All you need is 10 minutes to be ready for the first tee

What do you do when you’ve got only 10 minutes before your round starts? Resist the impulse to just hit your favourite club or bang a handful of drivers and call it a warm-up. Instead, do something that’s indicative of what you’re about to do on the course. Like many players on the PGA Tour, Max Homa [above] has a system of alternating clubs day to day – say, 8-iron, 6-iron, 4-iron one day, and 9, 7, 5 the next – to spread the work through the bag. He’s also trying to avoid wearing the faces out prematurely. (Most players don’t want to change irons more often than necessary.)

Once you’ve done a brisk every-other-club pass through your bag, prepare yourself for what you’re actually going to do by ‘playing’ the first few holes of the course on the range. For example, if the first hole requires a driver down the right and then a 7-iron, hit those two shots with your full routine – pulling the club, picking your specific target and hitting the shot. A tour player might finish the warm-up playing the first five to nine holes shot by shot.

The most important element in this process is taking the warm-up from getting your body ready to getting your mind ready to actually play shots, which means different clubs and randomised targets. Hitting two-dozen 7-irons doesn’t tell you what you need to know or get you ready for the challenge. Spend your 10 minutes with a plan, a purpose and some variety, and you’ll be more likely to start your round positively. 

Mark Blackburn is No. 1 on Golf Digest’s 50 Best Teachers in America list. He has worked with several tour pros, including Max Homa and Justin Rose.

Homa: David Cannon/Getty Images • Inset: Rob Liggins