How do you warm up? (And how long for)

chriso97

Mad Golfer
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Perth, Western Australia
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I'm a morning golfer so it's hard for me to get to the course early enough to warm up properly.

Any advice for a quick warm-up?

Range or no range?
Putt or no Putt?
Chip or No chip ?

Does it make a difference?

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Stretch at the 1st tee for about 2 minutes then I'm off.
 
a few swings with an iron (no ball, just getting loose)

a few 50y pitches with a wedge

a few mid irons

a few drives

as much time putting as possible

a few stretches on the first tee


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McLovin;n8884515 said:
a few swings with an iron (no ball, just getting loose)

a few 50y pitches with a wedge

a few mid irons

a few drives

as much time putting as possible

a few stretches on the first tee


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So always a range session for you ???

If you don't do you feel it makes a difference on the first ?

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You aren't going to like my answer.

I warm up starting an hour before tee time and find it makes a HUGE difference to me and I'm a low handicap golfer. I don't know of a single sport where players who take it seriously don't warm up. It gets me physically, mentally, and emotionally ready for the game at hand. If it didn't matter none of us would have ever heard of a thing called a "breakfast ball". Because I warm up I can take the first tee knowing exactly what my body needs to do and will do. I know the shot shape I'm going to get off that first tee and I am confident in the outcome.

My warm-up includes full swing, chipping, and putting. If I know the course is likely to need a particular specialty shot, I'll hit it a time, two or three, so when the real deal happens, it's not my first time hitting that shot that day. I'll rehearse the first hole tee to green a couple of times with the last few balls.

Putting warm-up is about getting the setup and stroke right, seeing a lot of putts fall from 4-15 feet, and stroking a couple of lag putts to make sure my speed control is sharp.
 
The walk from the car to 1st tee. My place doesn't have a range though. I don't usually spend much more then 45 minutes for tournaments. Never been a type to be at the range an hour or more before something.
 
I warm up. I should have put that in the thread asking what you love and hate about golf, because I hate not being able to warm up. I get the name OldandStiff, in part, from how I feel on the mornings I golf. If I don't warm up you can pretty much write off the first few holes for me. I don't spend an hour doing it, but I do it.

My routine is to warm up and practice in reverse of play. Greens, approach, then tee. I stretch (full body), then hit the greens to putt. When I've got the speed down, I stretch my hands and wrists again, and chip a bit. Then I hit the range. Full stretch, loosen up the torso and shoulders as much as I can, and try to convince my hands once more that it's time to go to work. The last part is not golf exclusive. Then I hit a few to the 50 marker, and then the 100, focusing on directional control. After that I pull a six/seven iron and ease into letting my swing go, focusing mostly on tempo and ball flight. Getting warm, I move onto driver and hit until I feel I'm truly loose, focusing on directional control again. Then, like leftshot I spend a few balls prepping for the first hole. A few with the expected approach, and a few with the tee shot necessary to facilitate it. That's the last thing I do before the first tee so that shot is locked in and ready.

When I was younger I liked to putt last, but I feel my current routine best prepares me for the round, and I can stiffen if there's too much time between the range and the first tee. I've never actually timed any of this, and the pace I do it at is dictated by a lot of random things. Proximity to tee time, people I'm with, familiarity with the course, unexpected small talk, etc. At my home course it probably takes 20-30 minutes, but I can rush it in about 15 I'd guess and still feel prepared enough to play well and not hurt myself at the start.
 
Sox_Fan;n8884511 said:
Stretch at the 1st tee for about 2 minutes then I'm off.

Stretch for a few mins.

Sand Wedge
PW
7i
3W
Driver

Then off to chip and putt.


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Hit some putts to get a feel for the speed. Stretch and swing with an iron and its go time. My dislike of warming up at the range comes from when I was less consistent, a bad range session would put doubt in my mind before teeing off.
 
Jog from the car to the first tee because I'm running late.

I think I would play better at the start of a round if I warmed up properly. My first few holes are usually my worst. But, warming up might cause me to tail off at the end. I often start really feeling it in my shoulder and elbow at the end of a round. If I warmed up beforehand I fear running out of effective, pain-free swings.
 
Hot shower before I leave the house to loosen up the muscles. Always stretch when I get to the course. Use the orange whip. Even if I can’t hit the range, I try to swing my bigger clubs before I tee off.
 
