I would like a dime for every time I have been at the range with
a student, when a person comes up to hit and immediately takes out
their driver and starts banging balls.
I would like a dime for every time I have been at the range with a student, when a person comes up to hit and immediately takes out their driver and starts banging balls. This is a regular occurrence with most players. Now I don’t want to say that it’s not important to hit the driver when warming up for a round of golf.
But people, lets “warm up” before we start launching drives.
If you start by hitting some shorter iron shots, such as wedges through the 7 or 8 iron and then advance your way up through your set, you will see a much improved tempo. You will slowly stretch and warm up the muscles before advancing to the higher swing speed clubs such as the driver. You don’t see a pitcher get up in the bullpen and immediately start throwing 90 mph fastballs, do you? No, they work up to that just as you should work up to the driver swing.
Once you get through hitting drivers, hit a few soft pitch shots a short distance to make sure your tempo stays smooth. The last thing you want is to start your round of golf swinging all your clubs like your driver. After the range, go to the putting green and stroke some putts.
Getting a feel for the speed of the greens is critical. Try to hit putts of long, medium and short lengths. Finish your putting warm up by making about six to 10 short putts to give you the confidence that the ball is going in the hole for you today.
Don DeLorenzo is a PGA-certified instructor at Gilroy Golf Course. To schedule a lesson, call Gilroy GC at 848-0490.
