Tips from Brad

Your pre-round routine sets the tone for the whole day. The key is to be prepared with your time schedule and finalize what you need for your round the day prior to the tournament starting. There is nothing worse than being in a rush and stressing out before your round. Arrive at the course an hour to an hour and a half before your tee time so you have plenty of time to check in and practice before heading to the tee. I would much rather have time to hit a few extra putts being early then rush through my practice because I didn’t allow myself enough time.
Start at the driving range or locker room with a stretching routine for about 10-minutes . This maybe longer in the winter months when it is cooler. It’s important to get your golf muscles warmed up. Start hitting some shots with your wedges, then move into your middle irons, long irons and finally the woods. I like to see players finish their warm up with a few wedge shots just to slow down their tempo and soften their grip pressure.
After you have finished your warm up head over to the short game area. Start with some chips and pitches , but also check the green to make sure it is the same as the greens on the course. If they are the same you can get a better idea of the pace and firmness of the greens. If they are not then pay more attention to where you are trying to land your shots. If there is a bunker area hit a few bunker shots to get a feel for the texture and firmness of the sand.
Always end your pre-round warm up on the putting green. As putting accounts for around 40% of your shots it is vital that you get a good feel for the speed of the putting surfaces. Start with some lag putts from one edge of the green to try to get a good feel for the pace; concentrate on your rhythm and making solid contact. Finish with some straight 3 or 4 footers to create a positive mental image of watching the ball going in. This is much more effective than aimlessly practicing a bunch of 20 footers.