The Pre Shot Routine is like going to Movies on Every Shot

The pre shot routine is a mental picture of ball flight, weather conditions, club selection, and feeling for the swing shape desired before you swing.

It is the “concentration zone.” or going to the”movies” where we analyse, visualize, and mentally prepare for the shot we want to play.

Being mentally prepared before you swing is a definite advantage to playing better golf. It gives you the confidence to know what’s at stake and free your mind of interferences.

A key thought can be used to remind you of a visual application, self talk, and sensing a feeling. One of my key thoughts is “sit down on my right knee” in the backswing. This reminds me of the feeling of a good lower body turn each time I play a shot.

You want to develop your own key thoughts around your tendencies that you have with your swing. Movements you struggle with for example.

I have seen many golfers struggle with the pre shot routine because they don’t repeat the same thing each time. They rush the swing, or make a club selection error, and mess the shot up.

There are many scenarios that you can be faced with but lets look at what you need to consider in your concentration zone.

Firstly you must know how far you can hit each club. If you are not sure then go to a driving range and work it out. Write down your yardages if necessary. One of my students had all his distances taped onto each club just below the grip.

What direction is the wind blowing in? Wind can have a major influence on a golf ball.

How far are you from your target? Can you reach it?

Are you playing uphill, down hill, are there slopes left or right?Playing uphill can mean one to three clubs difference and the opposite for down hill shots.

Where is the trouble? Left, right, in front of your target?

Where is the safe area?

Where do you want to land the ball? Are you playing safe or taking a chance?This will depend on your confidence in shot making abilities.

What kind of lie do you have? Good, or bad.

If you don’t pull the shot off, will your ball still be safe? Your confidence will tell you the answer here. It’s a good idea to be conservative if you are a beginner or high handicapper.

This may seem like it takes forever to play your shot but in actual fact most of the information is being processed through your pre shot routine before you reach your ball.

Once you have done the thinking, it is time to choose your club and address the ball and swing.

There is no one specific way to do this as each player has there own mannerisms. If you are not sure then follow my example of what action is taken in the pre shot routine.

Remember the common goal we should all have here is to address the ball the same way each time, and to be aligned with our bodies and club head to our chosen target.

In the pictures below my grip is already taken on the club allowing me to aim the club face first to an intermediate target.

At this stage the posture is already formed, the shoulders and hips are parallel to the target line.

All you need to do next is to spread the feet and take your stance.Here I move the left foot into place then the right foot.

You need to move your feet according to the ball position you want. Here I am set up for a five iron shot.

I have found this procedure easy to repeat and never waiver from it.

You could start with the feet together rather than slightly apart like I have done. It is up to you.

Remember always to aim the cub face first with every shot you play and your pre shot routine will be like second nature

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