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Pre shot routine and tempo

I've recently made my pre-shot routine 'official'. It used to be whatever I was feeling at the time.

Now, I stand behind the ball, and get an image of the shot I'm about to play, feeling how I'm going to hit it and how the ball will fly. Take a breath and exhale fully before I start my approach (this makes me a lot more relaxed as I address the ball!), then take my stance, loosen my shoulders and swing away!

Seems to be making a difference to my consistency.
 
Seems like everyone tees the ball and then steps back behind to see the shot before addressing the ball. Except JB haha
 
Sounds like JB's all about the run-up from the side technique. :D
 
JB said:
My pre shot routine is set in stone. Look at the target. Setup to the ball and swing. Less than 15 seconds total. HAHA
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Mine too. I find practice swings hurt my actual swing very badly. My practice swings feel great but when I get up to hit the ball...well, it's probably the aforementioned "power chunk," if I've got the picture right in my head. :p
 
JB said:
My pre shot routine is set in stone. Look at the target. Setup to the ball and swing. Less than 15 seconds total. HAHA
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haha, me too! I am not an over thinker.
 
Plus, think of how many practice swings you could go through in a round. You're already logging in say 90 strokes on your score card but if you're taking a practice swing each time before a shot, you're really taking 180 swings if not more. That's a lot and can tire you out in a hurry. I only practice swing if I'm in the rough and that's to gauge how hard I need to swing through the rough for the shot. Other than that, no practice swings for me.
 
thanks1974 said:
Plus, think of how many practice swings you could go through in a round. You're already logging in say 90 strokes on your score card but if you're taking a practice swing each time before a shot, you're really taking 180 swings if not more. That's a lot and can tire you out in a hurry. I only practice swing if I'm in the rough and that's to gauge how hard I need to swing through the rough for the shot. Other than that, no practice swings for me.
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Keep in mind that a minimum of 25-30 of those are putts out of the 90 strokes. But that is the exact reason I dont take them unless I am waiting to hit for a while.
 
JB said:
Keep in mind that a minimum of 25-30 of those are putts out of the 90 strokes. But that is the exact reason I dont take them unless I am waiting to hit for a while.
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eah, more like 38 for me lately...PUTTER WOES!
 
Awesome thread... I just started a preshot routine and it helps. Its been evolving but I found that if I stand behind the ball, aim and pick a target a few inches in front of the ball it keeps me online. It also helps me drive through the ball. I take a half swing to get loose but I might drop it all together. The less time I spend the better my shot is. If I just aim, pick a target, set up and swing... I do much better. My swing thoughts are now limited to slow backswing, finish the backswing and start with my feet.
 
I do the same thing on every shot. Use the shaft to find my line from behind the ball, take a slow practice swing focusing on a late release by exaggerating lag, line my face up with my target, square my body and fire. I try to do the same thing everytime.


On short shots and chips is where I take several practice swings. To test the ground, the rough, the lie and so forth. This is the one shot that I make sure I feel comfortable hitting no matter what. I have lost too many shots to short game woes in the past and I am trying to make an effort to not skull or hit chips fat anymore.


Putting I stand behind the ball and take a practice stroke while looking at the line and distance to try and feel how hard to hit the ball. I read my putt from both sides of the hole and reading it from the back of the hole is something I started doing this season that has really helped me pick my line better and I see the putt totally different than before. I used to just read from one side but if you don't read from both sides of the hole you are doing yourself an injustice.
 
I usually pick my spot before I start my routine. Then I get my grip and take one or two short practice swings with my feet closer together than normal. I do this to get the feeling of my shoulders and hips rotating. Then I align my club-face to the target, set my stance, look at the target and swing away. It helps me lose the negative thoughts and focus on the target more.
 
my preshot routine is walk up to the ball,aim,take the shot.Occasionally I'll throw in a practice swing if on the previous shot I didn't have a full release.
I have a buddy I sometimes play with whose preshot routine makes you feel like you playing behind a slow foursome
 
I know I probably should, but I don't have a set pre shot routine, I find when I try and focus on the swing it goes south quick, but if I keep my mind clear and just play, I play quite a bit better.
 
A pre-shot routine does indeed help you get your alignment, stance, and mindset into a repeatable state. The golf swing is a complicated thing, you have to keep as many variables fixed as possible in order to get any kind of consistency. Just walking up to the ball and hitting it can allow for all kinds of tiny mistakes that add up to a bad shot. I literally walk through a mental checklist everytime now and my ball striking has improved considerably.

