For those you are under the impression that golf is a game that is played at a leisurely pace and hence does not really require a great degree of fitness are sadly mistaken. Golf Fitness and Form is definitely an important factor to consider for a good golf game. Any sport requires proper warm-up and so does golf. Just as you see professional athletes and sportspeople warming up before any event, you will also see professional golfers going through their pre-game warm-up routines. So you can be sure that by the time the professionals step up on the course, they are ready to swing their best shots.
You may consider ‘warm-up’ as running from your car to the club and then to the course, but it is best to actually have warm-up exercises planned before you go onto course, or else you are going to be doomed to some really unsteady first few holes that are going to end in a disappointing round for you.
More importantly, you may never get a chance to improve your game if you start every game with this kind of half-preparedness on the physical front. Get into a good fitness and warm-up routine and you will be surprised at the results.
• Arrive early at the course. You need time to not only run through your warm-up routines but before that you need to change and get your act together. There is no point in feeling rushed and hurrying out to the golf course in the same mood. Give yourself enough time to not just physically warm up but also for mental preparation. Complete your warm-up routine at a leisurely pace and think about your strategy and whether you would like to try something different in your game from last time. Keep it slow and easy and learn to relax.
• Warm-up begins on the green. Contrary to what many may think, putting is one of the hardest jobs of a golf game and requires immense concentration. Your putting has to be smooth and slow to get it right every time. Spend as much time as you can warming up on the green first. This will put you at an advantage, as you are now very much aware of the speed of the greens. Further, you are starting your game not a frenetic pace trying to drive hard but at a fairly smooth pace which will not only help in your driving but throughout the game. It does not help if you start warming up at the start, because that leaves you all fired up and then once you are on the putting green, you need to suddenly calm down and focus.
To warm up on the greens, spend some time entirely focused on putting the ball, either to a tee or a coin. The best way would be to place the coin in various positions at different angles or maybe at different distances and try to connect the ball to it. This will give you an idea of how the ball is rolling and what speed you need to maintain in what position. Since putting is all about speed control rather than achieving great speed, it is worthwhile to spend some time trying to gauge the pace of the greens. If you only spend time warming up at the start, you will work just on your brute driving force which may be easier to learn but will only take you so far. Master the art of putting and speed control and you will be master of the game.
Spend another few minutes from very close to the coin or tee; say ten feet to three feet. You are usually not recommended to aim for the hole since if you see your ball miss the hole, that mental image may be enough to sow seeds of doubt in your mind about your putting ability and may at times throw you completely off your game. On the other hand, if you just practice with a coin, chances are you will make more hits than miss. The next time you are confronted with a hole, you will actually feel it is fairly big and your confidence level will be sky-high.
• Spend some time hitting the ball around the green. As you play you will realize that there are many factors that will decide where your ball heads to after landing. This means you have to know how exactly your ball will roll on landing on the green. This would require you to be familiar with the firmness of the greens. If the greens are hard, then the ball will tend to roll more on the side of the soft greens. Different types of rough greens make the ball roll in different ways. To get used to the various ways your ball may actually roll on landing, may need a bit of testing, which is why it is best if you spend some time understanding and estimating how the ball may roll and what distance it may cover of landing on the greens. Not only that you get a chance to practice shots on the greens and learn how best you can land the ball on the putting surface, so that you are as close as possible to the hole.
• Begin your full swing warm up by stretching. Before you start on any sports, you will be to told to go through some stretching exercises. Stretching will loosen your muscles thereby helping you avoid injury and over the long term can help relieve serious joint pain.
• Give enough time for your warm up. You should time your warm up routine so that at the completion of it, you have just enough time to head to your first tee for your assigned time. You do not want to hang around for a long time after warm up nor do you want to keep others waiting. If there is an inevitable delay, best use the time to practice your swings and make sure you stay warmed up.
It is important to remember that warming up is not just important for avoiding physical breakdowns but mental ones as well. As every professional is bound to tell you, being fit and warming up ensures your form to a certain degree and contributes immensely to your performance.