Free Golf Training Tips

When you arrive to the course to play a round, do you have a warmup routine?

You should.

Here’s what I do when I get to the golf course and am trying to get my golf muscles warmed up.

First, and most importantly is to stretch out. I usually start out by taking my 3 iron and placing it behind my back parallel to the ground so that I have one hand on the handle and one hand on the clubhead. Now I will turn my hips left and right, back and forth to get some good mobility worked in. I’ll do this slowly about five times on each side.

Now I will outstretch my arms behind me by raising the club higher and higher. Lift it up as far you can go. Let your muscles know that you’re getting ready to use them. Let your stretch last for five or six seconds.

My next stretch is similar but does not involve a club. I’ll reach my arms behind my back and clasp my hands together. In a similar stretch to the method above, I’ll raise my hands as high as I can go. Straighten your arms and feel the stretch on your triceps.

Ok, now grab yourself three long irons like a 2, 3, and 4-iron (or 3, 4, 5). Holding all three clubs at once, gently swing your clubs back and forth a few times mimicking your golf swing. (No need to go over your head-on backswing.) This routine is probably more mental than physical, but I think the weight helps my mind connect with muscle memory.

For my final warmup stretching routine uses a 7-iron.

I’ll hold it with my golf grip, however a very loose version of it. Just a nice easy grip. Now I will swing at back-and-forth mimicking my golf swing again. This time I’m not counting swings, I’m concentrating solely on feel. I’ll continue to keep swinging back-and-forth for about a minute.

During this process, I’ll begin to vary the speed so that my downswing is quicker than my backswing. The idea I’m going for here is “fluid motion”. My goal here is to try to make these swings feel as natural as possible.

Once I feel I’ve got a good rhythm going, I’ll start to work my hips into it. I’ll begin to drop my right hip a little bit on each swing (I’m right-handed). I’ll try to gently brush the ground to give the grass or turf a nice little “ppfffttt” sound as my clubhead reaches full extension. A major purpose of this routine is to remind my body of the timing involved in my swing. This technique helps to bring back muscle memory.

Once I feel confident in how my swing is going I’ll stop.

Finally, I’ll take about five full speed practice swings to finalize the sensation.

That’s it! I’m ready to tee off.