Warming up? Overrated!!!

[Bonecracker]

Called my buddy yesterday at 12:00 to see how many we had for our normal Sunday Game because the tempature was going to be 80 and not a cloud in the sky! He asked me where I was and why was I late as they were on the first tee waiting on me!! See we normally play at 1:00 and I guess I forgot about the change in plan for this Sunday. Good thing I was only a couple of miles from the golf course as I speeded up to keep them from waiting toooo long . I parked my truck and quickly jumped out and changed my shoes, grabed my bag and ran to the first tee! Took 3 practice swings and hit it 260 down the middle!! Wow is practice overrated! Finished the front with one eagle, two birdies, and one bogie. Went to the back and played pretty good with a bunch of pars and one bogie on #13. From hole # 15 I went crazy and finished with 4 birdies! Ended up with 66 which is my low round of the year!! Has anyone else done something like this because it is not my normal routine?????? I guess practice is OVERRATED!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mike_C]

Warming up was over rated when I was 16, but not now at 46....

How you can do this at 48 is an acomplishment. But you did say it was 80 degrees and the middle of the afternoon. Try it at 7:30 in the morning when it is 45 degrees.......

[glcoach]

Warming up is over-rated. I have played my best golf doing exactly as you have done.

If I do warm up now, it's usually about 10 balls (couple of wedges, mid-irons and drivers). I always want to get in practice mode on the range and it screws up my game. If anything, I spend some time on the putting green getting a feel for the speed, but I don't putt much either, probably about 10-15 putts max a couple of bump and runs and off we go. Total warm up time: 7 minutes.

The range is for suckers. Carlos Franco, Angel Cabrera, a lot of others, they don't warm up extensively either, and they do ok.

[ericld]

I HAVE to hit at least 5-7 balls. I will say that the longer I play golf the worse I get. unsure if it's head or if I can't feel my swing get faster and out of tempo.

[Pdougherty]

if I want to play well I HAVE to hit a minimum of about 40 balls before I play. Depending on how much time I have and how many balls people left down at the range I will hit 80 or so before I play.

[pb056]

depends what levels ur playing at, dont think that doing at tourney would help u prepare properly IMO but then agian there is more to warming up than just hittin balls

[Young04]

not for me, it ain't. i also play max once a week though, and probably don't have the natural feel that you do.

minimum, gotta hit 10 balls and take at least 5 putts.

ideally - 30 to 40 balls, 10 minutes putting, 10 minutes chipping/pitching/bunker shots - total 30 to 40 minutes.

[beachgrovejunior]

Dont hit a single practice ball, putt or chip in a big tournament, then tell me how it goes?

[TM golf guy]

I have played like that without warming up, but I find that I play better on a consistent basis when I hit 10 balls and about 5 putts.

[Jim_0068]

Well, used to for Carlos Franco lol.

[glcoach]

C'mon Carlos got his card back! Must work during Q-School

[Lake]

[b]Playing the golf course for me is one of three things[/b]:
1) Test of my skills (tournament)
2) Practice
3) Casual with friends/family

[b]I practice for each of these three situations differently[/b]:
1) 2 hrs. of preparation- stretching, hitting short shots, full shots, first shot on 1st tee, and putting
2) straight to the tee
3) small bag of balls & 10 minutes on putting green

These are just my routines...I do the same thing everytime...its brings a calmness to ME
I think the main point is routine...yours, mine, the next guys....whatever floats your boat the best!!!!

I always admired Bruce Lietzke's ability to balance his life and play world class golf....but if it was me on TOUR I would be next to V.J. asking for the sod truck:) I just love it!!!!

Lake

[ezra76]

I play better without "warming up" as well it seems. I recall rushing to the course like you did a few months back in the afternoon. Hit a nice cut off the tee, nearly holed a GW and started off with a birdie. I'd rather putt than take full swings before a round. My usual routine is to take some practice swings with my SW to loosen up, that's about it. If I had my choice I'd hit 2 dozen wedge shots 30-110 yds. then a couple dozen putts.

Nice round BTW.

[Bonecracker]

I guess where I was going to with my comments was I also like to warm up before playing. This was not normal for me in anyway shape or form. I love to practice, chip, and putt before my round. It just blows my mind that the day I have my best round of the year was the day I was least prepared! Go figure!!!

[bpalmer21]

Lol.

I dont really need to warm up my golf game but I do need to stretch, work out, run, lift, eliptical, or bike first. I have to do something to "break" loose then Im ok to go, if not I hurt before during and after. Im 24.

I havent warmed up for years, maybe 10 balls or so just to let my back pop. 5 putts is more than enough.

If we dont warm up we like to take a "complimentary" par on the first hole, lol sounds funny but it helps relax. 8 years later, it now is something you can accrue, so if you par the first you can use you free par later, lol. Been a running joke in my group for years.

BP

[hoganfan924]

very hit or miss for me. 3 years ago I shot the best 9 hole score of my life to that point (32) after running to the first tee after a 5 hour drive. Other times my swing's been off and I knew I had to hit some balls to have any confidence in playing well.

[birdie_man]

I never hit balls before a round..........don't have a range at our course. Usually I hit pitches- if anything.

I make sure I stretch etc. though.

[Jim_0068]

A lot of people will golf better when they are TIGHT because as Manzella says, "they have less slack in the chain."

[Hairpie]

[quote name='Mike_C' post='818818' date='Dec 10 2007, 07:17 AM']Warming up was over rated when I was 16, but not now at 46....

How you can do this at 48 is an acomplishment. But you did say it was 80 degrees and the middle of the afternoon. Try it at 7:30 in the morning when it is 45 degrees.......[/quote]

Exactly......and in reference to your avatar its good to see another Social D fan in their mid 40's....

