Yesterday I played one of my better rounds in over well over a year. I tried to pinpoint why though because honestly, I was caught off guard. There were two things that I REALLY made a difference in yesterdays round.
The first has confidence. If you have been reading my posts and have signed up for my email newsletter then you will know how much I preach being confident on the course. Heading to the course and during my warm up session on the range I was calm and confident that I was going to play well.
Besides confidence it was my actually warm up session. Normally I am so busy with this site that I hardly have time to get to the course early enough to warm up. It was the same while I was working in a golf shop. I would just step right out of the shop and onto the first tee without any warm up! No wonder why I didn’t get off to good starts.
If you can head to the course 40 minutes before your tee time. For the first 5 minutes stretch and loosen up those muscles and get the blood flowing. Besides stretching also work on your breathing and getting your heart rate down. Be sure to take deep long breaths as this will help you forget about what you were just doing and will now focus your mind on playing a great round.
After this hit balls for the next 15 minutes. Start out with little chips with your wedge and work your way into a full swing with that same club. After 5 chip shots, 5 half swings and 10 full swings. Hit 5 balls with a 9 iron, then 5 more with a 6 iron, 5 more with a fairway wood and 10 with a driver. After the driver hit the remaining balls with your sand or pitching wedge. While hitting ball be sure to take your time and go through your pre shot routine for every full swing.
After your range session head up a chipping green and hit some chips for 5 minutes. Work on some shots that you might face on the course. Keep your chipping rhythm fluid and focus on making solid contact.
Once your done with chipping head to the putting green and work on lag putting and getting a feel for the speed of the greens. From there hit a few short putts starting at 2 feet and going back to 6 feet. This will build your confidence on the greens right before you tee off!
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So to recap
-be confident before the round
-arrive 40 minutes before your tee time
-stretch and work on breathing for the first 5 minutes
-hit balls for 20 minutes slowing warming up with chips shots and going into full swings with your wedge, 6 iron, fairway wood and driver
-go through your pre shot routine before every full swing on the range
-chip for 5 minutes
-work on lag putting and getting a feel for the speed of the greens
-wrap up with hitting short putts starting at 2 feet and going back to 6
Remember the key is to slow everything down and become calm, relaxed and focused. If you rush when you get to the course you will feel rushed during your round and get off to a bad start, you don’t want that…
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