forum has helped flesh out some thoughts I was having that were fuzzy.. other people here expressed them in a way that unlocked them for me. There's a treasure trove of experience here if you dive in.

Before I was using an old handicap of 16, figuring it was aspirational, and playing about bogey golf. I learned to calculate it here and have since improved twice, going to 15.2 on Mar. 1st and now 12.2 in the latest calculation I did for Apr. 1!

[GolfSpy_APH]

I'll be quick. I prefer to hit a few balls, doesnt have to be many and do a bit of chipping and putting. 

The main thing for me is I need to be organized, bag, coffee or water and snack. 

I've done a poor job of this so far this year which i need to remedy.

 

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

No real routine at the course but usually something along these lines:

-Usually am playing a dew sweeper round so I get up early “sh1t, shower, shave” as we used to say in the good old navy.

-Quietly get dressed (lay my clothes out night before) to not wake up the sleepy heads in the house.

-Get my coffee and breakfast and pack a few snacks. Load up the water bottle if it’s going to be a hot 18 I’ll usually throw electrolytes in there.

-Throw on the back warmer in the car and cruise on over.

-At the course I usually don’t hit any balls unless it’s included with the round. Stretching and some loose swings is all I need (do prefer to just hit a few quick chips that’s usually enough to get me going.)

-Shoot on over to the tee and let what happens happen

[Lee Stanek]

Great to see I am not alone in these posts.  Pretty similar here.  Mine usually depends on time. 

Typically(15-20 min before tee time):  Practice chipping from different grass depths, and different lofts to get sense of ground firmness.  Putt for general pace from 5 to 20 feet not really reading the lines.  Swing my 6 and 7 irons together full swings to loosen up the joints then some back and shoulder stretches then head to the tee box.

Ideally (getting to course 45-60 min before tee time):  Swing my 6 and 7 irons together full swings to loosen up the joints then some back and shoulder stretches.  Hit a small bucket starting with my 8 iron to get tuned in to swing path then some longer irons and driver, finish with some full swing wedge shots.  Then do typical routine only a little longer time

[Tommy E]

“No expectations and have fun” has resulted in my best rounds! ️

[DiscipleofPenick]

If it's a new course I will hop on Google Earth and scope it out. 

As far a mental prep goes, I just try not to think about anything. I haven't hit a shot yet so there's no point in thinking about what I want to do. Sometimes I will envision the opening tee shot though. The rest of it, I will load the car up the night before and pull out my fit for the round. I'll stretch for 30 min or so mostly rotation in the back and hips. I'll fill up the water bottle, grab snacks (usually cashews, apple/banana, and beef jerky) and head out. If the course has a range, I will try to get there an extra half hour early to loosen up with some swings. If no range I try to be at the course 20-30 minutes before tee time so as I'm not rushed.

[Swood1994]

I'm usually pretty laid back and a go with the flow type of person same with golf. But if I guess if I think about it there is a couple constants in my morning round routine.

- The usual stuff. Hot shower (to try and loosen up), brush teeth, Get dressed, blah blah blah.

- Get the coffee ready. This probably the most important part because I don't need any more excuses as to why I'm playing bad that morning.

- I do tend to get there early to stretch a little bit and then spend most of my time putting as it's my weakest part of my game. Range only if its included or if I'm a regular at the course I'll go pull 4-5 duffed balls back and hit a PW to make contact.

- Nurse my coffee while I wait for all my single buddies to roll in 2 minutes before tee off.

- Get to the first tee swing a 4&5 iron together

- Pull driver, pray and whisper to myself "I'm not asking for much" while subsequently asking for it to get in the air and go relatively straight while in front of the clubhouse.

[Joefreddy]

Golf day starts like all other days with a morning stretching program. Core Four, yoga stretches, pushups and a few more moves depending on the day of the week. Make sure to eat breakfast before I leave for the course, always taking water container. 
  Once there pull out the over weighted driver and swing 10-12 times left handed then 10-12 right handed. Head to the putting green to check the speed and make sure my putter face is in alignment with my target line by stroking 6-8’ straight putts. Then a few 20-30’ putts. Switch then to my bump and run 8 iron from just outside the fringe area, getting a feel for line and speed. If time …to the range for some 50-100-150yard shots, 5 or so drives then to the first tee. Pull out the orange whip for a dozen left hand then s dozen right hand swings for tempo. 
   Then Hope for the Best. 

