Warm Up Routine Before Round

JB

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I was talking to someone today that told me he warms up driver first. He said it’s the longest club so he gets the most stretch in before moving to clubs where the “bottom of the swing” is needed.

It was an interesting thought so I wanted to ask if others do it.
 
No way I could start with driver. I have to stretch before I even hit a 56
 
After getting loose without a club, I typically grab an 8 iron and see what swing I have for the day. I find the irons the hardest to stay crisp each round so finding ball first is my main focus during a warmup.


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I usually start with a 7 iron, then 50* wedge, then move on to driver, 3W, 5W, 5 iron and then putt for 10 minutes.
 
I do some stretches with a club then swing a few times with two clubs together. Then start with wedges and hit 4-6 balls then skip a few clubs and continue until the driver. If I have balls left I'll do some under 50 yard chips before heading to the green.
 
interesting... I can kind of see it the rationale but I have never done it that way. I usually stretch a bit, then grab a PW/GW and take a couple half swings, working back to full swings, then on to 8I then 6I then a Fairway wood then a few drivers. Then finish with a few partial wedges to specific targets/yardages. Maybe swinging the longest club first will get you loose faster than as he says focus on finding the bottom of the swing with the irons/wedges.
 
I loosen up with a orange whip then start with the 60* and work up. With my SC200, I start with the accuracy drills with my wedges, before I go for distance.


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If I am warming up at the range, PW is probably the first club in my hands.

If I am at the range immediately before a round, usually I hit a couple drives first, then start at PW. Trying to mimic from the car to the first tee, and be ready to go off the hop.
 
I almost never hit the range. 5 min of putting and a few practice swings with driver and I'm ready.

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If I'm getting loose on the tee, because there's no range, I'll go straight to driver. Start with slower swings and move to full swings.

On the range it's always something like a short iron or wedge. I usually work up to driver, unless the club off the first tee is different. I want my last swing on the range to be what I'm doing on the tee.
 
I was talking to someone today that told me he warms up driver first. He said it’s the longest club so he gets the most stretch in before moving to clubs where the “bottom of the swing” is needed.

It was an interesting thought so I wanted to ask if others do it.

Nope, not me. I normally only chip a little and putt. I can take full swings with the wedges and that works for me at 56 years old.
 
No way. I start with a wedge and take some partial swings while working my way to fill swings and up toward the driver.
 
Nope, no way. I start at the bottom of the bag, wedges first. Then even irons to the 4 iron, then odd irons back down to the wedges again. Then 3 wood, then driver. Hit a few more wedges. Then I hit the driver simulating the first hole tee shot. I don't leave the range until I hit the shot like I would on the first tee box. Then to the putting green.
All if I have time of course.

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I was talking to someone today that told me he warms up driver first. He said it’s the longest club so he gets the most stretch in before moving to clubs where the “bottom of the swing” is needed.

It was an interesting thought so I wanted to ask if others do it.

Apart from seeing ball flight, there's not a big difference in someone swinging driver to start their warmup and swinging something like an Orange Whip or a SuperSpeed Golf stick to get loose.

In terms of hitting the ball, I read somewhere that Tom Watson would start with a 3 iron because he figured that if he could hit that club, everything else would be easier that day or something to that effect.
 
54, PW, 8i, 6i, 3W then Driver


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I remember hearing Tom Watson recommend starting with the longest club the player reasonably feels he/she could hit well, even if off the tee.

His theory was that the longer clubs encourage a more fluid swing, better for sequence and timing throughout the set.

Whereas a short club such as a wedge will encourage a faster, more aggressive swing early, thus negatively affecting sequence and timing.

Sure made sense to me.

(When I actually hit the range) I'll usually start with hybrid.
 
These days I’m lucky if I make to the course 20 minutes before my tee time. Few swings of the orange whip and I’m off. When I actually have time it’s usually 7i then 5i followed by driver. Then some putting if there is still time. Really depends on the layout of the course and where the range and practice greens are located in relation to the tee box.


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I start with driver. I’ve had back problems in the past (I’m 23, shouldn’t be having problems). Driver at 50% for a few, then 85% for a few then 100% to ease the muscles into fast moving sequences. I alternate Driver, 58, 3w, 54, hybrid, 50 and so on until I get to 7 and 6 iron. Usually hit some pitches then I’m off to the putting green. 2 25 footers. 12 12 footers, 15 5 footers, then 20 3 footers. It’s excessive and needs about an hour before tee time but it warms you up.

If I don’t have that much time. I’ll hit balls first (abbreviation of above) then go to the putting green (abbreviated) then practice a few shots with the clubs I’ll be using on the first hole. That way there’s no first tee jitters


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56 to 7 iron
7 iron to my hybrid
Hybrid back down to 52
52 to 3 wood
3 wood to PW
PW to Driver. Then it’s usually some more easy wedge shots to a couple shots with what I’m hitting out of the first tee box.
 
I was talking to someone today that told me he warms up driver first. He said it’s the longest club so he gets the most stretch in before moving to clubs where the “bottom of the swing” is needed.

It was an interesting thought so I wanted to ask if others do it.

I think Tom Watson used to warm up with a 3-iron first. It was more of a mind game for him. If he hit it well, then he would start with great confidence and if not, then oh well, it was a 3-iron and wouln't hurt his confidence.
 
I remember you posting something like this a couple years ago and since then if time is tight or I have no warm up I grab driver and take long slow deliberate swings and gradually build up speed then work into the irons and wedges.
 
General stretching for a couple of minutes before hitting balls at the range. Range session starts with wedges and finishes with a few driver swings. I typically hit the putting green before going to the first tee since they're next to each other. Some of the guys start at the putting green and then go to the range before the first tee. Their logic is; finish at the range and start the round with a driver. Can't argue with that. I just don't follow the same pattern.
 
It depends on how much time I have before the round. If there is enough time I'll start with a PW then work my through the irons, hybrids then driver. If I don't have a lot of time I'll hit some 8i then on to driver.
 
Almost always my 60* (partial then full swings), followed by a random iron (5-8), then a few 3 woods, then a few driver. I try to spend as much time chipping and putting as I do with full swings.
 
7i, 4h, driver, followed by some putting/chipping. If I only have a few minutes, I hit 7i & driver.
 
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