Pre-round preparation: Part 1

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It is a known fact that PGA TOUR professionals will utilize a block of time prior to their tee time for preparation. The purpose of this time frame is to prepare the golfer for the upcoming round. It presents a time to get the body, mind and golf swing ready to execute the shots from the tee to green for 18 holes.

Sean Cochran

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA TOUR regularly and works with TOUR professionals, most notably Masters and PGA Champion Phil Mickelson.
He has been involved in the production of numerous golf fitness videos and books including Core Golf Fitness. He has authored numerous articles with publication credits in Golf Digest, Sports Illustrated, and Golf Magazine.
In addition to working with Mickelson, Cochran has worked with LPGA Champion Hee Won Han, U.S. Open Champion Corey Pavin, world-renowned golf instructor Rick Smith and short game expert Dave Pelz.
Cochran continues to speak at seminars and clinics around the country on golf fitness. In his free time he enjoys golf and surfing. He resides in Del Mar, Calif.
To learn more about Sean and his golf fitness programs, click here

Quite often much of the preparation process occurs behind "closed doors" and not in view of the public eye. What the professional does off the driving range, outside of the short game area, or away from the putting green goes unseen. As a result, amateurs are unaware of the purpose or modalities utilized in a pre-round preparation program.

To provide you with some insight on what the pros do prior to a round and help you personally develop a pre-round preparation plan, our next series of articles is going to do just that: develop a pre-round warm-up to provide you with greater success during your round of golf.

As stated previously the purpose of a pre-round warm-up is to prepare the body, mind, and golf swing for the upcoming round. As it pertains to the body, this time frame is utilized to get the muscles and the joints ready to swing a golf club. To achieve this goal a series of warm-up drills and exercises are implemented.

Looking at the mental side of a pre-round program, a golfer will begin to focus on the upcoming task. This process can be completed thru some actual focusing techniques or thru the physical steps (i.e. warm-up exercises and practice drills) taken before stepping on the first tee.

The final step of the pre-round warm-up pertains to the golf swing. This is the time frame spent on the range, at the short game area, or putting green. The purpose of is two-fold; number one is it develops "feel" in the body for the golf swing, and secondly provides feedback to the player on what their golf swing is doing that particular day.

As you can see from the information above there is a great deal more to a pre-round warm-up than initially realized. We can see how it is an integral part of the professional's game and the effects it can have on the round. So it goes without saying, the implementation of a pre-round warm-up into your golf game can have a positive effect on how well you play.

To begin the development of a pre-round warm-up we start where the majority of pros begin -- the body. This is the portion of the program where the focus is upon getting the muscles and joints ready to swing a golf club. The time frame for this process can be anywhere from five minutes to 30 minutes depending upon the individual and physical needs of that individual. Most amateurs do not have the time to spend 30 minutes on warm-up exercises, so for the purpose of our warm-up program we will look to make this section a 10-minute process.

The first warm-up exercise we will use to prepare the body for golf is Torso Rotations. This is a simple exercise to perform and targets the hips and lower back. Both of these are body parts that are "tight" and cause movement restrictions in the amateur.

Begin this drill by placing the feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, torso upright, and hands in the small of your lower back. Start to slowly rotate the hips and torso in a circle to the left. Allow your ankles, knees, and hips to rotate. Continue to rotate the hips in a circle to the left for 10-15 repetitions. Once complete, perform the rotation again to your right. Begin the rotations slowly, increase the size of the circles as the hips and lower back begin to loosen.

Remember a pre-round warm-up program is an integral part of how a PGA TOUR player prepares for a round of golf. If we take a page out of their "play book" it should be a part of ours as well.