Get in your golf cart. Stop by the driving range. Hit a few balls with your irons. Hit a few balls with your driver. Put your clubs away, and head over to the first tee. 

In five short sentences I just described the warmup routine of 98% of golfers. We claim golf is a serious sport, and we get mad when people tell us otherwise. Do you know any other sport where there’s no warmup? Why is golf the exception? And, what are we missing out on for not warming up properly? Thankfully for us, scientific evidence is now showing us how stupid we are for skipping a proper pre-round routine.

Recent studies conducted by Ben Langdown and Jack Wells, from the Titleist Performance Institute, have helped us quantify the difference in clubhead speed and carry distance with the driver after three different types of warmups. 

Test subjects were divided into 3 groups:

Group #1, hit 20 balls. 

Group #2, conducted five dynamic stretches.

Group #3, performed a series of resistance exercises using bands. 

After the warmup, the subjects were tested on 10 drives. The results will amaze you.

As you might have guessed, subjects in group #1 has the worst club speed, ball speed, and ball carry of all groups. However, the group performing banded exercises surpassed the dynamic stretching group in all categories. One particular individual increased their carry by 37.5 yards with the dynamic stretches, and by 44.5 yards after the band resistance exercises! Why do these exercises translate to such great results? Very simple. The glutes are some of the most important and powerful muscles in the body. They also happen to play a crucial role in the golf swing. Add a few exercises to mobilize and activate the glutes, and watch the magic happen.

If you are thinking this warmup is going to take a long time, you’re wrong. You can get a great warmup in in less than 10 minutes. Are you worried your friends are going to make fun of your new routine? Trust me, once you outdrive them, they are going to want to join you!

Interested in some of the exercises performed by the subjects in the study? Check out the videos below.

For the banded exercises, we will be using Perform Better bands. You can find them here.

For more information about the study and the researchers conducting it, click here.

What is your pre-round routine like?