Pre - shot routine

[Shooter McPowick]

Assess lie and yardage and choose a club. I often don’t aim where I think I’m aiming so I look for a mark about 2-3 feet in front of the ball on my target line, align the face of the club, take a stance and go.
I do forget to do it at least a handful of times a round when I’m distracted though.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Interesting. Hit the practice ground tonight. Wanted to work on a swing thought but also decided to really hit each ball with a degree of realism so hit 5 balls working on the swing and then another 5 going through my routine. Definitely saw some improvement in terms of consistency following the routine. Wasn't too fussed on where the balls went in the batches of 5 when I was focusing on the swing thought but just wanted to get the "feel". When I then went to the 5 routine balls I simply went through my routine and pulled the trigger. No swing thought even though I'd just had a specific thought moments before

 

[BrianM]

Worked ok for most of the round, can see why the pro’s and better players do it.

 

[Eagle2]

Feel like its worth pulling this back up to the top for anyone that doesn’t bother or has never consciously tried to find one and struggles...

I shot one of my best medal scores yesterday and played so well tee to green without the usual drop off towards the end of the round. I would say I need to apply the same thinking on putts to limit giving away shots when I have put myself into a good position. I hit 13/14 fairways yesterday and believe its all down to the 10/15 second routine I have put in before pulling the trigger.

Kudos to anyone who doesn’t need one but I will be working hard to stick to mine now.

 

[HampshireHog]

Nothing complicated for me 2 practice swings and go.

Why? I like to feel the club making contact with the ground at the correct point before I play the ball. It confirms my setup in my mind.

No practice before putting.

 

[Shooter McPowick]

No practice before putting.

I’ve found this to be quite effective for my putting too, assess and hit, seem to be very inconsistent when I take practice strokes in the green...

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Not swinging it well but getting it round in 33-35 points at the moment but I am trying hard to stick to a pre-shot routine of a swing trying to feel what I'm trying for, a full swing, step in, one look at the target and bang. It is definitely helping (in my own mind at least) and definitely feeling more confident over the ball even if the swing isn't firing

 

[Hackers76]

Always take my glove off after each shot so my ore shot routine has always been standing behind the ball and putting it back on just to help compose. Don’t have a routine in terms of with club in hand. However lately I have stopped using a glove for wedge shots and until reading this had not even thought about the way the glove has helped previously.

 

[BrianM]

Just thought I’d add to this, when I don’t ‘think’ I normally play well, but this is something I’m really going to try and follow through on ?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Always take my glove off after each shot so my ore shot routine has always been standing behind the ball and putting it back on just to help compose. Don’t have a routine in terms of with club in hand. However lately I have stopped using a glove for wedge shots and until reading this had not even thought about the way the glove has helped previously.

I've always done this too to the point where it has become an in-joke with the roll up crowd. It is my trigger the shot good or bad is done when I take it off and to forget the shot and focus on the next. When it goes back on I am in shot mode again (having worked out my yardage, club selection) go through my routine and repeat. I don't like a glove for wedge shots. Never have so simply go through the routine hit it and have a five second rule after it stops and then it's done

 

[jamiet7682]

I just concentrate on staying relaxed, only take practice swings when chipping around the green, never on full shots, tend to find if i take a practice swing i end up not getting my weight forward on the actual shot, no idea why.

 

[sunshine]

The pre-shot routine is not necessarily about waggles or anything.

For me this is mine:

Check the yardage.
Check the lie.
Decide on the type of shot I want and where I want to end up.
Pick the club.
Stand behind the ball picture the shot and the line I'm taking.
Choose a point about a foot or two in front of the ball that is on the line I'm on.
Address the ball lining up to the point I've picked.
Look at the target.
Swing.

Sounds long winded but this genuinely can be done within 30-45 seconds. Once I've addressed the ball I would say that I'm hitting easily within 10 seconds.

This isn't long winded. Your pre-shot routine starts with your 5th line: stand behind the ball and picture the shot.

I have a similar routine, except my target is a point in the distance on an extension of my target line (e.g. a tree trunk behind the green). An extra 10 seconds lining up on the tee saves a lot of time when I find the fairway instead of spending a couple of minutes searching in the rough or reaching for a provisional.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Interesting to see that my last two rounds have been poor, with today a real low and of course what was one thing that went straight out the window? Of course, the pre-shot routine. I doubt it'll have saved my round but it might have at least given me a "feeling" over the shot.

 

[Eagle2]

Interesting to see that my last two rounds have been poor, with today a real low and of course what was one thing that went straight out the window? Of course, the pre-shot routine. I doubt it'll have saved my round but it might have at least given me a "feeling" over the shot.

I have really stayed strong with it especially off the tee and my fairway stats have been amazing (where I have missed hasn’t been horrendous either as I am not as wayward)

13/14
11/14
6/8 (10 holes before the lightening hit tonight)

The only one I missed in the 1st round was the 18th where I never followed it... it was the only bad hole in a board comp that cost me a possible win so the significance of it has really made me stick to the routine since.

it’s also opened my eyes to my GIR conversion from approach shots and guess what I haven’t really been doing on those wedge shots ?

still recommending this strongly to anyone that hasn’t tried to commit to it.

 

[ScienceBoy]

GASP

Grip
Aim
Stance
Play

Remember to separate “out of bubble” and “in bubble”.

Picking club, checking wind etc are “out of bubble” and can be done before you start your PSR. I do them on the way up to my ball or waiting for turn etc.

Get a PSR trigger, step into the bubble or however you term it and then run the PSR from there.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I have really stayed strong with it especially off the tee and my fairway stats have been amazing (where I have missed hasn’t been horrendous either as I am not as wayward)

13/14
11/14
6/8 (10 holes before the lightening hit tonight)

The only one I missed in the 1st round was the 18th where I never followed it... it was the only bad hole in a board comp that cost me a possible win so the significance of it has really made me stick to the routine since.

it’s also opened my eyes to my GIR conversion from approach shots and guess what I haven’t really been doing on those wedge shots ?

still recommending this strongly to anyone that hasn’t tried to commit to it.

Had a horror round yesterday. No PSR and got quicker and quicker in my tempo and ended up with a massive hip slide (old fault). Working on posture and wider takeaway (key bits from last lesson a few weeks back) and so went back to my PSR to get the feeling of taking the club away as I wanted. Much better and definitely feel that sticking to a PSR is a huge benefit. Maybe it's a mental crutch that I'm clinging to but a definite consistency in the rounds I use it for compared to the ones where I get lazy and don't

 

[Robster59]

The pre-shot routine is not necessarily about waggles or anything.

For me this is mine:

Check the yardage.
Check the lie.
Decide on the type of shot I want and where I want to end up.
Pick the club.
Stand behind the ball picture the shot and the line I'm taking.
Choose a point about a foot or two in front of the ball that is on the line I'm on.
Address the ball lining up to the point I've picked.
Look at the target.
Swing.

Sounds long winded but this genuinely can be done within 30-45 seconds. Once I've addressed the ball I would say that I'm hitting easily within 10 seconds.

So at say 50-60 seconds a swing on a round of 80, that's about 60-80 minutes a round addressing the ball.

 

[Swingalot]

3 things every professional golfer does, no matter what their
swing looks like or how they are playing:

they all practise a lot
they all warm up pre game, every time they play.
they all have a PSR and they stick to it no matter what.

compare that to most amatuers.....