Prepare Like A Pro With Robert Rock

I would start my week when playing in tournaments by resetting my swing on a Monday. You want to realign everything so you know you’re starting from the same point, because it’s easy to go backwards and slip into bad habits when you’re playing a lot of rounds without working on your technique.

I like to do slow motion drills to make sure my swing is doing what I think it is. It’s so easy to get that wrong and I do it all the time – you think you’re doing one thing, and then you look at it on camera and it’s miles off. Make sure you get the movement right slowly to start with and then build it up just doing practice swings with a 7-iron.

A couple of things I like to check are the clubhead position in the takeaway and making sure I’m stretching enough to the top of the backswing. You want to feel lined up and powerful. If you don’t get leverage in the backswing, you’re going to be limited in terms of how much clubhead speed you can produce.

(Image credit: Howard Boylan)

You should also focus on your rhythm. It can be difficult to have calmness and patience to take your time in the backswing and right to the top, especially if you haven’t played a lot. Help your rhythm by feeling like you’re pausing for a second or two at the top of your backswing, even though the reality is a fraction of that time.

Even if you can’t get to the range or hit any balls, you can practice your backswing in your garden or house.

When you begin hitting balls, start with 10 or 20 shots to loosen your body up. When you feel loose and like you’re really hitting your positions start videoing around every other shot to make sure your swing is where it should be. Don’t move on until you can see that your positions are correct.

(Image credit: Howard Boylan)

Once they are, go through the bag hitting all your clubs to remind yourself of the tiny adjustments. For example, with driver you want to make sure your stance is wide enough, the length of the swing is correct, and you maintain a good rhythm.

Having started with a 7-iron, I’ll then do the longest iron in the bag, then driver, then back down to wedges. You can also check your yardages while you’re doing this. I like to use a Foresight Sports GCQuad, but there are now more and more affordable launch monitors like the Shot Scope LM1, you can go to a Trackman range, or laser the flags and targets at a driving range.

I hit a lot of shots with my 52° wedge, so that’s the most important one for scoring for me. I’ve got to hit the right shots, so I have a few favourites – a 100-yard shot, 107 yards if I hit it full, and 112 yards if I push it to the max. I do it with the same set-up and swing length, but I change the tempo and pace of the swing and control the speed with the turning of my chest.

(Image credit: Howard Boylan)

The max swing is as hard as I dare hit it with this technique, without messing the strike up. In terms of the technique, I’m a little more upright with slightly higher hands, keep the weight a little more on my left side through the swing and don’t use my wrists as much.

I’ve basically copied this off Thomas Bjorn and found these adjustments give me a more reliable start line and help me replicate those different paces I want for the different shots.

You hit a lot of shots with your wedges so work on three reliable yardages with each wedge in your bag and you’ll lower your scores.

A good 50-yard shot will save you a lot of shots, especially if you aren’t playing regularly. You should always be able to get it closer than a full shot. It’s a bit of technique and a lot of practice. I use a 60° wedge and play it a bit like we talked about for the full wedge shot.

(Image credit: Howard Boylan)

I’m trying to get a minimal divot and it’s a nice wide swing, which is about waist height for me with a moderate tempo. A good thing to think about is maintaining a long right arm (for right-handers). You don’t want to hit down into the ground too much because having your weight slightly on the left to start with will give you your low point.

A wide swing with a shallower attack angle and minimal divot gives you more margin for error. If you can hit the 50-yard number with the right strike, divot, spin and flight, you can adapt pretty well to difference distances around that. You can get feedback on your landing distance with a launch monitor or lasering the flag you’re aiming at and checking the pitchmark or eyeballing where it lands in relation.

The most important part for me is holing-out. You might not make many of your mid-range putts, but you’ve got to expect putts inside 5 feet to go in to capitalise on good approach shots and save pars. Start line is vital on these putts.

(Image credit: Howard Boylan)

I like to use a putting mat that gives me feedback on the clubface and path through the stroke, and a tee gate to send the ball through.

I also use a line on the ball to tell me if I’m striking it well and rolling it properly end over end. Without the mat, you can use that line to aim the ball on your target line and through the gate. It’s also helpful to have a camera directly over the ball to film your stroke.

Stay in your posture and hold the finish position to make sure you don’t come out of the putt too soon. To get the right speed, you want the ball to hit the back of the hole when it goes in.

(Image credit: Howard Boylan)

Lagging all your long putts within a few feet will make your life a lot easier. I putt backwards and forwards across the green with a two-colour ball split down the centre line, focusing on getting the ball to roll true, end over end. You don’t need to aim at a hole. If you’re striking it true on longer putts, then you’re more able to judge your distance control.