 |
The Preshot Routine
Most of tour players have their preshot routine.
Why?
It's because it helps them.
Annika Sorenstam called her preshot routine a "weapon." Tiger Woods said that one of the reasons he is able to hit good shots is because he goes through the same routine.
Tiger said that the key is to do it the same way every time, and it doesn't matter how you do it.
You could put a stopwatch on Jack Nicklaus and his routine will be the same every time.
But most amateurs think it's for good players.
Is it true?
Not really. At any level, it will help you play better golf.
Tiger Woods uses the same routine that he used when you won a junior tournament. His winning score was 120.
So you should develop your own routine.
How Pros do it
Here is how Tiger Woods does it.
1. Start by standing behind the ball
2. Move into the shot and make a couple of waggles
3. Look at the target one last time
4. Start the swing
Annika Sorenstam does it like this.
1. Decide what kind of shot she hits and picks a club
2. Walk behind the ball and pick a target
3. Visualize the shot and take a few practice swings
4. When setting up, aim the face first
5. Take a stance and align her shoulders, hips and feet
6. Pull the trigger
When she takes a few practice swings, she tries to swing her club for the type of shot she wants to hit. If she was trying to hit a draw, she might try to turn the face over more and so on.
Your preshot routine doesn't have to be like Tiger's or Annika's, but I think it should be simple and repeatable under pressure.
Concentration and Calmness
The preshot routine will help you set up the same way every time. Good players know it is one of the hardest things to do in golf.
For good players and tour pros, golf swing don't change so often, but their set up such as posture, alignment, ball position changes from time to time causing them trouble.
So to prevent those errors, they concentrate on their preshot routine.
The preshot routine will also help you concentrate and keep you in the present as well.
By doing the same move every time, the brain will let you concentrate as you go through the routine.
When we are thinking about the miss shot on the last hole or start worrying about the score, we tend to make mistakes or hit a bad shot.
The reason is because we were not there once we started to think about the past or the future. Try to stay in the present to concentrate on the shot at hand.
Under pressure, try to focus on your preshot routine. Tiger Woods said that it helps him remain calm. When we get tense or feel pressure, we are often thinking about what this shot means or what will happen if we miss.
So focus on your routine and while you do, don't worry about the outcome of the shot. Even if you worry about it, it won't give you a good shot. But once you start to worry, it will certainly put extra pressure on you.