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Pre shot routine has got me thinking....

jnordwell

jnordwell

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So for the last few months I've made the decision to become a better golfer. My,goal is single digits. Current handicap is 11.8 so I'm close. The term pre shot routine was brought to my attention by a fellow golfer. Up until a few weeks ago never had much of one. The few rounds have been garbage with practice swings and thoughts of this or that.. My old way of playing was normally on all shots except around the green have been stand behind the ball and line up in my head what I want... Address the ball and let it rip. Most people are amazed on how fast I just hit it. I always looked at it as I've hit that shot at least 10 times before so why practice swing. Plus my practice swings are fluid and soft and my normal shot is not. So what are your thoughts on this thinking of going back to my normal grip it and rip it for Mondays round...and see if it is better then last Sundays round same course..
Sunday had 7 penalty strokes and shot a 97.. At skamania lodge which is super tight.. The,time before that I shot a 83. Oh the mental game of,golf. Lol
 
You described what is my present routine. Stand behind the ball, pick a target, and then lineup a preliminary short target, step into the posture, one more look at the short target to lineup, and let her go.


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For me that routine is key. For example, back when I was bowling for cash, it never really came together until I started repeating the same ritual before every shot. It acted as a mental funnel of my mind and emotions to make sure that and the point of execution I was always the same.

For golf, this is the same thing in my mind. Problem for me is the execution of the swing when I pull the trigger. :banghead:
 
I have a short but repeatable routine:

Assess the lie
Assess the conditions (wind, etc)
Choose a target
Choose a club
Visualize the shot from behind the ball
Choose an alignment target no more than 12 inches in front of the ball
Address the ball
Take one last look at the target
Let it rip

I don't take practice swings either. I'm prone to analysis/paralysis and practice swings tend to kick start the over-thinking part of my brain. Choose a target, step up, execute, move on.
 
I always take a practice swing or 2, the reason I do is 2 fold. First I visualize the shot with my swing, second, ensuring I have a feel for that specific club since each club in the bag is a different length. I find that I have less issues topping or chunking by doing this.

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i don't have a set pre-shot routine. i like to get behind the ball, see the shot, make a practice swing that includes trying to feel what i am working on and what the actual swing should feel like. then get into address position, find an intermediate target, and try to let it rip. i do stand over the ball longer than i should, and it's something i'm trying to get better about.

i don't see how a pre-shot routine leads to lower scores, though. i guess if you are someone who gets frozen over the ball a la kevin na, ok i can see it helping. but for the rest of us hackers i'm not sure i see the benefit.
 
I have one ... but if you blink you miss it ... no practice swings for me ... unless its a chip around the green, and just to get what speed I want to hit the ball.

I line the ball up with something in front of the ball ... pick a spot on the side of the ball to focus on, and then try to hit that spot ... without lifting my head (its the head/spine moving that I screw up a lot)

I would take longer over the ball, but I honestly don't know what I would do, or think during that time over the ball.
 
jnordwell said:
So for the last few months I've made the decision to become a better golfer. My,goal is single digits. Current handicap is 11.8 so I'm close. The term pre shot routine was brought to my attention by a fellow golfer. Up until a few weeks ago never had much of one. The few rounds have been garbage with practice swings and thoughts of this or that.. My old way of playing was normally on all shots except around the green have been stand behind the ball and line up in my head what I want... Address the ball and let it rip. Most people are amazed on how fast I just hit it. I always looked at it as I've hit that shot at least 10 times before so why practice swing. Plus my practice swings are fluid and soft and my normal shot is not. So what are your thoughts on this thinking of going back to my normal grip it and rip it for Mondays round...and see if it is better then last Sundays round same course..
Sunday had 7 penalty strokes and shot a 97.. At skamania lodge which is super tight.. The,time before that I shot a 83. Oh the mental game of,golf. Lol
Click to expand...

What you do for your routine is not as important as doing the same thing every shot. Having a repeatable routine simply helps settle your nerves and puts your focus on the shot. The only real difference in my routine for any shot is that for chips and pitches I will often take a couple of practice swings to "feel" the shot I want, whereas for all other shots, including putting, I only take one.
 
