What is a Pre – Shot Routine?
A Pre – Shot Routine is the process an athlete goes through in the preparation up to execution of performing a sporting task. When you think of pre-shot routines Jonny Wilkinsons process before he takes a penalty kick springs to mind, Novak Djokovic preparing to make a serve in tennis and a touring professional hitting a golf shot. You’ll notice the process they go through is identical every time.
When you look at elite professional or amateur sportsman and woman and recreational sports men and women, one noticeable difference is a consistent, rehearsed pre-shot routine.
So why is it important?
It is so important for many reasons. It helps an athlete build a process of actions they believe in; an effective routine is exactly the same and is performed in the same order every time. By doing the same routine in the same order every time increases the likelihood of you repeating your routine and building confidence and belief in a consistent process. Most inconsistences in golf performance come from changing what we do on a regular basis and therefore never giving it the repetition required to repeat itself. Ultimately a good repeatable pre-shot routine becomes your most powerful weapon in your golf bag.
In sport at all levels there is pressure and nerves kick in, whether its first tee nerves at your home club with members watching, trying to par the last to shoot your best score or having a putt to win a professional tournament, the stresses we feel are all the same. We can’t escape our emotions, how we deal with them in the moment is trusting our practiced pre-shot routine. The biggest desire of all golfers is to be more consistent, developing and performing a consistent pre-shot routine is arguably the MOST important thing to achieving this goal.
Ok, how do I develop a Pre-Shot Routine?
The principles of a good Pre-Shot routine are very simple; however I would seek expert advice from a PGA professional for guidance and coaching on how to achieve this, but here are the main points to focus on when developing yours:
- The Pre-Shot routine starts when you first step in to build your stance to prepare to hit the shot to the point where you make contact with the ball.
- The process of how you go to build your stance in preparation to the shot is different for every golfer, however once you have built your routine, it must be identical every time.
- If your routine you aim your clubface first and then build your grip, you mustn’t the next golf shot alternate and build your grip first and then aim your club face second.
- A good routine should last the same amount of time, from stepping in to prepare to hit the shot to the point of contact, this time should be identical to within a second either side. A change in time means a change in the process of the routine, this normally occurs when the shot matters more, and the routine can either speed up or slow down depending how each golfer is affected. A routine that slows down normally increases tension and allows negative thoughts to enter the mind which is never good.
- Final piece of an effective routine once you have built your stance to the golf shot as best you can and you’ve had your looks at the target, is to give yourself a positive thought before you swing. This SHOULDN’T be an outcome thought like ‘Hit the fairway’ this will not help you. It SHOULD be a positive process swing thought, something completely within your control, a swing thought you have been working on in your lessons or a nice focus on rhythm in your golf swing. If you do this, you will more than likely perform a better golf swing and a result hit a better golf shot.
Here’s an example of a Routine, you can use this as a template to start building yours:
At this point you’ve factored in the yardage, wind, lie, pin position and importance of shot whether it be a match play situation and your 2 down or in a stroke play round scoring well.
- Stand behind your golf ball inline with your chosen target and then pick a spot on the ground on the same line 6 inches in front of the ball.
- Walk in to address the ball placing the clubhead behind the ball and aiming the club face at the point on the ground as best you can.
- From here build your grip and then build your stance (in this order)
- When building your feet ensure your ball position is as good as it can be, with the correct width of stance as this changes from club to club.
- Finally, when building your stance ensure body aim is parallel to the target line, nice simple reference is feet and shoulders.
- Have one last look at the target and then focus on making a good swing. A nice swing thought works well here, like ‘rhytym’ this you have complete control over and will help you make a better more consistent swing.
- Evaluate the shot you have taken but more importantly how well you executed each part of the process of the routine. Review and perform again.
Do I just do a routine for my long shots?
You need to develop a routine for all shots:
- Driving
- Iron play
- Pitching
- Chipping
- Bunkers
- Putting
The routine might alter slightly from driving to putting for example but, once you have your routine for each aspect of the game it should never change.
Do I just use my routine when I play on the course?
Developing a routine is like practicing a swing change in your golf swing. It requires practice and repetition. So, whether you’re on the range practicing, out playing a friendly or out in a competition the routine should never change. This is very important.
Conclusion
A good pre-shot routine is one of the most important things you require in your golf game, for consistency and confidence. Focusing on what you have control of is the best way of increasing confidence in what you do.
If a Pre-Shot Routine is something new to you, try watching the best players in the world on tv, watch how they do the same routine every time and even try copying one of your favourite players.
