Pre-Shot Routine

Pre-shot Routine

By: Bruce Munch
Head Professional, White River Golf Club, Rochester, Vt.

As human beings we find routines comforting. Each day we get up, have breakfast, leave for work at the same time, etc. How many times have you heard people say, “Something took me out of my routine and I was lost?” Every tour player has a pre-shot routine that they do on every shot and you should have one too.

Your pre-shot routine for all shots, including putts, should start two or three paces behind the ball. Looking over the ball toward your intended landing location then pick a spot (intermediate target) two to five feet ahead of the ball. This is the best view you will ever have of the shot you are about to make because you are looking past the ball with both eyes. When you turn sideways to address the ball, the shot may look quite different. To set up properly, align your toes parallel to this line. Before you draw the club away, be sure the face of the club is square to this intermediate target. You will be surprised how many strokes you can save by properly lining up to your target.

You may choose to incorporate other moves in your pre-shot routine. It could involve taking the club to the 9 O’clock position to ensure you are turning before returning the club to the address position or maybe a few brushes of the grass prior to address to remind yourself to extend your arms through the hitting area. If you are not sure, ask your pro to help you formulate a pre-shot routine. More than likely it will involve a move that reminds you to make a move you tend to forget in your swing.

On full shots, a practice swing is up to you. If it helps you be loose, do it, but on ALL putts, chips and pitches, a practice, or as I like to call it rehearsal swing, is absolutely essential. Each putt, chip and pitch you encounter during your round will be somewhat different from the last one. Each is an event unto itself. Your rehearsal swing is designed to be the swing you intend to use when you strike the shot. Since there is no ball and hence no pressure during a rehearsal swing, there is a good chance that if it feels good, it is probably the swing that will allow you to best succeed during the shot itself. Since this is the case, don’t change your mind during the back swing of the shot itself. What would make you think that you can make a better instant decision during the act of hitting the shot than you did with the pressure free exercise of a rehearsal swing? Almost always, you cannot. Trust your rehearsal swing and then learn from it. If you execute the shot you rehearsed and it turns out to be a poor choice of shots, you will learn and make a better choice of shot next time. If you change your mind and it doesn’t work, you will learn nothing because you will not know what type of shot you finally used.

Even on a three-foot putt, pick an intermediate target and try to roll the ball over that spot. If your choices have been good and you roll it over that spot with sufficient force to reach the hole, it should go in. If it doesn’t go in, you will make a better choice next time.

A patient pre-shot routine will not cause slow play if you start lining up and choosing club, etc. while your playing partners are hitting. On the PGA tour, if players are playing too slowly, they are put “on the clock” which means they are timed from the time it is their turn to play till they execute the shot. Anything less than 45 seconds is acceptable. Have someone time you. You might be surprised to find out that with a deliberate, complete pre-shot, you don’t exceed 30 let alone 45 seconds.

So find a good pre-shot routine and stick to it. Remember if you don’t do it all the time, it is not a routine.