Prepare to Play

Which one are you?

Player A - always running late, rushes to the first tee, no warm up shots or...

Player B - arrives at least 30 minutes before, hits a small bucket of balls, spends some time on the putting green.

Preparation doesn't necessarily equal good golf but it will help with this:

Injury prevention - Doing a 5 minute activation warm up increases blood flow and gets you prepared for an explosive sport.

Ball Striking - The key to consistent golf is solid ball striking. By hitting 20 balls or more you can dial in your strike and get an idea of how your body feels that day. 20 shots is also the equivalent to around 5 holes.

Putting Warm Up - Spending 5 minutes on the putting green before play allows you to get a feel for how the greens are running.

Mentally Prepared - By arriving in plenty of time you have a chance to breathe and decide on a game plan given the conditions and how you feel on that day.

Everyone is different in how they prepare, my tournament rounds are very different than my casual games.

I like to work backwards so:

1. Be on the tee 5 mins before tee time

2. 7 mins putting

3. 20 mins hitting balls

4. 5 mins dynamic warm up

5. 5 min toilet break

6. 5 mins getting clubs and trolley ready

So minimum case I need to arrive 47 mins before my tee time. I'm not saying you need to be that prepared so work out what's right for you.