Dear Too Busy for Golf,
I understand your dilemma having two young girls myself, ages 5 and 8. I work and teach some at their school, coach soccer and when one works at a golf course teaching from sun up to sun down it seems as though I never have the chance to play. I do manage however to play a good game of golf if and when I get out. Here are three easy steps for you to incorporate into your routine before you play golf.
First, you need to prepare yourself as you drive out to the golf course. You need to realize that you are playing golf, not thinking about other things such as work or on the phone. Your tempo must be set in the drive out to the course. Start to visualize the tempo of your golf swing you would like to maintain throughout the round. Commit to that tempo for the whole entire round. Secondly, I want you to think of how the golf course is supposed to be played? Do you use a driver on every hole? Does it have long par 3’s? Does it have a lot of short irons into the greens? Are the greens fast, slow, level or undulating? Is the chipping pump and runs or soft flop shots? You are going to use this information in the third step of this routine.
Second step- Once you get their and get checked in and you are up at the range, I want you to do some stretching. I feel that the hips, legs and lower back twist are the key stretches for the ability to make a good golf swing. Legs and hips are your foundation and the lower back must be ready to turn in the golf swing. I want these parts energized, strong and flexible when you go out on the course. Check out a golf exercise book for approximately four stretches in these areas.
The third and final part of you preparation is to practice the clubs you think you will be using on the golf course you will be playing. That is what you were figuring out in the car ride out to the course. Do not just go through the set. Focus on your tempo and practice the shots you will face on the course. Even if you have not played the course make an educated guess by the scorecard distances, putting green practice and ask the pro shop. Don’t forget the weather too. If it is windy, practice your knock down shots. An example of proper pre-round practice that I have my high level players include in their routine is if a par 3 happens to be a long iron, I have them tee up the appropriate club during their practice session on the range.
If you use this three step pre-round practice routine, you will head out to the first tee more prepared, confident and under control. Have fun and good golfing.
Source
2005 Southern California PGA Section Magazine
