Physical warm up before sports is a standard. Not everybody does it, but everybody knows it is important for good results. Body and muscles, become more agile, warm, and ready for the challenge. The techniques become more present. The feel for the greens, the speed, the specific course, and the specific condition of the greens you are playing will make you play well. 

The question is: how about the mental warm up. What are your thoughts about that and what are your experiences? 

Maybe you never thought about mental warm up. You may however know the difference between being mentally ready at the first tee and being there physically but with your thoughts somewhere else.  The result can be devastating. 

For many years it was difficult for me to play just after work. Thursday afternoon when catching the late afternoon men’s golfing day in my golf club I had to race out of the office only half finished with difficult discussions at work. Driving to the golf course with intensive phone conversations and then right on to the first tee with a few strokes at the driving range. This kind of mental warm up for golfing was the direct way to bad results. 

The opposite is also bad for golfing results. Way to anxious thinking of the golf before starting the round can also be the way to bad results.

Make sure your mental warm up is in place before you start your golf. Simply go into your GDS and then into your GRS. This is a quick mental warm up. A slower but more comprehensive warm is to go into all ten mental states and in that way make sure all techniques are top of mind. 

The best way of cause is to go through all your routines such as the Pre-Shot routine, the Post-Shot routine, the Between-Shots routine and the Wait routine. You easily do this by doing your range short correctly including routines. Imaging you play a par five hole, that will force you to do all four routines. Same thing goes for putting. Do all four routines when doing your warm up putting before you start the round. 

The mental warm up can start before you get to the golf course. Take a look at exercise 10 and 11.