This is the best way to warm up if you don’t have time to hit balls, says Top 100 Teacher

We’ve all been there: You’re running late for your tee time due to unexpected traffic, bad directions, or simply because you couldn’t get out the door in time. You’ll make your tee time, but barely. With just a few minutes to spare before your round begins, what’s the best way to warm up when hitting balls is not an option?

I posed this question to GOLF Top 100 Teacher Tina Tombs at the Top 100 Teacher Summit, and she shared some great advice.

“If I don’t have time to warm up, I make sure I putt,” Tombs said. “I always putt. Hitting quick balls doesn’t give you a feel for the greens, and I think it’s more important to know how the speed of the greens are, how your stroke is, because that’s what’s going to save you strokes at the end of the day. We’re all going to miss shots, but we can save shots with our short game.”

Instruction

Tombs formerly played on Tour, and said her strategy was always to start on the putting green before going to the range to ensure she had enough time to hone her stroke.

“Hit 15-footers to the edge of the green, and hit a few short and long putts,” Tombs said. She also recommended a few easy stretches you can do using towels, your club or your cart.

“Push and pull with the cart to stretch your shoulders out, or put a towel on the end of the club and take some swings,” she said. “That loosens everything up as well.”

This type of warm-up can be great for tinkerers, because it helps them avoid the need to fix issues that pop up on the range right before a round.

“We don’t need to fix things before we play, we just need to stretch,” Tombs said. “Sometimes it’s better to just keep it simple and positive.”

For more tips from Tina Tombs, click here.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

• Author Twitter Account
• Author Instagram Account