Pre-Round Preparation

[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. 

[invee123]

I enjoy getting to the course about an hour early and hitting about 30 balls at the range, some wedges around the greens, and rolling some putts. The issue is when I'm carpooling with the slowest foursome on the planet (both on and off the course) and I can barely get a bucket after checking in let alone hit a ball... 

Things like diet, sleep, and what I bring with me aren't a huge focus but I do want to get an orange ball stick to warm up with - seems pretty nice to have.

[inner_game_coach]

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

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. 

If I want to score well I do some course management pre-round work. It can be fun if you like strategy. I'll honestly try to find photos or videos of the course online and plan out the round. I look first for trouble areas (like sand, ob, water, etc.) and circle them. Then i'll go through and starting from the green, plot out spots I'd ideally be in. For example - straight forward 400 yd par 4 - water down the right side. I'll put a point about 100yds from the green. Then going back a little more I'll plot a point 150yds behind that (comfy 8i) That means I have 150 yds left to the tee.

So, when it comes time to play, even if I take a hybrid off the tee (cause I know my tendency is to fade it right with Driver) it'll go 210-220, so I'll still have about 180 left to the green. So I know I can hit a 100yd shot and get it within that 100 yd plot point I made. Now I have less than 100 yds for an up and down par (or two putt bogey at worse) and I avoided the trouble on the right

Edited April 11 by inner_game_coach

[richk9holes]

3 minutes ago, inner_game_coach said:

If I want to score well I do some course management pre-round work. It can be fun if you like strategy. I'll honestly try to find photos or videos of the course online and plan out the round. I look first for trouble areas (like sand, ob, water, etc.) and circle them. Then i'll go through and starting from the green, plot out spots I'd ideally be in. For example - straight forward 400 yd par 4 - water down the right side. I'll put a point about 100yds from the green. Then going back a little more I'll plot a point 150yds behind that (comfy 8i) That means I have 150 yds left to the tee.

So, when it comes time to play, even if I take a hybrid off the tee (cause I know my tendency is to fade it right with Driver) it'll go 210-220, so I'll still have about 180 left to the green. So I know I can hit a 100yd shot and get it within that 100 yd plot point I made. Now I have less than 100 yds for an up and down par (or two putt bogey at worse) and I avoided the trouble on the right

My hunch is this is a major factor that separates weekend warriors from serious scratch golfers when it comes to scoring. Many of my lost strokes, like almost all of them, are avoidable with better course management. It would be helpful to take those shots away from myself before the round even starts.

"Hitting 5i from tee #2 with danger that starts around 190y out"

"Don't go left on #3 or #9" 

"Take extra club on #5 approach to clear sand"

Are just a few thoughts I should go into my next round at my favorite 9 hole course written down on the card.

[Shankster]

I usually use two different apps, Arccos and FunGolf (now Tag Heur) to “plan” out my round.  In fact I am doing that right now.  I always come up short on this particular par 3 I’ll be playing, and I just now figured out why… it’s 20 yards longer than I thought it was.  I may have to reunite with the 2 hybrid for this hole. It’s 232 to the center, with out much room for run up.  My other option is to smash the heck out of the 2 iron and try to get a fade to get up there… being that there will be almost zero roll with all the rain and the aeration… that is my only option.

[fixyurdivot]

I do a little stretching; torso rotations and toe touch mostly, then grab a mid iron and do a series of swings abbreviated to full.  About half the time I'll hit balls on the range and that most often is 6i, PW, then driver.  I'll soon add an Orange Whip to the routine and that will likely take over for the mid iron.  Lastly, I try and get a little short chipping and putting in before heading to the tee. 

I've contemplated adding the Jimenez dance but honestly don't think I could pull it off with any level of decorum or injuring myself. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

If it’s a course I haven’t played I hop on Google earth and plot my drives around the course. I right this on a sheet of paper and leave it in my score book. Takes some thinking off my mind. 
 

pre round, I do the fit for golf warm up. Then I get there about 30 mins early. If a long drive, a few swings with my orange whip. Warm up on the range. Then spend most the time on putting green chipping and lag putting.

[inner_game_coach]

17 hours ago, richk9holes said:

My hunch is this is a major factor that separates weekend warriors from serious scratch golfers when it comes to scoring. Many of my lost strokes, like almost all of them, are avoidable with better course management. It would be helpful to take those shots away from myself before the round even starts.

"Hitting 5i from tee #2 with danger that starts around 190y out"

"Don't go left on #3 or #9" 

"Take extra club on #5 approach to clear sand"

Are just a few thoughts I should go into my next round at my favorite 9 hole course written down on the card.

YES! Exactly this. See you know what to do. It just takes a touch more effort and you can start to see your scores drop on your next round. What part of NJ are you in?

[richk9holes]

14 minutes ago, inner_game_coach said:

YES! Exactly this. See you know what to do. It just takes a touch more effort and you can start to see your scores drop on your next round. What part of NJ are you in?

Central, about 30 minutes from the beach. Ocean/Monmouth county border.

[inner_game_coach]

1 hour ago, richk9holes said:

Central, about 30 minutes from the beach. Ocean/Monmouth county border.

 

1 hour ago, richk9holes said:

Central, about 30 minutes from the beach. Ocean/Monmouth county border.

Oh cool! We're probably about 2 hours from each other. I live off of 78 in PA , like just over the NJ border. 

[richk9holes]

@inner_game_coach I've yet to cross the state border for golf, but have been as far as Pennsauken CC that was a nice course but pace was slow for twilight. It's pretty far south from you I think.