Morning Play/Stretching

[ks-man]

So this was very weird. I woke up this morning (work holiday) and the family was sleeping so I thought I would go downstairs and get a round in. I got everything set up and teed up my first shot and then swung and missed completely. Thinking it was a fluke I tried again but the same thing happened. I took about 5 more swings and missed every one. I couldn't fully tell but I think I was swinging over the ball. I switched to a 7 iron and put it on the ground and proceeded to swing and miss about 7 times until I took a quarter pitch swing at which point I shanked it dead right. I grabbed my sand wedge and was finally able to make contact but was blading them straight.

I think my main issue was a stiff back from having recently woken up and I wasn't getting low enough on my downswing due to my stiffness. I guess even when playing in the morning I've been up for a while and just from walking around and driving to the course I've loosened up quite a bit. I'm freaking out a little that now this will be in my head and is going to take a long time swinging to get these demons out.

Anybody else ever experience something like this? I can't tell you how depressing it is from shooting in the 70s my last few rounds to basically swinging and missing the ball 15 times in a row this morning.

[khightower]

How much time did you spend actually stretching? I need at least an hour of waking up (eyes adjusting) and yoga/floor work before hitting. Having a SIM to go hit on quickly has not been good for my back when I don't follow the rules of warming up.

[Tekbud]

I agree completely here. Since being able to hit balls in the comfort of my own garage as often as I'd like, I've definitely made the mistake a few times of not stretching as I would for a round of golf and paid the price. Here recently it's my shoulders, both of them. I need to really loosen them up and then still have discomfort after. Getting older is a PITA...

[ks-man]

I didn't stretch at all. Just walked from the upstairs to the basement. Never really thought of it before as it was never an issue. Really hoping it doesn't get in my head though as we all know how much of a mental game golf is. I guess as I get older (36 now) I may find that I need to do more stretching before early rounds. Clearly it takes longer to get up, dressed and drive to the course than it does to walk straight to the basement.

[Boerdoc]

The important thing about stretch is that you have to stretch warm muscles. That means that a couple minutes of jumping jacks, windmills, spinal rotations before stretching. You may find that that is enough to loosen up. This is a great video that will get you ready in just a few minutes.

[colinjm18]

I have too warm up every time I hit some balls due to a back injury I suffered a few years ago. It makes all the difference