Ian Poulter pinpoints mistake amateur golfers make before they even start practicing on the driving range

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Whether amateur golfers like it or not, practice is ultimately one of the key components behind lowering their handicap.

For most, simply turning up and doing the same things won’t result in improvement. Therefore, spending time on the driving range is a must.

Almost all professionals agree that the basics are key when hitting balls on the range. Lee Westwood believes a good pre-shot routine is essential, while Patrick Reed will always use alignment sticks. It’s simple stuff that often gets overlooked.

Now, Ian Poulter is the latest LIV golfer to highlight another area where amateurs are going wrong on the range.

What Ian Poulter says amateurs avoid on the driving range

In a recent YouTube video shared by Majesticks GC, the European Ryder Cup star suggested that many amateur golfers fail to warm up effectively before hitting balls on the range and that using a weighted club is a good way to loosen up.

“A little tip on how to warm up. I see too many amateurs pitch up on the driving range. They pull out a five-iron or six-iron, and they start smashing the driver,” Poulter said.

“I appreciate that not everyone has the time to build up in the proper way. One simple thing you can use. I call it a heavy club. If you don’t have one of those, you get some lead tape or wrap some around an old club, so it becomes really heavy. You literally just swing the couple for a couple of minutes.

Poulter added: “Whilst you’re swinging the club, think about exactly what you want to do in your golf swing. It’s a really good way to warm up the muscles before you start hitting golf shots. If you do that for about five minutes, you’ll have a bit of a sweat on because the club’s quite heavy, but it’s a really good activation to warm up all your muscles.”

• READ MORE: The European Ryder Cup player who Tiger Woods said was just like Ian Poulter

Best warm exercises for golf

Getting loose and warm is an area which, as Poulter mentions, perhaps gets overlooked at times. If you want to hit the ball far or shape certain shots, you will need to manoeuvre your body in stressful positions, and these positions are not possible unless a warm-up takes place.

Bodyweight exercises, such as squats, are an excellent way to loosen the body’s biggest muscles. Toe touches can also help relax the hamstrings and increase rotation within the hips, and squats can help with this.

Rotating the shoulders is another must when warming up. The shoulders play a vital part in generating power and swing speed. Failure to do so will result in shots coming up short.

The warm-up techniques above could well shave a couple of shots off a score, and as most amateurs know, the fine margins are everything in golf.