Take the “Routine” Out Take the “Routine” Out of Warm-Up Routines

Ben Hogan was famous for being meticulous, and his warm-up routine proved no exception. He got to the course an hour ahead of time and warmed up for

40 minutes – 20 on the driving range, 20 on or near the putting green. Once, during World War II when he played an exhibition, he arrived late at the course and was told he could not warm up. He proceeded to shoot a 78, grumbling all the time about not being able to go through his normal routine.

Many of us are creatures of habit. It’s not easy to go through a different warm-up routine before playing, but just consider this possibility: Perhaps the routine you or your students currently use is not the most optimal! How is it possible to know this?

Simple – experiment with different routines and see which one generally leads to the best results. Come up with a couple of routines that are different than the one you (or your students) currently use, and rotate the three routines before you play. Keep track of your scores. Three rotations of the routines (nine rounds in all) should be enough to give you an idea of which one works best.

You might want to consider this study done by Australian Golf Digest in 2006. They tracked a number of golfers who had the following warm-up routines: 1) no warm-up; 2) putting and/or chipping only; 3) driving range only; 4) driving range and putting/chipping. The results were surprising. The golfers who only putted and/or chipped before the round, scored about a stroke better in relation to their handicaps compared to golfers who employed the other three routines. This goes against the advice of most teaching professionals, who generally advocate both driving range and putting green practice before a round.

Does this mean that we should all eschew the driving range before a round? No. This study was done at one course on one day, so it’s not statistically sound. In addition, golfers are notoriously individualistic, so what works for one may not work for another. What we can glean from the study, though, is that there is no set formula for all golfers, and that we should not be afraid to try something different.

Routines can be varied by sequence, activity, and time. The most typical warm-up routine observed by USGTF examiners around the country consists of no warm-up at all. Of those who do warm up, their routines tend to consist of going to the driving range first, followed by the putting green. On the range, most golfers start with the wedges and work their way up to the driver before finishing up with a few more wedges. Tom Watson, though, actually starts his range work with a 3-iron. His reasoning is that you aren’t expected to hit a 3-iron well right off the bat, so if he doesn’t, it’s no big deal. But, he says, if you hit your wedges poorly to start your warm-up, you automatically may assume you don’t “have it” that day.

Watson also authored an article a number of years ago where he stated he went to the putting green first before heading to the range. His reasoning on this was that if you start on the range first, there will be too much time between your last full shot on the range and your tee shot on the first hole.

You and your students can also vary the time of your warm-up routines. Some people only hit a few balls and then head to the course, while others take an extended time.

Whatever you do, try a three-routine rotation for the next nine rounds and see what happens. You might be surprised by your results.