Warming up on range before teeting off.

[SiberianDVM]

My playing partner refuses to hit any range balls before we tee off on a round. He says " I leave my best strokes on the range!".

I'm the complete opposite, and feel that I need to hit a few to get the kinks out and to see which way the gremlins have decided to afflict my swing that day.

Trouble is that he always gets to the course before I do. No matter when he says he will be there, if I try to get there early to hit a few, he's already there, and then he wants to sit in the cart and talk.

Any suggestions?

 

[Bravo]

That is utterly strange.

Can you make a firm tee time at the course? Say - 11:00 and show up at 10:30 to hit balls? If your tee time is 11:00 - tell him that you agreed to play then and you don't want to go earlier - or later - than your agreed upon time. You just want to warm up first...

If anything - it is well documented that playing cold without warming up stretching Can cause a pulled muscle here and there. As with any athletic pursuit, some warm up time to get the muscles ready for their upcoming activity just makes common sense.

 

[Kilted Arab]

How about saying "yup, I'll join you in 10...just going to hit a few balls"

 

[DaveE]

Tell him it's to his advantage because if you leave your best shots at the range he'll have a better chance to beat you.

If he's the greedy sort he should encourage you to warm.

 

[Rockford35]

I almost never hit balls before a round. I do putt, tho.

I can identify with your friend there, that hitting balls aimlessly withour reason before teeing off is somewhat useless, and yes, you can leave your game out on the range.

I find putting to be more of the devil than anything else. I focus purely on that. I do, of course, warm up with my wedges as well as a swing weight that I use every game. They're cheap, about 3 bucks and work wonders.

However, everyone here has given sound advice. Your game is YOUR game. Warm up if you want to and don't give two shits about buddy. He's concerned about HIS game, and that's the way it should be.

Hit a few wedges, focus on that first hole drive and end with a few irons. Then hit the putting green. You don't need to hit a whole bucket to be warm.

But, everyone is different. I say concern yourself with your game and everything will be fine.

R35

 

[Jay McNasty]

I'm with Rock on this one, but just tell your partner that you will have about 4 hours to shoot the shit if he can give you 15 minutes to swing the sticks before hand.

 

[SiberianDVM]

Darn, that shouldn't have been teeting off.

I don't what it is, but it sounds perverted.

Anyway, my playing partner likes early start times, like 8AM. So we get there at 7:30, "so we don't miss our start time". I tried getting there at 7:15 once, and he was already there!

Thanks for the advice. I really feel like I need to hit at least 10 range balls, or else my first drive may be a shanker.

Next time I'm just walking over to the range whether he wants to or not.

 

[Rockford35]

Next time I'm just walking over to the range whether he wants to or not.

Ya, stick it to the man!

R35

 

[VtDivot]

Whichever you decide to do, hit balls or not, the most important thing for your game is that this routine remains constant. Find a routine that works and stick with it.

 

[Silver]

I'm not sure why it matters if he's there or not. You're a grown adult and if you want to take the time to hit balls beforehand, do it.

If you're tee'ing off at 8am and you get there at 7:15 and want to smack a few for 15 minutes, then do it. What's he gonna do? Tee off without you?

 

[LottaBalata]

I would love to hit 5 to 10 range balls before I actually play. My first drive is ALWAYS HORRIBLE. I may get luck once every 5 or 6 rounds and put one down the middle. Usually I slice. . .Then of course there are the times I snap hook one.

SO, Yeah, I'd love to warm up if I have time. Usually I'm running behind and only get to putt and chip for a few minutes before my tee time.

I definitely think that stretching and a few practice swings are helpful. If I don't stretch out, I'm worried about hurting my shoulder or my back. Gotta be careful.

I wouldn't suggest a whole bucket. I think that just wears you down quicker. But an idea of how I'm going to hit, maybe with 5 to 10 balls like I said. Of course, they won't sell you 5 or 10 range balls--that sucks.

 

[longshot]

I would politely tell my playing partner i need to warm up on the range.He should respect this as your pre game routine.
A friend of mine will often do this and i always wait for him.I am lucky two practice swings on the first tee is normally enough.

 

[ualtim]

I can go either way on this. I would agree with the 5 to 10 swings on the range would be ideal for me as well, but it is very hard to find someone willing to sell you that amount of range balls. Ideally, I like to split a 25 count bucket with whom ever I am playing. If the range is not an option or I can not get a small bucket, I will spend a lot of time working on chips, pitches, and then putting on the practice green. My local course, unfortunately, does not have small buckets nor do they allow chipping on the practice green so I spend my warm up time strictly putting. In that case, I warm up my full swing with an extended stretching session and more warm up swings before stepping up to the tee box.

Unless we are time pressed to get to the tee, I will insist on at least 10 minutes to stretch and putt from my playing parter. If pressed onto the tee, a limited stretching session and some practice swings will get me as ready as I am going to be.

 

[WelshGolfer]

Most Saturdays I play in a 07:30ish fourball. I try to turn up early so as to warm up correctly. Unfortunatley we only have nets at our course(no range) but that suffices in my case.
Anyway, when one of my buddies goes by me heading for the tee, he always says "practicing again, your wasting your time" or something simular. I just smile and hit a few more balls to finish my warm up.
My collegue, more often than than not, pulls a driver and tops his shot into a ditch about 30 yards out.
I, more often than not, pull a driver and stripe one up the middle.
Conclusion:
A proper warm up will greatly reduce the chances of uttering profanities on the first tee!

 

[SiberianDVM]

I'm not sure why it matters if he's there or not. You're a grown adult and if you want to take the time to hit balls beforehand, do it.

If you're tee'ing off at 8am and you get there at 7:15 and want to smack a few for 15 minutes, then do it. What's he gonna do? Tee off without you?

In addition to being my playing partner, he is also a friend and one of my clients who has been with me for the longest time, so I don't want to be too rude.

One of the courses we play has small bags of range balls, $1.75 for 25; another has Ballamatic machines, small basket for $3; not sure about the third place. Splitting with him would be the best, but if he doesn't want to hit, I'll just hit 10-15 myself and leave the rest. Would the course management get pissed if I put the unused balls in the cart and hit them after the break at the turn?