What are some golf rituals...?

Question

Can anyone tell me some golf rituals you do, or know somebdy who does? It can be anything, even a little waggle before every swing or putt! tysvm

Answer 1

As in ritual, I'm assuming you mean something you can do before your swing to get you at ease and postured. I for one don't waggle, but many golfers say it relaxes them because it releases the tension. If you do waggle, only do it once or twice. If you do it more, you'll forget the real purpose and won't relax. Here is my ritual:

First, I look at the target. Then, I look at a place I want to hit the ball. It's not a good idea to aim at the flag, except with a short par 3. This is because you could face fairway bunkers, sand traps, or other hazards. After, I walk to the ball and take a nice, relaxed practice swing. Then, I put the shaft behind the ball, making sure it is square with the ground and the ball. This is important because you don't want it to be open or closed, which would cause an offline shot. Then, I situate my feet and body to where I want to be aimed, take a deep breath, and swing.

With any ritual, you just need to be comfortable with it. It should come as a natural thing, because if all you're thinking about is the ritual, you won't swing the club with the same rhythm or consistency as you normally would.

Answer 2

How about taking off your hat and shaking hands with your playing partners after putting out on 18?  This is something that most golfers do.  A couple of years ago, a chum of mine had just putted out and was holding his putter blade up in his left hand.  As he approached me to shake, he went to take off his hat, forgetting that he still had the putter in his left hand and nearly dented his forehead with the blade.  We still remind him to put his putter down at the end of every round.

Answer 3

I don't think you want to call a preshot routine a ritual. Those are for sacrificing lambs. A preshot routine is designed for the person to calm down, give some thought to what has to be done for the shot which has to be played, how he sees it being played, then taking his stance and executing what he visualized. Whether one wiggles, pumps his feet, taps his club are all clues to get him started.

Answer 4

Of course there are pre-shot routines, not sure if this is what you are looking for or not.  I stand behind my ball looking at the target imagine my shot, address the ball waggle three times each time looking at the target and then when my eyes return to the ball i swing.  

I also have Tournament "rituals" that i do.  I always hit range balls first and then putt, i know some others do it opposite, that is just my ritual.  I never hit a driver in warming up before a tournament.  I usually never hit more than a 5 iron, I just really wanna get loose, not worried too much about where the ball is going.  I never carry tees, coins, ball marker, or golf ball in my left pocket (always my right).  I always take my glove off to putt and put it in my back right pocket.  I always mark my ball the same way, a black dot between the number and the Titleist.  Just a few of my quirks.