Cold start to your game?

Just curious if anyone else here has the same problem as me.. I usually have a very bad start to my games.

My first shot off the tee for the first hole is usually quite terrible.. Seems to happen all the time! After that, subsequent holes are OK though. But it's really bad for it to always happen at the first hole especially when there are lotsa people queuing up behind you. Imagine all those eyes watching... Embarassing!!

my solution to that is to go to the range to warm up prior to your game.

Hit 10 to 20 balls, either that or fall back to a comfortable club for your tee off or take an easier swing...

If u play in Sg, I recommend u go to the range to warm up before the game. Include some stretching to warm up those muscles.

If u oni play in M'sia where a range sometimes is not possible, I will still recommend giving urself some time to stretch.

After that, swing 2 of ur heaviest clubs to warm up. Or get the The Impact Stik. Only thing is its quite heavy in the bag.

Used to have this problem as well.

Will always take a wedge to do a few swing before teeing off coz the wedge is heavier than the driver or the long clubs.

When teeing off, try not to swing at 100%, maybe 75% will do...

Sometimes I will even walk for a few holes to warm up my legs provided there is someone to drive the buggy...

Just play more and you will not have this problem...

maybe use a wood or hybrid to tee off if really no time to warm up pre-game

I am quite an unorthrodox golfer.....where if I go range before game....die ugly ugly.....as typically i will perform quite well on range...thus giving me unrealistic 'ego' boost to smack that driver of mine....and the result....will be OB, rough, super power duper fade or draw.....ball go everywhere but where I intended

So my mitigation is to avoid range....fm 1st tee.....do half swing and just play easy....as long on fairway, happy like bird liao...

Last but not least....is to pray....for being able to be playing golf and of coz good weather and company....

I realize that I tend to start better if the game is in the afternoon than in the morning. I guess it's cause the muscles haven't quite stretched yet.

I read somewhere that it takes roughly 4hr to fully warm up the body and achieve full flexibility potential.

Thats what makes golf truly unique- Start out cold and stiff for a morning tee-time but more often than not, it will be ideal conditions.

When u are all warmed up n ready in the afternoon, the sun, wind and sometimes rain gets to u most of the time.

whilst i do advocate and try to go to the range to warm up before every game, if not, do warm up swings wiht a couple of wedges.. i find that i still play pretty crappy on the front 9, and get better on the back 9... mebbe a psychological warmup is also required in addition to a physical warm up...

read Zen golf.. very good book for the mental game...

happens everytime without fail to me.... takes me at least 3 to 4 holes to be ok.......
even tried range 30mins before game....

For me I think more mental rather than physical..... well back to the drawing board to psyche myself off at the first tee.......

go for oil rub down before the game....u will be loose, relaxed and ready to fire the cannon stick......then another oil rub down after the game

Think everyone has gone through the first tee jitters. Mostly mental and confidence in ur swing that is the problem.

Took years for me to get past teeing off in front of people. You either psyche yourself to ignore the people or learn to love showing off in front of them. Belief in yourself and your swing is the most important I think. Of course the stretching and warm up helps. Also I find for myself at least, the first tee off, tend not too release and follow through enough, not finishing the swing, which leads to trouble, so I try to make a conscious effort to do both, helps a lot to straighten the shot out. The stretching and warm up with two wedges helps to make that first swing easier too.

IMO, I find the range before the game not too practical in most situations. Also needs a lot of discipline to hit just 20 to 30 balls thru the whole set for warm up alone, and not get anxious and caught up in trying to fix some swing flaw, pounding away to get the perfect swing, ending up drenched and worn out before teeing off. Best left to experienced golfers like MC and S70B who know how to warm up in the proper sequence.

Personally prefer to chip and putt for feel and speed since most of the game is around the greens and I know I won't be on in regulation anyways. I find I play my best golf when i chip and putt well. Have scored great with bad drives and iron shots, but with good chipping and putting, never vice versa. The wedge and putter are the scoring clubs, golf's surgical tools of precision to get the ball in the hole in one less stroke than required.

You drive once per hole, woods, hybrids and irons too. But all don't get you within a 3 foot circle around the cup.

The wedge is your life saver to scramble for par or bogey, which is why we have 3 in the bag. And we putt twice per hole, so you do the math...

A couple of us had the good fortune to play with shorthitter today. What an eye opener playing with pro. Needless to say, I had a cold cold start... hooked drives and sliced drives galore first few holes, then only for him to point out after a few holes that my set up error - my posture/address on course is different from lesson at the range. After that my game steadied, but still scored badly.
His brutal assessment at end of the round, we just need to work on chipping and putting. I guess we are too hung up with the drives and iron play.
He got away with a couple of bad shots but still get out with a par, at worst bogey. So it is perfectly ok to have cold start... just have a hot wedge and putter to score score score!

alvin7379 wrote:

Just play more and you will not have this problem...

