Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing for failure.”
Preparation is everything, and that holds true in many things in life. From your daily routine getting ready for work, to that day off round of golf, proper preparation and warm up is essential.
We’ve all been there. You wake up with 25 minutes until your tee time, and the course is 22 minutes away. You’re in the shower for a minute and a half, brush your teeth for 30 seconds, dress in 45 seconds, splash some coffee in a to-go cup, drive like a hyena and arrive on the first tee as your group is walking down the fairway.
That’s not the type of warm-up that makes for a good round. And you’ll find yourself haranguing the cart girl for a Snickers on the 4th hole, downing a pair of hot dogs at the turn, and playing such bad golf that you’re drinking Bud Light Lime early on the back nine. While we’ve all been there, it’s not a great place to be. Too many mornings like that and your body will begin to fight back with stiffness, random pains, headaches, and a little too much extra baggage around the waist.
Now, you wouldn’t start your day at work that way, and expect to have a good outcome. Considering you’re looking at a day on the course as opposed to a day at the office, getting up and around, with a proper start for the day is going to make it a better one. Let’s take a look at the comparison of warming up for a round, and a typical day at the office.
Get a proper start
If you’re going to play a round of golf, you may as well do it right! It’s a 4+ hour commitment, and it’s only fun if you’re in a position to hit a few good shots, maybe make a birdie or two, and par the tough 18th hole to take $20 off your foursome (which, of course, will just go to the first pitcher at the 19th hole).
Think of it as any work day, not like a day off. Most of us know how important it is to start the day off with a good breakfast, and with the impending round on the horizon you’ll need to have some proper nutrition to be at the top of your game, just like a day at work.
So set your alarm clock and set a backup alarm clock. Make time for a decent breakfast that’s got a good dose of protein and healthy fat to it; those will keep you going all day. I’m a fan of oatmeal with berries and cream, or eggs scrambled in grass-fed butter and a banana. You’ve got slow-release carbs, protein, and fat to keep you full and well-fueled through a round.
Coffee or tea?
Caffeine has actually been shown to help lower golf scores, so go for a cup of coffee or green tea — just make sure you don’t brew it espresso-strength. The first-tee jitters are bad enough without chemical enhancement. If you’re trying to lose weight, green tea is a great option: it’s loaded with a compound called EGCG, an antioxidant that shows a lot of promise as a sort of fat-kryptonite. And it’s a little lower in caffeine than coffee, so it’ll help keep your mind alert but your body jitter-free.
My norm is actually a cup of coffee with breakfast and then a double-insulated thermos full of green tea that I sip throughout the round. Hydration, focus, and fat-burning power, and refreshing to boot.
At the course
It’s never good to show up to a meeting right as it starts, and when you have a big day ahead at the office it’s a good idea to allow plenty of time before you hunker down and get to work, to do a little preparation for the day’s workload, or planned meetings. Same holds true for getting to the course. You’ll likely not play too well if you’re running from the parking lot to the first tee to beat the starter’s call.
If you can swing it, try to arrive at the course 45 minutes early. More than that and you’ll find yourself getting antsy, but any less and you won’t get an adequate warmup in. I like doing a few stretches in the parking lot and then a few more at the driving range.
Yeah, you might get a reputation as “that guy who stretches in the parking lot”, but soon you’ll be hearing “yeah, Parking-Lot-Stretch-Guy beat me by 10 strokes today!” and next thing you know, everyone’s stretching in the parking lot.
The parking lot stretches are simple. You’ve barely had time to get the blood flowing after a quick breakfast and a drive to the course, so a quick jog in place or a few jumping jacks will loosen your joints up. Pull out your driver, put it behind your neck and stretch your arms along it. Bend at the waist and rotate the head and grip at the opposite foot to get your back activated. Then a few dynamic knee-to-chest stretches will help get your legs prepared for a long day of long drives.
Driving range
I always recommend heading to the driving range after that. Think of this in terms of heading into an important meeting and taking time to adequately prepare before you head into the boardroom, or manager’s office. You wouldn’t think of it. Just like you’d spend some time at your desk reviewing any pertinent information you’ll need to have at the ready, or rehearsing a presentation, you’ll need to have some preparation work done before heading to the first tee. So be sure to hit the range and find a groove and rhythm to your swing for the day.
Hit a few ¾ shots with whatever club you want. Most players start with wedges, but I like Tom Watson’s strategy of starting with a 4-iron. If you stripe it, you know it’s going to be a good day. If you blade it, hey — it’s a 4-iron. They’re hard to hit and you haven’t even warmed up yet!