[Golfchicago]

I am not as young as some of you bucks. I need to warm up especially in colder weather. I am like Lake when it comes to tournament golf. I have a very specific routines that builds confidence and calmness. Also I'd like to know what the ball is doing. Am I playing a draw or hitting it straight? I'd hate to bogey the first hole because I didn't anticipate the direction for the day. I've run up to the first tee and played just fine, but if I have the option, I like to warm up.

[yourhonoryourhonor]

[quote name='Bonecracker' post='818807' date='Dec 10 2007, 09:09 AM']Called my buddy yesterday at 12:00 to see how many we had for our normal Sunday Game because the tempature was going to be 80 and not a cloud in the sky! He asked me where I was and why was I late as they were on the first tee waiting on me!! See we normally play at 1:00 and I guess I forgot about the change in plan for this Sunday. Good thing I was only a couple of miles from the golf course as I speeded up to keep them from waiting toooo long . I parked my truck and quickly jumped out and changed my shoes, grabed my bag and ran to the first tee! Took 3 practice swings and hit it 260 down the middle!! Wow is practice overrated! Finished the front with one eagle, two birdies, and one bogie. Went to the back and played pretty good with a bunch of pars and one bogie on #13. From hole # 15 I went crazy and finished with 4 birdies! Ended up with 66 which is my low round of the year!! Has anyone else done something like this because it is not my normal routine?????? I guess practice is OVERRATED!!!!!!!!!!![/quote]


Just think,,, you might have shot 62 if you warmed up??????

[kamtile]

Most of the ranges in my area have those short flight balls that go about 75% of the distance a normal ball goes and if I hit too many I find myself overswinging trying to get them to go the correct distance .Its all in my head I know ,But I cant seem to help it .So I dont hit many range balls anymore because it takes about 15 holes to get my swing back if I do .

[jeremyblre21]

It could be your mental game.. I don't warm up to change anything just loosen up, get a feel and gain some confidence. My friend does better when not warming up before a round because he is a negative golfer and starts painting a picture of his round before he steps on the first tee. My friend acknowleges his tendencies now and just practices after the round or goes to the range and doesn't play a round for a practice time.

If your missing it right on the range... most golfers will think the same on the first tee and compensate. Its a tough fear to conquer to separate the range from the first tee but most good players realize the range is not a great predictor of your future play.

[mcbush25]

I don't always hit golf balls on the range before I play, but I do stretch. If I didn't stretch then I would be in trouble. As for hitting balls on the range before it has it's benefits, but majority of the time I just stretch before I play and that works weel enough for me.

[soberguy16]

well unfortunately my home course doesn't have a range, so i have the option of hitting balls into a net if i please...i normally just stretch bc i need to nowadays and take some practice swings...i always have to hit a few chips and putts though...not many but just to get a feel for the speed of the greens and my wedges. I do tend to play better though if i hit at the range...or at least im much more confident on the first tee or first few shots. At our club chamionship this year i came at 6:30 am hungover on like 3 hours of sleep and hit like 5 putts, stretched, and took a few practice swings. Absolutely BOMBED a drive on the first hole left side of the fairway and only had a 3/4 lob wedge left into the 430 yard hole. I was thinking o i guess i really didnt need to hit any balls. Yea, and then i hit about 3 inches behind the ball on my wedge, leaving it like 30 yards short on the 80 yard shot and ended up bogeying the first hole. Then made a GOOD BOGEY on the second hole which is a short par 5 that i hadnt made worse than a 5 on seemingly in years (punch out of trees for second, good third but like 5 yards short in rough (pin on very front), duffed a chip, chipped on like 6 feet above the hole and made a great left to right slider downhill for bogey). It sucked thinking I was gonna maybe be 2 under after 2 (after tee shot on #1) to being 2 over and worrying about just making solid contact for the first like 5 holes. Thankfully the back nine was much better...a near hole in one on a driveable par 4 and a few more birds left me at even par and somehow that was good enough for medalist...anyhow i dont ever warm up but i think that it would be good for me if i did!

[Swingtheclub]

when I was young and flexible it did not matter much I have played some good rounds without warming up.

But the last few years even with warming up it would take three or four holes to loosen my body.


Because of this I changed my warm up

Usually I hit four or five seven irons with a half swing then four or five 3/4 then the same with a five iron then I will hit a bunch maybe 15 balls with a five wood seems too loosen me up good.

Then a couple of drivers four or five wedges and I am good.

I usually hit a few long putts to get the speed and a couple of short ones. If I have time I might hit a couple of chip shots.

I call this process snap crackle and pop then again I am old

[g8a_golf]

Just today, I got to the course, hit a few chips and went into the golf shop to buy a bucket and she said "you can go on the tee right now if you want. I can pair you up with a 2some." I said "OK" and went on to shoot a personal best 73...

[willamette]

John Daly's new "instruction" book, which is mostly full of drivel in my opinion, has a great section on warming up before a round that I think would work great. Say the average player has 30 minutes before a round:

In this order:
- 5 minutes of 3-foot putts....gain confidence for the day and get a feel for the ball, aim, and putter.
- 5 minutes of 25 foot putts....average range for putts when GIR and get a feel for speed.
- 15 minutes of chipping and pitching....thats where most shots are gained/lost for the average golfer
- 5 minutes of full swing @ the range with your usual approach iron to an average (425ish) par 4; or full swing sand/gap wedges. DON'T break out the driver...keep the swing tight and controlled and your warm up purposeful.

Great advice if I've ever heard it.


As for me, if I remember I shot my personal best -1 for 9 holes with no full swing warm up. Hit a few chips and that was it. Also shot my best 18 holes +2 with no warm up.