Having a pre-shoot routine is the best way to guarantee success from the top. Here’s what one of the Top 100 Teachers recommends.
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Having a pre-shoot routine is the best way to guarantee success from the top. Here’s what I recommend.
1. Stand behind the ball and visualize the shot you want to hit, whatever it is fade, draw, whatever. If you’re not good at visualizing, focus on your target, lining up your club where you want the ball to land.
2. Touch the club to the ground (a dynamic motion that tells you it’s time to go) and start walking toward the ball, keeping your eye on the target the entire time. (Speaking of goals, all-time leading scorer Jack Nicklaus used to select four: one three inches behind the ball, one three inches in front, one 20 yards out and the actual target – all in a line. It’s worth a try.)
3. As you get into the address stance, be sure to line up your clubface with the target first before setting up your body. Most weekend players get this backwards.
4. Take one last look at the target, inhale and exhale, then swing the stick – an important move to keep you from freezing. Once your pre-shot routine is complete, focus on a single thought and go.
Scott Munroe teaches at Boca Raton Club in Boca Raton, Fla., and Nantucket GC in Siasconset, Mass.
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