Stretch, weighted club thing, stretch, 1/2 seeing 7i shots, then other clubs. Finish with chipping and putting if I have time

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I stretch at home, then 30 minutes to course. Do another light stretch, swing two irons (weight) I like to roll maybe ten putts to get the speed down and hit one driver off into the weeds. (we don't have a driving range)
 
If it's a semi-serious round that will go toward my index I show up about 45 minutes early. I usually put for 10-15 minutes or so first, then short game for 10-15, then full swing where I work through the bag (usually a wedge, mid iron, long iron, fairway, then driver). I want my last shot to be a good one that is with the same club I will hit off the first tee. If I feel good and finish with time to spare sometimes I go back to putt a little more until time to tee off.

If it's one of my typical daily 9 hole rounds, I'm trying to get in and out of the club in about 1.5 hours. So I'll just grab a 7 iron and hit 10-15 shots on the range just to loosen up and make sure there isn't anything weird going on with my swing that needs to be addressed real quick. Then it's off to the tee.
 
I swing a weighted club for about 5 minutes. I work on loosening up and setting my swing tempo for the day, then I pay, and hit the putting green for some chips and putts. I have never like driving ranges very much, I like to play golf, not hit balls. Main thing I do when I get to the first tee is go to the side and try to recreate that swing tempo in my mind. Then I am off...
 
chriso97;n8884523 said:
So always a range session for you ???

If you don't do you feel it makes a difference on the first ?

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always if there's time. if i'm rushed for one reason or another, i just go cold to the first tee. but if i can make it work, absolutely i want a quick range session.

not long ago, i used to warm up for an hour or more. work through the whole bag, then short game, then putting. these days that would be exhausting, and i know i'm not going to figure out anything new before the round haha
 
I try to get to the course an hour before hand, get a small bucket of balls then off to the range. From there it's a quick stretch and I will hit 3-4 balls starting with a wedge and going up every other club. Something like 58,AW,9,7,5, then maybe 1 or 2 with Hy, 5w,3w, Driver. If I have time left and they have one I will stop by the chipping area and hit maybe a dozen shots just to get my rhythm right, but otherwise it's off to the green and I am there working on 3-4 footers, then 6-8, and some lag putts. Will finish with a few more 3 footers and off to the tee.

I think it matters and is a good way to get myself ready and relaxed for the round. I appreciate having that time to myself to go over stuff and just gather my thoughts, having that hour before a round is my time to do that.
 
Warm up or practice?

Warm up takes me about 3-4 minutes. Eight or ten slow shoulder turns with a club behind me. Then grip the club and start slow with practice swings then build up to full speed by about the fifth or sixth one.

Then head to the first tee.

But I do nearly half an hour of stretching before the leaving the house every morning (golf or not). And more stretching before bed time. So I'm usually warming up from a fairly limber starting point.
 
It's funny cos I looked at my stats (that the course provides) and my best 3 holes are 1,2,3.

Like I said it's tough to warm up, especially before Sunrise.


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Et Tu Brute?;n8884874 said:
Warm up or practice?

Good question ... Definitely warm up. Practice is practice.

I am trying to make sure I get to the putting green.




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chriso97;n8884932 said:
Good question ... Definitely warm up. Practice is practice.

I am trying to make sure I get to the putting green.




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I play 95% of my rounds at my home course. And I play 2-3x a week year round. So if in a hurry I can get by without stopping at the practice green. But normally I'll putt a couple balls uphill then a couple downhill just to get a feel for the day's speed.
 
If the tee time is late enough I like to take a half hour 45 minutes to work through the bag, roll a few putts, stretch out. That kind of thing. We usually go off in the first few groups on Sunday morning and then it's a few stretches on the side of the tee box and maybe a few at home before leaving. If there are a few balls left on the range I'll poke a handful out. I often hit the fairway in the first hole, it's the others that get me later in the round.
 
OtterMan;n8884950 said:
I often hit the fairway in the first hole, it's the others that get me later in the round.

It's amazing how little that first driver of the day has to do with the rest of the round. Don't know how many times I've gone straight from the parking lot to first tee, take 3-4 minutes to limber up and just pipe one down the middle with the first real swing of the day...then don't hit another fairway until the 12th hole.
 
Unfortunately it’s usually the walk to the car from the tee. Unless it’s a scramble when we have to get there early.


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So ... Two days of tournament golf, 2 different warm-ups.

Day 1 I hit the range and hit a full bucket. Played average. (Did birdie first hole and was even through 3)

Day 2 hit a few balls and putted for a good 15-20 mins. Played awesome. (Was 2 under through 4)

Conclusions ... None yet but I think I'm gonna keep it simple and focus on putting.



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