5 keys to maximize a 15-minute warm-up before your round

Ed. Note: This article was published in partnership with XXIO.

If you’re anything like me, you don’t leave yourself much time between when you arrive to the course and your actual tee time. Sure, I’d love to go through a proper warm-up session before every round, but that rarely happens.

My typical warm-up session involves hustling into the clubhouse to check in, rolling a few putts and then doing a couple stretches. It’s not the most effective routine, but it’s the one I’ve gotten used to after years of running late for tee times.

A full round of golf already takes plenty of time out of your day and adding an hour of warm-up time just isn’t realistic for many of us. The good news is, you don’t need tons of time to warm up effectively before your round. All you need is 15 minutes to get your body ready to perform.

5 keys to warming up in 15 minutes or less

Nathalie Sheehan has a busy schedule. Between her roles as a golf pro and serving as an ambassador for XXIO, there aren’t many free moments throughout the day — and that includes time for playing golf. When she does get the opportunity to tee it up, taking an hour to warm up often isn’t in the cards.

Luckily, she has an effective warm-up routine for when she’s short on time. And in a recent shoot at Cabot Citrus Farms, she told us all about it.

1. Don’t overexert yourself

Sometimes, being short on time when you get to the course is a blessing in disguise. Some overly eager golfers will arrive early to the course and will treat their warm-up time as practice time — but this is not a good idea.

“They’re hitting so many golf balls that they’re tired by the time they get on the golf course,” Sheehan says.

Your goal during a warm-up session should be to get your body ready to compete — not to practice and make swing changes.

Note: If you do feel like you’re getting tired during your time on the range, it might be worth checking out some lighter clubs. Might we suggest the XXIO 13 irons?

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2. Start small and slow

When you get to the range, get your body loose by doing some light stretching. Then, grab a low-lofted club — Sheehan suggest a wedge or 9-iron — and make some easy, slow swings.

“Do some nice, low-energy swings,” Sheehan says. “Just to find the center of the clubface and allow yourself to warm up like that.”

3. Work your way through the bag

After some slow swings, build your way up to full speed with the high-lofted club in your hands. Next, grab a club with a little less loft and hit five or six shots with that.

“Progress to a 6-iron or 7-iron,” Sheehan says. “Hit a couple of 3-woods, or a wood of some kind and then a few drivers.”

With a bag full of XXIO clubs, working through every club in the bag can be a challenge. The fairway woods come in various lofts for a 3-wood, 4-wood, 5-wood, 7-wood and 9-wood, while they offer hybrids to replace anything between a 3- and 6-iron. For the sake of a quick warm-up, just choose a few clubs out of the bag and leave the rest for action on the course.

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4. Roll some putts

You’ll want to make sure you get a feel for the greens as well, so after you hit range balls, head over to the practice green.

“I would roll some 4-foot putts, some shorter putts, and then I would hit some lag putts,” Sheehan says. “The in-between ones we’re going to be able to figure out and be OK on. But we want to make those short ones and get a good feel on the lag putts.”

5. Remember the goal

We covered it a bit above, but it’s worth stressing again: The time before the round is for preparing your body to compete, not for practicing. Don’t try to work on changing your swing during your warm-up.

“When we’re warming up, we’re trying to find a feel for the day,” Sheehan says. “When you’re going to practice, we might be working on block practice or something in our swing.”

If you’re hoping to practice, don’t do it right before the round. If you’re trying to implement swing changes right before you play, you’re in for a long day.

Zephyr Melton

Golf.com Editor

Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Prior to joining the team at GOLF, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with the Texas Golf Association, Team USA, the Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists on all things instruction and covers amateur and women’s golf. He can be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.

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