Agreed!!!!! Works for me.

pocketace wrote:

A couple of us had the good fortune to play with shorthitter today. What an eye opener playing with pro. Needless to say, I had a cold cold start... hooked drives and sliced drives galore first few holes, then only for him to point out after a few holes that my set up error - my posture/address on course is different from lesson at the range. After that my game steadied, but still scored badly.
His brutal assessment at end of the round, we just need to work on chipping and putting. I guess we are too hung up with the drives and iron play.
He got away with a couple of bad shots but still get out with a par, at worst bogey. So it is perfectly ok to have cold start... just have a hot wedge and putter to score score score!

I agree...pros hit drives and long irons badly a lot of times too just like some of us. Just look at the great Seve and even Tiger.

The think is they are super mean around the green. Their wedges hardly ever fail them.

Ochoa says she spend 2 hours on her chips and pitches and 1 hour of putting per day. Maybe that is the difference between the pros and us.

most would go to a driving range and hardly to a chipping and putting green

pocketace wrote:

His brutal assessment at end of the round, we just need to work on chipping and putting. I guess we are too hung up with the drives and iron play.

Abuse afterwards and you had to pay for that!!!!

Can get something similar at OT....

Birdman wrote:

IMO, I find the range before the game not too practical in most situations. Also needs a lot of discipline to hit just 20 to 30 balls thru the whole set for warm up alone, and not get anxious and caught up in trying to fix some swing flaw, pounding away to get the perfect swing, ending up drenched and worn out before teeing off. Best left to experienced golfers like MC and S70B who know how to warm up in the proper sequence.

Personally prefer to chip and putt for feel and speed since most of the game is around the greens and I know I won't be on in regulation anyways. I find I play my best golf when i chip and putt well. Have scored great with bad drives and iron shots, but with good chipping and putting, never vice versa. The wedge and putter are the scoring clubs, golf's surgical tools of precision to get the ball in the hole in one less stroke than required.

Whenever I have a 7:15 tee time @ Keppel, I try to be at the range 6:40(even if its supposedly not open yet). 30 balls, mainly pitching, a couple of full PW, full 8i, hybrid and a couple of Drives. I'm not lookin at fixing anything, just grooving a rhythm. Then, off to chip and putt a couple for some feel for the day.

If the game is later in the day, I normally arrive a full hour before the tee time to warm up. I think if u bother to pay >$100 for the game of golf, you shd at least try and get into the groove to enjoy the round.

My tee time for the 1st round of the year tmr is at 11:10. My wife and I will be there at 9am to be sure of a full warm up.

At USD$275 per round per person, I had better be ready to hit some balls on the 1st tee instead of using a few holes to warm up....

S70B wrote:

At USD$275 per round per person, I had better be ready to hit some balls on the 1st tee instead of using a few holes to warm up....

Wowee man you playing Pebble??????

shorthitter wrote:

S70B wrote:

At USD$275 per round per person, I had better be ready to hit some balls on the 1st tee instead of using a few holes to warm up....

Wowee man you playing Pebble??????

No mate..

TPC Sawgrass!

1110 tee time, on 010110 and the address is 110 Championship Way.

Will be playing the King and Bear course at the World Golf Village the next day. Thats slightly cheaper at USD$130 per round.

Wife is happy...

Thanks for kindly sharing with us Ur warmup sequence Rex. At least now we know the proper way of warming up before a round.

Enjoy ur 1st round of the year, and Happy New Year to you and the wife. I'm off to to my 5 sen warmup for my 68 ringgit round later. Also my first of the year.

Cool, I have played there many times, had a mate was a member...

I did not have to pay though did not realise the price.....

Shorthitter, since Ur on this thread, wood (ha ha) you share with us your recommended warmup sequence before a game?

Thats where we differ mate! U are a lucky man.

Speaking of luck, my buddy here is off to Hawaii for his friend's wedding and has an all expense-paid trip to Kapalua including the air ticket by the groom.

Me not so lucky. I'm just happy to be able to have the chance to experience the course and I really do want to play well everytime I tee up instead of hoping to play well.

S70B wrote:

Thats where we differ mate! U are a lucky man.

Speaking of luck, my buddy here is off to Hawaii for his friend's wedding and has an all expense-paid trip to Kapalua including the air ticket by the groom.

Me not so lucky. I'm just happy to be able to have the chance to experience the course and I really do want to play well everytime I tee up instead of hoping to play well.

Rex, if you only hope to play well, what hope is there for the rest of us?