Earlier this year, I attended the LPGA’s Ford Championship to observe how the best women in the game prepare for their rounds.
It was an enlightening experience — especially when it came to watching World No. 1 Nelly Korda go about her business.
Did she spend ages beating balls on the range, as we rec players tend to do? No. In fact, Korda’s on-course warm-up was relatively short: only 44 minutes from start to finish, yet she managed to touch on every single part of her game.
Needless to say, there’s a lot we can learn from Korda! Check out the minute-by-minute breakdown of her pre-round preparation below.
Nelly Korda’s minute-by-minute pre-round warm-up
When: March 27, 2026
Where: Ford Championship
11:57 a.m. Korda arrives at the putting green.
11:59 a.m. Short putts first. Korda begins with a tee-gate drill that her caddie set up before her arrival. Various distances are already marked, with the longest tee mark about 10 feet from the hole. Korda concludes her putting work with a few shorties on a stroke-training mat.
12:10 p.m. Range warm-up begins with an alignment stick and easy wedges, working up to short irons.
12:20 p.m. Mid-irons, hybrids and fairway woods.
12:27 p.m. A few swipes with the driver, before finishing with a couple more easy wedges.
12:31 p.m. Short chips and bunker shots.
12:36 p.m. Korda heads back to the putting green to hit a few 30-footers to various targets.
12:41 p.m. That’s a wrap — and a short walk to the 1st tee for a 12:50 p.m. tee time.
