What to do when you don't have time to warm-up?

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By Padraic S

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  1. Padraic S

    Padraic S
    Spanish Fort, AL

    Hey guys I am 14 and I play on a high school team. I have a lot of matches where I have five minutes to hit range balls, putt and chip and tee-off. How can I play better in these situations and what are some ways to make more feel more loose and free when I play in these situations. Please help.

    -Padraic Sim Spanish Fort High 2018 graduate

    2014 sectional substate and state champion

    state junior champion

  2. Spudstarch

    Spudstarch
    Walnut Creek, CA

    Tell your parents/coach to drive faster!

    Kidding aside, I assume you do not drive to the course yourself. You can make use of your car ride and do stretches in your seat or even while you wait for your ride to pick you up. When you hit the course, I recommend focusing on checking the green speed as your first priority. So do a few distance put drills to target points.

    If you don't have time to chip, juggling a ball on your wedge can help tune in your sense of the ball weight and face angle for your chip shots. You can do this while walking to the first tee.

    Ideally you should put in enough practice with your full swing to have that locked into muscle memory. The day of the round is more to warm up so you don't hurt yourself, so you don't necessarily need to hit balls. Just go through the full motion of the swing slowly and deliberately focusing on stretching the muscles you will be using. If you have a safe enough area, you can then do full practice swings and check your divots for faults. You can do this on course as well, especially if the pace is slow and you are not disturbing anyone else.

    Stretching does not have to be done before the round starts. Stretching during the round will help you in the back nine.

    Do you have a coach you can talk to about this? I am sure they have years of experience.

    Good luck

    Disclaimer: This is based on my experience playing with partners who are never on time. I am not a professional, and you already play waaaaaay better than I do.

  3. Craig W

    Craig W
    Raleigh, NC

    Your appear to be doing everything right if you are state champ as an eighth grader

  4. Chris Hatem

    Chris Hatem
    Boston

    Warm up is partly physical and partly mental; you could tackle the mental aspect in the car!
  5. Connor K

    Connor K
    Neodesha, KS

    Stretching is key. I also play high school golf and we never have a lot of time to warm up. All I do is stretch as much as I can and it really helps. Hope I can help!
  6. Matt D

    Matt D
    Mahwah, NJ

    I too play on my middle school golf team and I just skip the range and chipping to just putt. I really think putting is the most important thing of your/my game. Unless you have a wicked slice/hook then just putt. 

  7. Jeff Y.

    Jeff Y.
    Clarksville, TN

    Arrive Earlier, use a stretchy band to stretch out prior to playing, it helps out with the motion prior to your first swing, good luck.

    Jeff Y. 

  8. Geoff

    Geoff
    PERTH, WA

    OMG 14 ,Iam 56 !

    Get to my age and you will know what stiffness is.

    My best advise would be, follow this man and every thing he says.

    The great Gary P.

    Now there's a man that knows about stretching .

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siLKM_Q3R3U&index=8&list=PL9kuhYOJSW2bZYBzbebLOCRqmGqXs8CFo

  9. tdogg21

    tdogg21
    Chambersburg, PA

    I never have much time before a round, so I know what you are feeling.  For me, stretching is the most important.  If I can get my back and legs stretched out before I tee off, I'm in much better shape.  That could be as simple as doing a few stretches and practice swings on the first tee.  Next if time allows, I roll a few putts to see how the greens are.  There is nothing worse than waiting until the first green to figure out the greens are much slower or much faster than you expected.  Last would be chipping.  Again, this would just be a feel exercise.  I just want to see how various types of chips are going to react to the greens.

    Hope at least some of this helps.  Good luck next season!

  10. Andy C

    Andy C
    Newmarket, ON

    Sounds like you're quite the golfer with a few championships under the belt. I've been reading a few golf books lately and one in particular : "Golf is a Game of Confidence". A few things that have helped me in this book are a few key concepts : staying in the moment (being aware of what is happening in the NOW), sticking with a routine and trusting your swing. I have a strong assumption that you are a talented young man who follows these concepts.

