Pre-Shot Routine Before Every Golf Swing

December 21, 2007

A lot of golfers misunderstand the importance of the pre-shot routine and it’s effect on their golf swing. The most common misconception is that the pre-shot routine is there to ensure your proper set-up positions.

Set-up, like the golf swing itself, is something to be practiced on the driving range and the putting green. You should not be consciously focusing on your alignment, grip, or posture while you are actually out playing. These thoughts will distract you from your true purpose and the only acceptable swing-related thought: hit the ball at the target to shoot the lowest score possible.

The real purpose of the pre-shot routine is, in fact, exactly the opposite of this. The pre-shot routine allows you to forget everything else except the ball and your target.

When you are on the practice tee, it is good to practice setting up properly. However, you should not hit shots while practicing your set-up. The reason is that when you are on the practice tee, you should practice hitting shots the exact same way you would on the golf course. If you aren’t, then you aren’t really practicing for the real deal. So if you are going to practice your grip, practice putting on your grip. Then, try hitting some shots, but without thinking about it. If you need to, stop every few shots before you are about to hit and look at your grip to make sure it’s correct. Then, back away, and start over.

Your pre-shot routine should have the proper set-up positions practiced into it. But it is not meant for you to be consciously thinking about your set-up as you are going through your routine. The pre-shot routine’s main purpose is to focus your mind on your target.

If you don’t know why this should be its purpose, check out the post Achieving the Perfect Impact Position.

You should always approach the ball from directly behind it. This is in relation to the target, so you should start from behind the ball looking straight down the target line. Look the target line up and down a few times, letting your eyes scan from ball to target and back.

Taking a practice swing where you are not aware of your target is useless. That’s why I recommend that if you must take a practice swing, although you certainly don’t have to, then you take one from behind the ball with the club head directly on and pointing down the target line. This is the best practice you can get for the shot you are actually about to hit. I also suggest you try looking at your target while taking a practice swing. This allows your brain to process where the swing is actually going.

From directly behind the ball, you can approach the ball any way you like, so long as it feels comfortable to you. Picking out an intermediate target a few feet in front of the ball is a good way to keep track of your target line. The whole time you are setting up to the ball, instead of thinking about what you are actually physically doing, think about what you want to do, which is hit the ball at the target. Never forget that you want to hit the ball at the target.

If you are thinking about hitting the ball at the target as you are looking down at it, when you glance up at the target, your mind will let you know whether you are on track to get it there or not. Jack Nicklaus used to trace with his eyes his target line from the ball to the intermediate target, then to the real target, then back to the intermediate target, then back to the ball. Then he would release.

Whether you trace your eyes down and up the target line using an intermediate target or not, atleast one scan will be all you need to do before pulling the trigger. If you’ve ever had the problem of getting frozen over the ball, then you were not thinking about hitting the ball at the target. When you are thinking about hitting the ball at the target, you will be itching to make your swing at it.

So remember: your pre-shot routine is to focus your mind on the target, not your body on your fundamentals. Leave that to the practice range, and without a ball at that.

Written by John at 12:44 pm. Mental Game