Routine Is Key

25 Jul

This week, I found out just why there are many in the sport that say that a consistent routine is the key to success in golf.

Welcome to 54 to Scratch, the golf blog that is following this golfer’s journey from beginner (having started playing in 2022) to something resembling an actual golfer…

It’s definitely been an interesting week for me golf wise. Starting where I left off last week, my wrists are still healing, which is obviously meaning I can’t quite get the power I need in my swing on every stroke.

I’m finding that my swing stamina is lower too, meaning that I’m losing control during the course of a session, whether that be on the range or on the course.

This is making my pre-round routine a bit of a conundrum. Normally, my preference is to go on the range for a bit, to hit 5 balls using 7i, 5i, Hybrid, Driver and 52 degree. Following that, practicing chipping with the 8i and Wedge off the range mt.

Finally, a few putts on the putting green too if I can, preferably following the one ball method Harvey Penwick talks about in his book. (Use a wedge to chip onto the green and then putt from there or do a long putt and then putt the next one until you get it in).

However, this week, following range sessions I have struggled initially on the tee on the couple of times I did this, but this was partially down to other prep…

So starting with a midweek morning round. I thought I would try and get a morning round in starting early and hopefully getting back just after I would normally start work. When I got to the club, there were already two pairs of Vets waiting to tee off, with another on the 1st green.

My home club operates a booking system, but this is rarely used so this can happen sometimes. It is quite common to see members choosing a random hole to start from as a result, which I thought I would do.

So I wandered over to the 4th, giving myself a clear lead of a couple of holes between myself and the pair behind. After a couple of practice swings, I tee’d off, losing my ball… I played a provisional and then put my club back in my bag.

I then realised that I hadn’t yet emptied my pockets as I would do normally as I had rushed over. As I emptied my pockets I slowly got that sinking feeling - my car keys were missing.

I searched everywhere on my person, including in my bag to see if they were there but to no prevail.

I initially thought to myself that I would play the rest of the round, as I’m sure someone would have handed them in. I played out the hole but couldn’t get it out of my mind that my car keys were somewhere - I envisioned someone driving off with my car!

So off back to the car park I trudged, only to find out that no-one had found them and they weren’t in the car park itself. Flustered, I went out on to the course and retraced my steps. Thankfully, as I was coming back up to the club house (having gone to the fourth, to the end and then back again) - they were right on the mound, I must have walked straight past them!

I then decided that it wouldn’t make sense to play, which was probably for the best.

So roll on Sunday, having not played for the whole week (which for me is a rarity!)

Again, I was on my own and unable to play in the morning as one of my son’s has his own golf lesson. I therefore decided to play after lunch. I thought I’d go and do my prep before and then go out on the course.

All was going well, warm up was good, was striking the ball well. Once I finished, I went to go on the course only to be confronted with the same scenario as the other day, but worse!

Everywhere seemed to be four balls of the elderly…

I was going to wait it out, but then thought I spotted the fourth with no-one on the tee, so wandered over only to find that I was wrong. I then spotted that there was a gap between the group on the 1st and a single finishing the 2nd.

I sprinted over to the 2nd tee, teed up and hit my first shot into the woods on the left. Second went the same way. Third just about made the fairway. I then put this ball into the woods on the left too on my whatever shot I’m on by now…

Having gotten around the corner, I settled a little, getting to the green and putting out.

I was then faced with the reality that was that I would be waiting on every hole for quite some time. Once I could tee, I proceeded to lose another ball. Heart still racing I decided to call it a day.

So what did I learn?

Well, first of all - it is so important to have a pre-round routine that you can replicate. It helps to loosen the muscles and just gets you in the right mindset. This is especially key for those rounds that you plan to be “scoring” vs practice.

It also helps to give you an idea of how you are hitting each club on the day. For example, if you couldn’t hit your driver on the range, probably safe to say that you will struggle on the course too.

I also learnt that when a major is on, especially The Open, you will have an influx of people at a certain time so that they can watch the end, as well as a surge as people get inspired!

Of course, I know my mind better than anyone. I know that I get flustered if out of routine, it happens in all aspects of my life. However, it’s also good to have a reminder if only to justify to oneself why you do what you do.

I’ve certainly learnt my lesson, in future I’ll just wait it out and spend more time on the practice green, have a drink etc - either way, I need to ensure I make the most of any time I get at the club to improve! Watch this space…

Thanks again for reading make sure you check out other parts of the blog if you haven’t and if you are discovering this direct from a search engine, please give me a follow on Instagram/Youtube etc…

Happy golfing everyone!