Against The Clock – What To Do Just Before Your Tee Time

If you rush out of the car directly onto the first tee than you chances for shooting a great score are greatly diminished.

It’s not enough to arrive just on time. Better to show up early for a warm up to get hot.

Most Tour players get to the course about 90 minutes before their tee time.

Most likely that’s a little too early for the average amateur.

Ideally you should plan at least 30 minutes of pure warm up time.

So if you are 45 minutes early you should have enough time to switch into your gear and check in.

Even if you plan ahead there will be times when you can’t engage in a proper warm-up.

But if you know what to do you can still prep your mind and muscles with only a couple of minutes to spare.

So here are my suggestions for different time frames.

No matter what time you have at hand get into game mode as soon as possible.

Start focusing on the task at hand. A golfer with an intent is a successful golfer.

5 Minutes To Tee Time

Rushing to the range trying to empty that bucket of balls is exactly the wrong idea.

Instead you should focus on putting and warming up your muscles.

First take a couple of swings with two clubs as smoothly as possible to get a feel for your swing and loosen up.

Then use the rest of your precious time to roll a couple of lag putts and short putts to get comfortable with holing out the ball.

10 Minutes To Tee Time

When you’ve got ten minutes you are basically doing the same thing.

But you should focus on a couple of 15-footer putts because you will most likely face those kind of putts more often out on the course.

With the added time also do a couple of chip shots and some stretches to further loosen up before you hit your first shot.

20 Minutes To Tee Time

Do the same routine as above but also hit a couple of balls on the range.

Your shots should always be more about quality than quantity. Don’t rush it!

Try to replicate the shot you want to use on the first tee.

But you don’t need to swing it with full power.

Use your time on the range to get a feel for your swing – focusing on rhythm, tempo and staying smooth from start to finish.

30 Minutes To Tee Time

With half an hour you can do a more traditional warm-up routine.

As with the other routines you should start by rolling a couple of 15-footer lag-putts and a few shorter putts.

Then move on to the range and hit some balls. Almost every professional starts with hitting wedge shots and so should you.

Start with a chip and continually build up the momentum until you hit full shots with your wedge. Next go through your bag and hit the shots you are likely to use on the round.

But limit yourself as you don’t want to tire yourself out.

If you’ve got time left hit two or three shots from the sand to get a feel for its conditions.

Don’t Start Fixing Your Swing Just Before You Hit The Course

Don’t get lost in mechanics and swing thoughts when you are warming up.

Your main goal should be to establish your tempo and rhythm for the day.

Treat each should you are hitting as the real thing.

You want to simulate golf instead of going mindlessly through the motions – visualize, feel, aim and fire.

If you get your warm up as close to the real thing as possible you will have the best results.