Warming up your putting before playing is critical. That’s why its one of the first things I discuss whenever I give a golf lesson on putting. Warming up does three things: It focuses your mind. It instills confidence. And it provides a feel for the speed of the greens. Watch any player with a low golf handicap and you’ll see him or her visit the practice green before playing every time he or she plays.

Warming up also makes you feel comfortable on the greens. And feeling comfortable on the greens is a key to putting well. Among other things, it breeds confidence. You know what to expect on the greens when you play. And you know you can make putts because you just did it. It’s hard to make tough putts if you lack confidence in your game. A good warm-up provides a feeling of comfort and confidence.

Develop A Warm-Up Routine
If you’re serious about lowering your golf handicap, you should develop a good warm-up routine. The speed and texture of greens change from course to course, thanks to type of grass, undulations, grains, and length of cut. Even the greens on your home course change from day to day depending on how low the grass was cut that day and the whether conditions. The best way of developing a feel for the greens that day is through a good warm-up routine.

One of the best ways to gain a feel for the green is to hit several long putts when you first begin. Start with several 30-, 40-, and 50-foot putts. Try lagging them as close to the hole as possible. Hit them from both above and below the hole. You may not have any long putts during your round, but this method is the best way of developing a sense for how the green plays.

Now hit several long breaking putts. These putts will give you an idea of how much the greens are breaking that day. Hit several right to left putts and several left to right putts, with big and small breaks. You don’t necessarily want to sink these putts as much as get a feel for the break. If possible, try hitting some long uphill putts and some long downhill putts as well. By the time you finish, you should have a good feel for the greens.

Boost Your Confidence
Once you’ve developed a feel for the greens you need to work on boosting your confidence. To do that, you want to create a positive mental picture of the ball dropping in the hole. Your confidence erodes when you hit putts that don’t go in the hole. The greater the backlog of images of putts dropping in the hole the better off you will be when it comes time to play.

The best method of developing a backlog of positive images is by hitting putts of three feet or less. Sinking those three-footers not only builds u p a backlog of images, it also alleviates the jitters when facing your first short putt. As each putt goes in you see it go in, you hear it go in, and you feel it go in. These short putts build fresh images in your mind so that you feel comfortable when it’s time to play.

Practice Time
How long you spend on the practice green depends on your needs. Some players like to spend a lot of time on the greens to gain a sense of touch and tempo. Others like to keep the time on the practice time short. About 10 to 15 minutes should be enough time to hit the long putts and short putts you need to tell how the greens are playing that day. But every player is different, so you need to determine ho long you need get warmed-p, not what somebody else needs.

If you’re an a player with a low golf handicap, you probably already know how much time you need on the practice green to get ready for a round. If you’re a player with a high golf handicap and you don’t have a warm-up routine, you probably don’t know how much time you need to get warmed up properly. Develop a routine based on what we’ve said above and vary the length of tie you spend warming up. Eventually, you’ll develop a feel for how long it takes you to get warmed up.

How Many Balls
Most players use two or three balls when they practice. It’s more efficient than using just one. You can hit three balls in less time than it takes to hit one ball, go get it, and hit another. Others favor one ball. Their argument is you only use one ball when your playing. Using one ball is closer to the way you play the game. Again, it’s a matter of personal preference.

One last point I always make in my golf lessons on putting: Your pre-round routine is a warm-up for what follows. It’s not practice. You want to gain a feel for the greens, not practice your stroke or address any mechanical flaws you may have. If you want to make changes, save it for another day. Your pre-round routine is all about gaining a feel for the greens before playing and building up confidence. Concentrate on those things during warm up and you’ll sink more putts and lower your golf handicap.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 at 11:23 am and is filed under Golf Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.