Once you’ve loosened up a little bit with the ¾ swings, it’s time to become…Driving Range Stretch Guy! Don’t worry, a lot of the best golfers in the world are Driving Range Stretch Guy. “The Most Interesting Man In Golf”, Miguel Angel Jimenez, has one of the most entertaining driving range stretch routines in the world. And he does it while chomping a cigar. And he’s played in The Masters. And he’s aced #17 at Sawgrass.
High kicks, where you extend your left arm out and then kick it with your right foot (and vice versa), help to loosen up your hamstrings and prepare you for a day of thunderous drives and long walks to your ball. You can do them standing still, or you can high kick all down the range for maximum intimidation of your opponents.
My favorite dynamic stretch on the driving range is the hip stretch plus twist. You start out in a pushup/plank position, and bring your left foot up to your hand keeping your hips and back flat. That hand then extends and you raise your left arm to the sky, getting a good shoulder rotation and arm stretch. Return your hand and foot to the starting pose and repeat on the other side.
These full-body movements loosen up your ligaments, joints, and muscles and prepare your mind for the full-body rotation and coordination that the golf swing requires.
Once you’ve spent a scant five minutes being Driving Range Stretch Guy, hit about twenty-five more balls, making sure you include a few half-wedges, some full short irons, and some nice drives. I like to make sure that I end up hitting a great version of the tee shot I’m about to hit. If it’s a long par 5, I rip a driver. If it’s a short par 4 that requires a smart play, I’ll hit a nice cut three-wood while visualizing the first hole.
If you screw it up, hit another one. When you’re warming up for a round, you should never hit all the balls in the bucket, because you don’t want to risk the last one being a bad one. That’s the one you’ll remember on the first tee.
Off to the putting green
A good putting green session should follow. All you’re trying to do here is get a feel for speed and a good picture of the ball going in the hole. One or two from long range to start, then three or four from about 20 feet. Then putt from ten feet until you make one. Once you’ve got that image in your head, move to five feet until you make two in a row. Finish strong with four or five 2-3 footers that all go in, and you’re ready for the first tee.
How to stay fresh during the round
So how do you keep these good feelings going? Just like keeping a stash of snacks or some drinks in your desk will help you to get through a tough stretch at the office, do the same with your golf bag, or stock up the cart before you head to the first tee.
Well, if you feel yourself getting hungry or thirsty during the round, you’ve already let it go too long. I like to keep a bag of salted almonds in my bag. The fat and protein keep your energy levels up, and the salt helps keep your electrolytes in balance. Then you can get by on just water and green tea as there’s no need for those syrupy sports drinks that have way too much sugar in them to really do you much good.
You’ll need a slow flow of low-GI carbs too, so keep a banana or two in your bag. Or you can take it the extra mile and do as the Big Cat does: Tiger’s preferred meal during a round is a steady diet of peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and I’ve heard he’s partial to a dollop of honey on there too. Use whole wheat bread to avoid the blood sugar spikes that can accompany white bread.
The key here is balance. Many golfers think that fueling up with sugary sports drinks, Snickers bars and bananas will suffice, but all that does is carb-load you and set you up for sugar crashes and foggy mind. You need to make sure your main intake packs a big dose of protein and good fat.
Take it to the next level
If you’re really ambitious, fire up a smoothie in the morning. Throw in some protein powder, greek yogurt, half a banana, a few blueberries, some almond butter, almond milk, and maybe even some chia seeds so you can impress your golf buddies by yelling “ch-ch-ch-chia!” when you drain a birdie putt from downtown.
I always recommend walking too, unless it’s 100+ degrees or you’re injured or otherwise unable to. Sure, driving a golf cart is fun, but there are few better fat-fighting activities than the 15,000+ steps you can rack up on the golf course during a round. The rhythm of a regular gait will help regulate your golf swing and give you more time to strategize your next shot (or forget about that last one that you hit 50 yards sideways). Think of walking the course being similar to that of taking your time at work to methodically approach a problem or meeting. By walking, you have time to think about that next shot just like you would to prepare for your next assignment, meeting or project. The more time you take to prepare, the better chance you’ll have of making a successful decision, whether it’s which club to hit or how to tackle the next marketing project.
So there you have it: everything you need for a killer warmup and a new personal record on the links! By taking the same approach to your round’s warm up, preparation and execution as you would a regular day at work, you can be sure to be getting the most enjoyment out of your day on the course, as well as likely see a better result on your scorecard.
So hit ‘em long, hit ‘em straight, and hit ‘em a little less frequently than the guy you’re playing against. Next thing you know, “Parking Lot Stretch Guy” will be “Sipping Scotch Recounting His Victory Guy”.
