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Pro’s Corner

Do You Warm Up Before Your Round?

Larry Ringer, Director of Instruction
2011 MAPGA Hall of Fame

Musket Ridge Golf Club, Myersville, Maryland

When I work with my students on the practice tee, I
ask them to go through their normal warmup session
prior to playing a round of golf. I also want them
to replicate their pre-round warmup with the clubs
they use most often. Keeping that in mind, I watch
them rush through this process and hurry up to get
to their driver and avoid spending the majority of
their warmup with their short irons, specifically wedges. After completing their
warmup, I ask them to tell me how many balls they just hit with each club. I then
write this down on a notepad and ask them to tell me how many drivers they hit
in a normal round of golf versus the number of wedges they use. When we analyze
this information, I can convince my students to spend more time with their shorter
clubs as opposed to with the longer ones. Almost immediately, a light comes
on. They now know how they can help lower their scores just by becoming more
comfortable with their wedges prior to the start of their round.
So, why I am talking about this? Quite honestly, I find that most players do not
take enough time to warmup and then when they do, they rush to get to the driver.
Remember, on most courses you will hit your driver about fourteen times and if you
shoot 72 each time out, that is about 20% of your golf score. In contrast, when you
play a round of golf, you use your short irons about 35% of the time and that does
not count your chips. So, why not spend more time warming up with wedges and
other short irons?
Throughout the years, I try to begin my pre-round warmup with about 20 balls
with my 60 degree and my pitching wedge. Then, I progress through my bag by
using an eight iron, a six iron, and a four iron (or hybrid) by hitting about five balls
with each club. After that, I hit three to five fairway woods and then finish off my
warm up with three to five drivers. Finally, I take my sixty-degree wedge and hit
about five more shots of various distances just to keep my rhythm prior to going to
the putting green. So, I just hit about fifty balls warming up and sixty percent of
those shots were with wedges and irons. That is what allows me to obtain a better
feel with my short game. It also helps me keep my score lower by being able to
have more feel and familiarity around the greens.
In review of what I am asking you to do, take more time warming up each time
you play and work harder on those short irons. Also, spend time after your round
on a specific area of weakness. If you drove it bad, then go to the range afterwards
and hit about 20 to 25 drives to try to improve. The same scenario exists for all of
your clubs, including your putter. Finally, if you make this warm up routine a habit
early in the season, then you won’t have to think about it. It will become a learned
habit and something that will make your round of golf more enjoyable through
lower scores.
I hope to see you on the practice tee at Musket Ridge this year and that you will be
putting this tip into your regular golf routine.

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