The rounds I do it every time are the rounds I tend to go low. Nothing too fancy though. First all the thinking things, lie, distance, wind ect. Once I have all that I take my 2 practice swings but I am still behind the ball and slightly to the left. These aren't full speed swings just focus on my backswing plane and make sure that transitions to the down swing and shot shape I need, along with focusing on the bottom of the swing for sub 100 yard shots. From there I stand behind the ball and take my left hand grip and look one more time at intermediate target. Then I step up and place the right foot and clubface behind ball then put the right hand on the club. Then I take my full stance, do a vertical wrist hing followed by 2 waggles. When the club touches I think, 1, 1, then start the swing on the third 1. Sounds like a lot but really isn't and I have only been doing this for 2 or 3 rounds every time and it helps. The times I get lazy are the times I hit bad shots.
 
I do all of the usual things posted.

But I be started to get over the ball and take the club back just until my hip and then back and fire. That little move seems to help.
 
Fourputt said:
What you do for your routine is not as important as doing the same thing every shot. Having a repeatable routine simply helps settle your nerves and puts your focus on the shot. The only real difference in my routine for any shot is that for chips and pitches I will often take a couple of practice swings to "feel" the shot I want, whereas for all other shots, including putting, I only take one.
Click to expand...

Definitely gotta do the same thing or it's not a routine. Whether it's basically nothing or some elaborate thing. If it gets to be TOO elaborate is when it's probably taking too long though!

JB has the shortest/quickest pre-shot routine of anyone I know. He basically doesn't have much of one but it's exactly the same every shot!
 
Reading this tells me I need to develop a better one!
 
I start my pre-shot routine when I approach my ball.

I do not often take a practice swing.

What I need to focus on is a spot in front of the ball, a few inches, to get my swing path correct. That has seemed to work well in the past, I should incorporate that into my pre-shot routine.

But, as someone else has said, you need to do the same thing before every shot, otherwise it is not a pre-shot ROUTINE!!
 
I have a short routine that I use for golf and bowling. When I don't, I'm all out of sync
 
Mine is really pretty quick. As I'm standing directly behind my ball I think to myself "left or right of the tree" then I usually aim and swing away. 6 times out of 10 I will actually hit the tree again and as a result I'm farther away from said tree and then I have no preshot routine!
 
I have a short routine that I started using last year and it's really helped me focus and not wait so long to pull the trigger (although I think I could still be quicker).

I do a lot of the above. I stand behind the ball, find my line and intermediate target, and walk over. I get into my posture, pull my right shoulder back since setting up open is a big problem for me, and swing. I rarely take practice swings, and when I do I try and make just one or two max.
 
My routine is fairly basic. I start behind the ball, sight down my aiming line and pick a spot on the ground a couple of feet in front of the ball. Looking at only that spot I set my feet parallel and the club perpendicular to that line, make one practice swing. I set the club oriented the same way behind the ball, move my feet forward into my stance, take one look at the target then swing. It's about a 15 second process.
 
If you ask many average golfers what they think about during their pre-shot routine, I'll bet most would remark that they don't know, but they see the pro's do it on TV. That is not the case here at Hackers Paradise - it is obvious that there is thought behind the pre-shot routine.

Mine is to think about variables as I approach the ball. Once I get the distance, I take a short practice swing, step up to the ball and swing. I find the less time I spend thinking about the shot, the better the result.
 
I need my pre-shot routine because I tend to goof off and joke around. The routine sets my mind and body for the shot. I timed it, it's 29 seconds from putting on the glove to impact. I know some friends who take longer, others shorter, so I'm kinda in the middle.
 
You're actual routine doesn't matter. As long as it's the same every time. That's the point. To makes you more comfortable under pressure.
 
So I went out yesterday to play skamania lodge again. Played this time with not much of a pre shot routine. Tried to strangle my driver grip a few times which resulted in a few lost balls. Had 4 for the round had some turd hit my,ball in the middle of the fairway. He was looking for his ball then seen me coming up looked at me and hit my ball. I asked him was that a taylormade? He said nope it was a titielist.. Which was funny he was looking for his ball all over the rough. Shot a 86 not to bad. Had a few brain darts in approach shots. So how can I stop trying to swing my driver so darn hard??
 
Better question is how can you start hitting the center of the driver face more often while still going hard at it.
 
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