[ChuckZ]

Hoping to get back on the links within the next two weeks, I know for sure that warm up will be the key.  Have been doing physical therapy since January 9th for lower back issues and core development.  Have come a long way in developing my flexibility.  Am taking refresher lessons as to ease back into the game before I actually start playing.  Putting, chipping, pitching, sand play, midirons, and finally the fairway and driver.  My therapist has emphasized  the importance of continued exercises morning and evening and has given me a couple of warm up exercises before I start my pre game routine on the range.  Not practice on the range, very simple warm up for tempo and see how I will be hitting a variety of clubs that day.  One short iron, one mid iron, one hybrid, the driver and finally a wedge.  Hitting minimal shots, 5-6 six with each.  A small warm up bucket.  Then off to the putting green for working on distances and feel.  Start putting from long distances working my way up to the hole from different angles.  The routine I have always used.  One additional thing I will be doing when the PT comes to an end is joining the Senior Center where I can work with their weight and machines, a couple times a week.  My PT like the idea and says that continued exercises will only increase my flexibility and enjoyment of the game. 

Pre round routine:   

4 morning exercises at home  

Healthy breakfast (yogurt, fresh orange juice, vitamins, 1 cup of black coffee)

2 stretching exercises  

Warmup on range and putting green  

Positive attitude  

[Don Figgins]

My pre round routine includes stretching for 45-60 minutes. Starting with my neck, shoulders, wrists, upper & lower back, waist, thighs, calves, and ankles/feet. I’m 64 years old and walk each round, so I’ve made stretching a must before playing to feel ready to hit the course and give myself the best chance to play to my full potential. Once I arrive at the course, I putt for 10 minutes, chip around for 10 minutes, and full swing for 20-30 minutes.

[ChuckZ]

40 minutes ago, Don Figgins said:

My pre round routine includes stretching for 45-60 minutes. Starting with my neck, shoulders, wrists, upper & lower back, waist, thighs, calves, and ankles/feet. I’m 64 years old and walk each round, so I’ve made stretching a must before playing to feel ready to hit the course and give myself the best chance to play to my full potential. Once I arrive at the course, I putt for 10 minutes, chip around for 10 minutes, and full swing for 20-30 minutes.

I am 76 and I would be worn out after two hours of warming up and practice.  Just me, I call that a work out.  Really glad that you are in that great of shape then can walk the course in less than four hours.   

[Tbonia]

I usually stop at a store on the way and grab a six pack and a bag of ice. Put them in the cooler and make sure they’re nice and cold !!

[Cali Ian]

Great topic!  

I've started to use the Rypstick Protocol 3 warmup for golfing in general (see below).  I also try and hit ~30 balls along with the putting green, but honestly, that doesn't happen as often as it should.

One thing I'm focused on right now is understanding how I warm up and how my shot distances change with the number of shots I've had.  I'm seeing around a 20% drop in distance from start to fully warmed up.  If I don't make it to the range it takes me around 6-12 shots once before my distances start to dial in.  I'm very much looking for ways to improve on that.

 

[Koncelor71]

I don't change my diet and bring a Gatorade, banana, tangerine, and snack bar for the course.

When I arrive, I hit between 10-15 golf balls with different clubs, then head to the putting green, and then off to the first tee. I will open the Gatorade on the 4th or 5th hole, eat the tangerine on hole 7, the banana on hole 10, and the snack bar on hole 14. 

I play in the morning, so I have a breakfast of juice, coffee, and toast. 

My handicap is 14.6, My bag of clubs is a mixture of Taylormade driver, Tour Edge woods and hybrids, Sub 70 699 6-AW, and Titleist Vokey wedges (52 & 56) .

I play a Titleist Prov1x.

[Bob Jerabek]

I start getting ready about 2 hours prior to my round.  Get dressed, then get something to eat and start drinking water.  I will go kiss the wife and she tells me to play well and have fun. Then off to the course I go, it is about 15 minute drive.  I will have about 50 minutes to tee time.  Go to the locker room and change into golf shoes, after that I will stop in the pro shop bs withe assistant pros then head on out. Straight to the putting green, roll some 3-5 footers then do a little lag putting.  30 minutes prior to my round I go to the range.  Loosen up and work on rhythm ,  starting with a sand wedge, pitching wedge, 8 iron, 6 iron, a couple of fairway woods, finish with the driver. Over to the chipping area and hit several different shots.  Now it is tee time and I am ready to go.

[rjacobs4]

My pre-round routine is as follows:

• Warm-up and stretch, especially hips, shoulders, torso, and legs.
• Hit the range.  First with 25-50 yard pitches, then working up to 100 yard pitches, full PW, full 8 iron (if time full 5 iron), then driver.  
• Putting green for a few short and mid chips, then putting. Usually do a couple drills from 3-10 feet, then just a few longer putts to get a sense ofspeed at distance..  If I don't have time to do everything, I prioritize the putting.
• Pop a beer, head to first tee.