Warm-up vs. Practice

What do you do right before you play a round of golf? Unfortunately, for many of ... us, the minutes leading up to a round are often spent racing from the parking lot, grabbing a quick bite to eat and rolling a few putts on the practice green. If we have time to hit the range, it's typically spent rushing though a handful of range balls, desperately searching for a few swing keys that will get us through the next four or five hours.

Do you know who you'll never see doing that? Anyone who plays for a living on tour.

A proper warm-up is critical if you want to be at your best from your first tee shot to your final putt. Getting loose and priming your muscles is only part of the equation. As Titleist staff member Mark Blackburn explains in this video, the warm-up also prepares you mentally. It establishes rhythm, focuses your attention on targets and allows you to plan a strategy that is based on the swing you have that day.

The warm-up is not practice. Practice involves working on technique and building skills. Save practice for after your round, when you discover what areas of your game need the most work. The warm-up, in contrast, is simply a bridge to the first tee. And if you follow Mark's guidelines for building a solid warm-up routine, you'll have a new weapon to help you play your best every time you tee it up.