    If you don't have all that much time in warming up physically at the range - try visualizing and feeling the movements of your golf swing in the car before arriving to the golf course. If you don't any time to hit the range or practice green - trust your "go to" shot with a club you also trust. I'm sure your coach who rather pick a player with less talent with more confidence than a player that has greater talent with less confidence. Hope this helps

    AMC

  11. William S

    William S
    Birmingham, AL

    Relax, pop your back, and just swing smooth. I routinely roll from car to tee due to being able to tee off earlier than tee time. Just get to the tee on time and know you will have more opportunities to make up a shot or stroke. 

  12. etakmit

    etakmit
    Rochester, NY

    I generally run to the tee, tie my shoes while my partners tee off, when they're done im usually fishing tees and balls out of my bag.  So then I step up, take a huge swing and watch the ball travel about 10 inches to the delight of my laughing partners.

    On a good day the ball will at least clear the forward tee box!

    In your case though.  It's best to follow the direction of everyone else prior to my post - all great suggestions!

  13. Raymond G

    Raymond G
    Kle, TX

    Hit practice balls starting with wedges through fairway woods and driver then 20 putts both long and short not always at a cup just want to feel the green speed
  14. Tim S

    Tim S
    West Lafayette, IN

    This is an issue that I've encountered many times over the years.  What works best for me (beside swinging a couple of clubs together to loosen up) is to take out my 58 degree wedge and pitch 5-8 shots off the side of the tee (20 yds) or so, just to feel the ball come off the club face.  Good luck!

  15. ToddL

    ToddL
    Attleboro, MA

    STRETCH

    That's my 1 bit of advice.  The game will come to you if you are comfortable. Stretching will loosen you up and allow you to be more relaxed out there.

  16. Melvin S

    Melvin S
    Ocean Isle Beach, NC

    It is important to spend the last few minutes before teeing off in getting yourself mentally ready. The older you get the more important it is to have time to warm up.

  17. I would suggest that the worst thing you can do is rush to the range and rush to hit 5 balls....if anything do something to SLOW down the tempo.   That will help the most

  18. Max L

    Max L
    Killeen, TX

    Pretty impressive play thus far! I ran into the same problem during high school and college golf days. The biggest thing I would focus on is hitting 20 foot putts to get an idea on green speeds and then I would chip around near the 1st tee box. Chipping practice in general helps improve the short game but I used it to focus on getting the feeling of solid contact. I would also shut my face down an absurd amount and then adjust my swing mid-way through to try and still flush a chip shot with my normal trajectory. I would open the face a lot and do the same thing by releasing the wrists. I did this drill to try and get a good feel for the motion of my swing in the impact area.

    I assume that if you are in high school you play the same course almost every single day. When I did that and had practice matches/qualifying tournaments and didn't get a chance to practice before the round I would always hit the exact same tee shot, a low cut, regardless of what the wind was doing (I am from Texas where wind is a big deal here). I would practice the first tee shot again and again on the range so my body would develop a "fail-safe" swing for when I wasn't on during a particular round and so I could use it when I wasn't fully warmed up. Granted, I would lose maybe 20 yards with that shot but our first hole was only something like 415 so a 260 drive vs a 280 drive wasn't a big deal. My high school coach always told me in tournaments to put "par before pride."

    Finally, prepare yourself, mentally, to likely struggle for the first few holes on your ball-striking. Practice your short game as much as you can and when it gets sharp you'll have the reassurance, mentally, that you'll still make par on your first 2-3 holes because your short game can you bail you out. If you aren't warm, play to the safe side of the green and if you miss, your short game will assure you make a par and don't fall down 2-3 shots right out of the gate.

  19. MMHarmon32

    MMHarmon32
    St Louis, MO

    Military

    Padraic S said:

    Hey guys I am 14 and I play on a high school team. I have a lot of matches where I have five minutes to hit range balls, putt and chip and tee-off. How can I play better in these situations and what are some ways to make more feel more loose and free when I play in these situations. Please help.

    Stretch as much as you can on the way to the course.  Start on the range with your heaviest club (SW) and loosen up your swing muscles hitting half shots for a few balls, then a few full shots.  Go right to your 7 iron and hit 5-6 balls, then 5-6 drivers.  Move to the putting green and get a feel for the green speed with several lag putts.  Then make 4 footers until you have to be at the tee.

  20. Richard H

    Richard H
    Grand Prairie, TX

    Do some stretches and dynamic warm-up exercises like lunges, squats, and inchworms to get the body ready. You'd be much better off  doing that and perhaps a little putting, than to try and squeeze in a small bucket. 

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