Studies have shown that golfers with a golf warm-up routine and warm up correctly before a round generally reduce their average score by 1-2 strokes.
If that sounds like something you want to happen to your golf game, keep reading to learn how to warm up before a round properly.
So many golfers know or feel like the first few holes set us up for the rest of the day, especially if you’re chasing a milestone like trying to Break 90, 80, or any other.
Every hole and stroke counts.
Without a golf warm-up, it will take your body a while to get with the program, and your golf swing technique will feel off.
This is why it’s not unusual for golfers to chunk at chip shots, slice their drives and miss easy putts on the first few holes.
Considering most golfer’s warm-up routine is the walk from the golf clubhouse to the first tee box and a few practice swings, the mishit shots early in the round shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Warming up before your round won’t just benefit your scorecard, but it will prevent injuries in the future. You need to perfect the golf warm-up regardless of your age and fitness level.
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Warm Up Yourself (2-5 Minutes)
The first step to lowering your score before a round involves getting the blood flowing around your body, getting the heart rate going, and preparing your joints for the upcoming 18 holes.
Ideally, a 2-minute warm-up is fine, but when it comes to the winter, it would be a good idea to push this to 5 minutes and ensure your body is ready.
When warming yourself up, you should focus on 3 critical areas needed for a silky smooth golf swing – your hips, back, knees, and shoulders.
If you can get these 3 areas of the body warmed up correctly, it should result in fewer shanks, topped golf balls, hooks, or any bad shots early on in your round.
You’ll rely heavily on dynamic rather than static stretching to do this.
Dynamic stretching is loosening out your muscles using slow and controlled movements. Static stretching is stretching your muscles while standing or lying in the same position.
I’ve put together a list of dynamic stretches you can try for yourself to make your version of a pre-round warm-up. It’s at the end of the article, so you can keep reading for now.
So why is static stretching taking a backseat for a good warm-up routine?
Don’t Stretch Too Much
Static or traditional stretching isn’t something you should cut out of your golf warm-up completely, but it shouldn’t be your primary focus.
Which can shock some golfers, but traditional stretching has been proven to harm your golf game more than it helps. Getting into a starting position with your feet shoulder-width apart so you can touch your toes before a round doesn’t cut it.
If your body becomes too loose, it can reduce your swing speed, meaning less distance on the course.
Also, because your upper body or lower muscles are too loose, you’ve increased their range of motion which makes controlling your swing path more challenging resulting in less accurate shots.
That’s not what you want…
Work On Your Skills (20-30 Minutes)
Once your body is warmed up, it’s time to get a golf club into your hand and get comfortable before the round.
How much of this great golf warm-up you can do depends on the golf course facilities you’re playing at, but you should 100% make use of whatever they have available.
Let’s get into it!
Golf Warm-Up For Ball Striking
Working on your ball striking before your round is not about swing mechanics or having an entire practice session.
It’s solely about… warming up your golf swing.
Ideally, the course you’re playing will have a driving range to get a bucket of balls or at least a practice net. Either way, the below warm-up works for either one.
You’ll want to hit 3-5 balls for each club in your bag, and my top tip would be to stop hitting a club if you hit a good shot, as it’s good to finish on a positive mentally.
Try not to hit your clubs in an ascending or descending order. It would help if you started with your tee shot, then jumped from one club to another and mixed it up to better replicate how your shots will pop up during the round.
Jump from a pitching wedge to a 5 iron and from a 5 iron to a wood.
This method has been proven more effective than systematically going through your bag.
Golf Warm-Up For Chipping
When working on your chipping, what kind of shot you focus on will depend on your level.
But 3 shots to work on would be your stock chip shot, a low runner, and a high loft chip.
Notice I didn’t mention a flop shot because it will result in skulled wedges that go 30 yards past the flagstick for a large selection of golfers.
You will practice each of these shots starting from 10 yards out and moving back to around 30 yards. Try visualizing when you’ll hit each of the shots while playing golf.
Golf Warm-Up For Putting
Every golf course has a putting green, so this is one area you should always include in your skills warm-up.
The practice green should be similar to the greens on the actual course, which means you can get a feel for the pace of the greens so you can hit the ground running.
Remember, it’s more about getting a feel than nailing putts.
Drop a few golf balls to start your warm-up, with each ball getting further away from the hole. Start with the closest and work your way back.
Once you’ve hit all of them, drop them down again from a different side of the hole and repeat.
A dialed-in short game will drop shots from any golfer’s scorecard.
Dial In Your Mental Game
Dialing in your mental game is 100% essential before every round, regardless if you don’t follow through on any of the above.
Before you get to the first tee, you need to figure out how you’re going to play, what score you’d be happy with (Important to be realistic), limit your possible swing thoughts to just one for the day, and remember that it’s possible it won’t be your day and that’s okay.
If you can make a decision regarding the above thoughts before your tee time, it will result in less mental noise and clutter during your round.
Exercises You Can Try
Below are two videos showing you how to perform dynamic stretches.
You should be able to craft your own routine between the two of them to prepare for your upcoming round of either 18 or 9 holes of golf.