How To Become a Master’s Champion?

Huge congratulations to Japan’s first male Major winner and the 2021 Master’s Champion, Hideki Matsuyama! Want to know how he did it?

If you’ve NEVER played a round of golf, you’d have a lot  in common with quite a few people in thinking that there’s not a high risk of getting injured in a sport that you just drive a cart around and hit a few balls.

BUT that’s not the case.

Golfers are some of the most frequent people that walk into our clinic.

Injuries can range to knee pain, foot pain but the majority of issues involve the lower back.

The thing about playing golf  – especially for amateurs, we just want to get out on the course as fast as we can and hit the ball with all the power we have to see how far it goes! A combination of this mindset and the body awkwardly exploding in twisting positions will eventually put a lot of stress on the body.

This is why a proper warm up is so important!

Proper warm-up is key to any sport in order to achieve success without risking injury. If you ever attend any professional sporting event, the athletes will spend HOURS preparing in advance for their game; golfers are no exception.

An amatuer golfer’s version of a “warm-up” is arriving 20 minutes before their tee time, rushing into the pro-shop to check-in then swinging twice on the first tee. You find yourself 6 or 7 holes of up-and-down play leading to another round with a higher score than you hoped. It’s this kind of mentality that leads to a number of bogeys or even doubles before you even get to the first tee.

If you’re wanting to hit low numbers and walk off the 18th green pain free, I recommend you start with a couple of these warm-up tips:

Get to the course early –

By this point, you’ve already blocked off at least 4 hours of your day to golf anyways, so you might as well plan a little longer!

Having more time gives you the opportunity to not feel rushed. Remember, your warm-up sets the tempo for the round so move slowly and relax! After all, a slow, relaxed tempo is essential for a successful swing! I recommend getting to the course at least 45 minutes before your tee time.

Begin warming up in the putting green –

“Drive for show, putt for dough.”

A large chunk of a golf round is spent on the greens so why not focus on those knee-knocking 3-footers. Starting with putting enables you to begin your round with a slow, deliberate tempo. It doesn’t make too much sense to go straight to the range, hit a few explosive drives off the tee then stand around for another 20 minutes near motionless before you start playing.

Start Your Full Swing Warm-up With Stretching –

Stretching can improve your range of motion by up to 17-percent. It also helps you avoid injury and it helps relieve chronic joint pain.

Your Full Swing –

Now that you’re feeling a little more limber, start with some 50% wedge swings. Wedges for most are the shortest clubs in the bag so not only does it help keep your head down, wedges also tend to have a slower tempo swing. After a few wedge shots, continue to move to the longer irons and onto the woods, BUT don’t forget, whatever club you use, it’s all about the slow, controlled tempo.

One last thing….

If you fail to warm-up properly, you are setting yourself up for failure before you even take the first swing. If you’re wanting to play like a pro, you have to think like a pro: make the time and take the time to warm-up so you can be shooting your lowest scores ever!

If you’d like to learn more about helpful and healthy ways to get your golf game to the next level, contact us at info@proactiveptlou.com or give us a ring at 502.512.2165! We’d love to see you get more birdies and less bogeys as well as walking off the 18th pain free!

Here is the Master’s Champ himself warming up the right way!