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People tend to walk on to the first tee and just play rather than doing any sort of physical warm-up, but that really shouldn’t be the case.

The number of times people make a double bogey on the first, they hit a bad tee shot and find a bunker or somewhere even worse, it happens all the time.

That then not only gets your round and your score off to a bad start, but it sets the tone for the rest of your day. Looking back on their round, people will tend to blame a bad score on what happens at the end of their round, rather than looking at where they had a bad start.

• Are you standing too far away from the ball?

If you go through a proper warm-up, you’re going to be better prepared mentally and physically, and you’re giving yourself a better chance at getting off to a good start.

You’re going to be swinging the club faster from the get-go, but more importantly, you’re less likely to get injured if you do a proper warm-up.

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The lunge with a rotation is one of my favourite moves to incorporate in not just a warm-up, but any golf specific workout you’re doing.

This move really hits two birds with one stone as you get lower body activation and upper body mobility from it, two things that are crucial in the golf swing.

The lunge is going to activate the lower body, especially the quads and the glutes, since those are very active in the swing, they need to be prepared before you play. As you rotate, make sure the club is level with your shoulders.

Golfers tend to get strong one side. If you lunge on both legs, you’ll build up strength on your weak side as well.

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I would recommend 12 reps of this exercise, with six reps on each leg. Do that before your round, and you’ll notice a big difference when you step on the first tee.

This move is part of a warm-up routine that consists of six key exercises. If you want to learn more about that, then head to my website.

Zach Gould is Dr Golf. See drgolfglobal.com for the latest free home and gym workouts.

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