Why You Should Have a Pre-Round Practice Routine

Many people don’t believe in superstition. They find that willpower and hard work are their keys to success. However, pre-round practice routines aren’t necessarily a superstitious rite, but a very important part of your game you should incorporate to achieve better results.

What Is a Pre-Round Practice Routine?

A pre-round practice routine, in its essence, is a sort of “warm-up” routine you indulge in so as to be ready to go when the playing time comes. Many players have different routines and customs. Some choose to perform static stretches, others prefer to practice swing motions, and others just choose to meditate.

What is functional for you can definitely not work for the next golfer, and so on. You are going to have to do some deep introspective labor to address what you like and dislike, and weed out whatever works for you, and what doesn’t. 

Is a Pre-Round Practice Routine Only Done Before Matches?

No! Absolutely not. It can also be done—and it’s also highly recommended—to be performed before training sessions. Pre-round routines are there to prep you up whether you have to play the most important match of your life, or just get your rhythm going before your Tuesday morning practice. 

The whole idea behind these practice routines is to establish a standardized way of getting yourself started before any serious golfing takes place.

Advantages of Pre-Round Practice Routines

Pre-round practice routines are very useful for keeping you on tip-toe performance, and for maintaining you injury-free on the same page. 

Many people are inclined to perceive golf as a risk-free, injury-absent discipline. If played irresponsibly, this could be way far from the truth. Long walks and explosive movements are at the order of the day in golf. One false move and you can be out for months. 

Rotations, level changes, and irregular terrains are some of the factors that can easily contribute to injuries that could potentially lead to life-altering conditions, such as ligament tears and sprains, to name a few.

Do Pre-Round Practice Routines Have to Be Extensive?

No, they don’t! They can take as long as 3 minutes if that’s what you want. The only condition for a pre-round practice routine to be successful is that you feel prepared to pull the trigger when you must and to prevent injuries in the process.

In case you are out of ideas, here we will throw you some hints as to what you can do as a warm-up routine…

Pre-Round Practice Routine Ideas

For starters, what we recommend at Back2Basics Golf is that you engage in a full-body dynamic stretching regimen. You can go from head to toe or vice versa. Dynamic stretching is the coined term for performing soft movements, usually in linear and circular patterns with your joints.

Generally speaking, you can perform from 8 to 12 movements per joint following these patterns. This should take you no longer than 5 minutes, and it entails the general part of the routine. 

Here we will explain to you some examples of movements you can perform during this instance:

Ankle Rotations

Placing your toes on the ground with a lifted heel while your other foot is simultaneously planted on the ground, start rotating your heel in circles. Once you are done with one foot, you can go on with the other one.

Knee Extensions

Knee extensions consist of grabbing your kneecaps, one with each hand, and bending and extending your legs while grabbing them. After a couple of these, you should be feeling your lower body prepped up for action!

Hip Rotations

Hip rotations are analogously similar to ankle rotations. But, instead of drawing circles with your feet, you’ll be doing so with your hips. First, you should go one way, and then the opposite way.

Doing this enables you to move around your hips more freely. If you are a person that possesses hip problems, executing these moves will relieve some of them.

Torso Rotations

Torso rotations are amazing for those that spend long periods sitting. It consists of placing your feet on the ground, while you swing your arms from side to side. Be careful not to excessively rotate your knees with bolted feet, as that can lead to meniscus and ligament tears.

If you hear your back snapping, there is nothing to be concerned about as long as there’s no pain. That is spinal decompression and it’s a very normal phenomenon. If you feel pain, interrupt the movement immediately, and consult your physician.

Shoulder Rotations

Shoulder rotations encompass rotating your arms in circular motions. When you do these, your arms gain significant mobility. 

Shoulders are an integral part of golf, and they are also very easy to injure. This is mostly occasioned due to the small components therein, and because of the fact that lots of strain is placed on them. Therefore, they should be one of your top priorities in your pre-round practice regimen.

Neck Rotations

The neck is the recipient of considerable amounts of stress, as when you are golfing, you are mostly putting your head in a ducked position. This usually comes with a resulting stiff neck. 

To avoid this, you can move around your head following different patterns: you can draw circles with your head, “U” shapes, and horizontal “figure-8” shapes, as well as semi-circles, full circles, side-to-side movements, driving your ear to the closest shoulder, and many others.

When you feel your neck muscles relaxed, you can simply perform better.

Swing Away!

You can perform your favorite swings once you are warm. We advise you to start with wedge swings, which tend to be lighter, and work your way up to drivers.

Regarding the tempo, start nice and easy, probably at 50% intensity while performing the full movements.

Then you can move on to more complex motions such as chipping or even driving some balls with mid-strength outputs.

Don’t Forget to Putt Too!

Hey! Putting counts as well. Don’t count it out of your practice routine. Get a couple of smooth strokes before the “real deal” takes part. 

The cool part of practicing your putt is that you can perform many fun drills that aid you in both sharpening your skillset and getting you ready to rumble.

For instance, you can definitely use putting mirrors to work on the preciseness of your balls’ trajectory. You can get one here.

Even if you are at home, you can perform the full routine, and conclude it with a golf mat putting session. You can get yours here.

For more high-end golfing products, make sure to pay us a visit at https://back2basics.golf/collections/all.