This warm-up routine will get you ready for golf before the first tee

If you’re anything like me, you probably struggle with (or completely ignore) a regular warm-up routine before going out. Whatever your reasoning, we all know it is it’s best to loosen up before landing the first punch instead of spending the first few holes preparing your body.

Sure, we probably slouch at the occasional shoulder, or roll our neck and back smelt like we’re warming up, but that’s not the optimal way to prepare for a round.

So what is a reliable golf warm-up that includes all those important areas of the body? In the video below, elite amateur Jonathan Bale – who competed in this year Bridges Cup for the European team — shares his routine, which will help you prepare quickly and efficiently for the next round.

Mid-level amateur Jonathan Bale shares his most trusted warm-up routine

Bale is a golfer who played college golf at Louisiana Tech, so he knows what it takes to compete at a high level.

In the video, Bale dispels a common misconception that many Average Joes have when it comes to range of motion — using it as the only area to warm up and loosen up.

“Most people think that when you come to the range you come to warm up, but most of my warm-up is done before I go to the range,” says Bale. “Typically, about 2.5 hours before my roof time, I’ll be at the gym focusing on the areas of my body that I know need more attention than others.”

Further, Bale says he has used the body scan to help identify areas to focus on during a warm-up. For him, it’s the hips, gut and spine.

“If I came (to the driving range) straight from breakfast or out of bed to hit balls for 30 minutes, I wouldn’t warm up,” he says. “My goal is to come to the range firing on all cylinders so I can use the range to get a feel for the terrain and a feel for my swing.”

So how does Bale set himself free, working in those three key areas?

“Coming back to my side of the swing (during the golf swing) is something I struggle with a lot,” he says. “If I bend over to do a typical hamstring stretch, with my knees just slightly bent, for the backswing, my left leg is slightly bent and my right leg is straight.”

In the video, Bale reverses his swing back (without using a stick), rotating his right hip up so that his right arm reaches toward the sky and his left arm pushes against his left leg.