Pre-Shot Routine

The “Pre-Shot Routine,” how many times have you heard that expression, yet how many people do you know that have one? Your Pre-shot is nothing more than a mental state of mind where you focus on getting yourself mentally and physically ready to make the best shot possible- it frees your mind from negative thoughts and allows your body to stay relaxed by keeping physical motion constant. By moving through this dance step regiment you are doing all you can to become “ready” to hit your next shot like it was your last. In this segment of your swing you should have made all your qualitative decisions long ago and your mind should be FREE of all thoughts except for the target in mind. How many of you are standing over the ball until you take the club away and are still focused on extraneous things like. . . what the wind is doing, do I have the right club, hey, there’s the beer cart, and the like. While the Pre-shot Routine focuses your mind on the present process you must not the future or even the result of the outcome cause your mind to wander, if you become process orientated and not outcome focused it WILL reduce you anxiety and tension level greatly!

Your Pre-shot should be a series of mental and physical “dance steps” in order to get you fully focused and ready for this shot. Not only should you do this before each shot but also it should ALWAYS take the same amount of time. A study was done years ago on Jack Nicklaus and his Pre-shot Routine, but it was virtually forgotten about until Greg Norman’s unfortunate fall at the Masters this year. A psychologist timed Nicklaus from the time he pulled the club out of the bag until he hit the ball on each shot from number one tee to eighteen green during one of the important majors- it was said that Jack’s time period from #1 to #18 NEVER varied more than ONE second. That is amazing! The same psychologist measured Norman at the Masters and low and behold his Pre-shot got faster and faster as the round progressed. Do you get quicker when you are rushed, pissed off, or tense- I do, we ALL do! This means is that it makes no difference if you are doing the same mental and physical motions during your routine if they take varying times! It all must be consistent- Period!

Just what are the steps in a routine and how do you develop them? (1) Well, everyone has his or her own internal pace of readiness over a shot, so that is the first clue- Never hit a shot until your clock is ready for you to go! If you internal clock is slower than your partners don’t hold them up just start a few seconds earlier and things will be fine. (2) How many times should you look up, waggle, and shuffle your feet? To me it has a lot to do with how high strung you are and even how much nervous energy you have, but it is mostly related to the point above. How and what you move can only be determined by you, but Never hit a shot until your mind and body are ready together! (3) What is the procedure for clearing my mind? This is the enigma of the whole situation- but things like focusing on the step-by-step process of your Pre-shot and deep breathing exercises will help dramatically. It has been studied and proven that the more relaxed you are the less thoughts that you have running through your mind at a given time- you know less brainwaves moving at a given time. Basically this is a lower level of extraneous awareness cues, lower personal anxiety levels and just a more content state of being. The whole idea is to develop a way to become mentally focused, physically free of tension, and ready for all systems to fire and knock down the pin! (4) How do I focus on my target? Look at where you want the ball to land or start depending on the situation. Dr. Bob Rotella, the leading golf sports psychologist, says the smaller your target the better chance you have of hitting the green. He uses the example of darts- do you aim at the board or the bull’s eye? If you just aimed at the board how many times would you get lucky enough to hit the center? Not many! It is the same with a shot to the green, if you aim at the right front quadrant, etc. I guarantee you WILL have a much higher percentage of greens in regulation that day!

 

I want to give you an example of my Pre-shot, not because it is the best or anything like that, I just want to show you the things I’m thinking about so hopefully it will shed more light on this intangible process. . .

