Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 11,972
I don’t mind hitting first.
First tee I do a few leg swings vertical and horizontal. Some high step overs forwards and backwards. Then I extend my arms palms forward and reach back until I get a chest shoulder and arm stretch. Then I hug myself with my hands reaching the back of my shoulders or on tight days just enough to feel the stretch in my traps and rhomboids in particular. Two or three hugs and then I’ll start swinging two long irons with two in one hand at a time. Then I’ll make some 2 club swings until I feel some decent club head speed. This all takes about 3 minutes. Then I’ll go into pre shot routine.
Tee it up with the number near the top of the ball for straight shots. Slightly inside of the starting line for a draw, and slightly outside for a fade. The number is my focal point whenever looking at the ball on the first shot of any hole. I stand behind the ball and visualize the intended shot type. Then I approach the ball from the right handed hitting side. I take a few really loose (not maintaining much tension in my legs and back by allowing my heels to come off the ground a few inches until I feel a connection between my back foot and the starting line target. Then I’ll step towards the ball. Check the face and starting line target, waggle to check that the leading edge is in good position, then if I’m satisfied with the line I adjust the head laterally to get the center of the face is directly in line with the back of the ball. Then if satisfied with the setup, I fix my eyes on the number on the ball. Hit.
Note that I forgot to tell myself to keep my head down lol. Sometimes I forget that important part and I hit early to the demise of many balls.
It’s generally the same for full shots at the green except my focal point is usually the dimple on the top of the ball.
Might sound like a long routine but it’s pretty quick. The biggest issue is finding a swing path that feels congruent with the ball and the starting line.