Visualize the shot from behind the ball
left hand grip
right hand grip
pick a point on line such as a divot or patch of grass
for non-full shots I'll take a few rehearsals of the backswing length here. this is the only part that ever varies
step to the ball and align the clubface perpendicular to the shot
align the feet
align the hips
align the shoulders
check that the elbows are rotated outward and hang freely in front of the body
check that my hands are in the right forward (or lack of ) press
look at the target visualizing the shot
look at the ball with my left eye to encourage an inside out swing
hit

It takes no longer than 10 seconds.

To someone with no routine this probably sounds hard but it only took one afternoon of practice in order to ingrain it.

I've dropped 3-4 strokes since adopting this.
 
bgoody said:
A pre-shot routine does indeed help you get your alignment, stance, and mindset into a repeatable state. The golf swing is a complicated thing, you have to keep as many variables fixed as possible in order to get any kind of consistency. Just walking up to the ball and hitting it can allow for all kinds of tiny mistakes that add up to a bad shot. I literally walk through a mental checklist everytime now and my ball striking has improved considerably.

Visualize the shot from behind the ball
left hand grip
right hand grip
pick a point on line such as a divot or patch of grass
for non-full shots I'll take a few rehearsals of the backswing length here. this is the only part that ever varies
step to the ball and align the clubface perpendicular to the shot
align the feet
align the hips
align the shoulders
check that the elbows are rotated outward and hang freely in front of the body
check that my hands are in the right forward (or lack of ) press
look at the target visualizing the shot
look at the ball with my left eye to encourage an inside out swing
hit

It takes no longer than 10 seconds.

To someone with no routine this probably sounds hard but it only took one afternoon of practice in order to ingrain it.

I've dropped 3-4 strokes since adopting this.
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Its funny, i used to do almost all of this. Then I stopped and I too dropped 3-4 strokes.
 
I'm reading the book "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect". Here are a few quotes that relate to this thread:

"The correct grip and stance are so important that if you plan on taking only one golf lesson for the rest of your life, I would recommend that it deal only with grip, stance, alignment, ball position, and developing a routine that enables you to mentally and physically set up properly every time."

"It's not enough to go through the motions that set up the body properly. You have to set up the mind as well."

"As soon as you've completed setting up, shift gears mentally, stop thinking about mechanics and focus on the target. Then the most important part of an exemplary routine begins. It's deceptively simple: Look at the target, look at the ball, and swing."
 
JB said:
Its funny, i used to do almost all of this. Then I stopped and I too dropped 3-4 strokes.
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So now if HE stops doing this he should drop another 3-4 strokes. Almost a scratch golfer!

KellyBo said:
I'm reading the book "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect". Here are a few quotes that relate to this thread:

"The correct grip and stance are so important that if you plan on taking only one golf lesson for the rest of your life, I would recommend that it deal only with grip, stance, alignment, ball position, and developing a routine that enables you to mentally and physically set up properly every time."

"It's not enough to go through the motions that set up the body properly. You have to set up the mind as well."

"As soon as you've completed setting up, shift gears mentally, stop thinking about mechanics and focus on the target. Then the most important part of an exemplary routine begins. It's deceptively simple: Look at the target, look at the ball, and swing."
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Thats good stuff right there.
 
JB said:
Its funny, i used to do almost all of this. Then I stopped and I too dropped 3-4 strokes.
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hahah nice. Maybe it became 2nd nature and you no longer had to think of these things.
 
bgoody said:
hahah nice. Maybe it became 2nd nature and you no longer had to think of these things.
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I've seen it. He just steps up and smacks it.
 
bgoody said:
hahah nice. Maybe it became 2nd nature and you no longer had to think of these things.
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Maybe, but if you ask the people from the Spring Outing, they will assure you that me taking 15 seconds before a shot is nearly impossible...haha
 
JB said:
Maybe, but if you ask the people from the Spring Outing, they will assure you that me taking 15 seconds before a shot is nearly impossible...haha
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this is sort of what I mean. if you just naturally now align yourself properly then there's no reason to think of these things and no reason to waste any time. I see that as a progression, the next stage. I get to this stage at times when I'm playing well.

It used to be that I'd be playing ok then start fading or hooking and after a few swings I'd realize that I was aligning my shoulders open or my stance was too closed etc. those mistakes are almost completely eliminated by following the routine.
 
OEM Kevin said:
Yep. This is exactly how it happens. Maybe a total of 8 seconds.
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You are giving me a lot of credit. 8 seconds, is kind...hehe. Looking forward to the Fall Outing and of course going off first! haha. Maybe I will try a new routine at the Fall Outing. PGA National will be conquered.
 
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