 

1. I have made all decisions concerning the present shot and have got the correct club in my hand so there are no more thoughts of what needs to be done with this shot. (Unless the wind gales unexpectedly etc., then I would back off my shot and then reassess the situation!) I’ve eliminated all extraneous analytical thoughts except the process of my pending Pre-shot Routine.
2. I stand behind the ball, pick the line of flight I need, and I will then take two practice swings, the first one is designed for the people who MUST use swing thoughts on the golf course. It is used to try to feel a mechanical process or difference of a swing flaw that I am trying to eradicate during my swing (I ONLY use this when I am swinging erratically!) the second and most important practice swing is done with the feeling and effort of the shot that I’m required to hit. This will help my body to feel what I need to do as well as gives my mind the time to visualize the shape and trajectory of the shot at hand. 
3. Address the ball from the side lining the clubface with my intermediate targetline that I picked from stage 2, and finally take my stance.
4. Now I will prepare to focus on the targetline I desire and become as tension free as possible, both mentally and physically. . .one waggle, look up at target; two waggles, look up at target; and on the third waggle I will look at my target to hone my focus on my positive plan of action, then I place the club down behind the ball and Go.

 

This is my routine that I go through on every full shot, you also need a short game and a putting Pre-shot Routine as well- those also take the same time. Develop your own way to “get into” your process and free your mind and body. Watch the Tour professionals the ALL have a set, defined, and timed Pre-shot Routine. It will eliminate the analytical thoughts of the shot at hand that are natural to out human nature- I will say this if you have thoughts of the swing at this stage then it will only make the target smaller to hit. If the professionals have a Pre-shot, why don’t you?

 

 

Right Knee's Effect on Hip Rotation 

I would say of all the students that I have taught over the years improper control of the lower body has caused more swing problems than anything else! When your lower body or foundation is out of control so goes everything above it. . .you shoulders start to make an un-level turn, the clubshaft leaks off plane, the torso can reverse and start to tilt etc. All these flaws are reactions of an out of control lower body, but the next question is why is the lower body out of control?
We know that the hips are controlled by the actions of your right knee- it must hold its position relative to where it started to the top (to stop swaying,) and it must also hold the flex you established at address all the way to the top (to stop overturning.) If you fail to utilize these fundamentals during your backswing then your foundation will be shifting like the sands in an hourglass. Now, I want to discuss further the aspect of the three degree values of right knee flex and how they all influence the motion of the hips on their way to the top.

We know that the actual “normal” amount of knee flex is around 20 to 25 degrees. A simple test to ascertain just how much flex your knees posses is to look down from your address position, and when the tips of your knees hit the bow knot of your shoe you have this “normal” amount (20 to 25 degrees) of knee flex. This position will allow your hips to move into the Tour value of hip rotation of 46 to 53 degrees if it is held constant to the top. People with normal flexibility should maintain this type of knee flex at address to make sure their hips reach the proper position to the top. Too much or too little flex will cause major problems on the way to the top.

For the more flexible player exaggerated hip rotation on the backswing is always a problem, so it is here that we must use a different right knee flex at address. By using the physiology of your body, we can control your hip values, thus if you are over-flexible you need to try the 33-46 degree right knee position. As you look down again you should see your knees about mid way down your shoelaces- this position will curtail your hips actions and tighten your rotation to the top. Remember, hold whatever knee flex you establish at address all the way to the top or your foundation will be out of control. This position is vital for players of above average flexibility or even the players with a problem of straightening the right knee to the top. Please remember to add knee flex if your over-flexibility is a problem. If you remember this key you will finally be able to control your hips and overall backswing to the top.

Since we have covered the normal and over flexible player, what about the non-flexible golfer? This type of golfer must do two things in order to allow their hip rotations to be conducive to good swings. . .1) assume only 15 to 20 degrees of knee flex (place the tips of the knees over the tongues of your shoes,) and 2) flare out your right foot one to two inches. These two simple solutions will cause the hips to turn as much as possible, even above the Tour Averages. Please be careful when doing this to make SURE your right knee maintains its FLEX AND POSITION all the way to the top- if it looses either you will be in trouble!!!! Due to this type of player’s flexibility he needs all the rotation of the hips he can get and this will only be achieved by the above two aspects, so do so with a grain of salt.
In closing, remember that the flex you establish in your knees at address must agree with the amount of flexibility you have and these two factors together will determine your overall hip rotational value to the top!