Five Pre-Shot Routine Steps Golf Instructors Recommend

A repeatable pre-shot routine is built from a handful of small, ordered steps rather than a single habit. Teaching pro Kellie Stenzel breaks the process into five parts that carry a golfer from the practice swing through the final foot adjustment, each meant to happen the same way, in the same order, before every shot.

Where should the practice swing happen?

The practice swing works best taken far enough from the ball that the golfer isn't cramped into an unnatural motion by its presence. Standing too close can distort the swing in ways that carry over into the real one. If the lie is uneven, replicating it during the practice swing helps prepare for the shot ahead.

When does aiming the clubface begin?

Aim starts the moment the clubhead is set behind the ball, not once the stance is set. Many golfers glance repeatedly between the clubhead and the target, or pick an intermediate spot a few feet ahead to aim over instead. Setting the club early also encourages bending forward from the hips into proper posture before the rest of the routine follows.

Why does the grip come before the stance?

Hand position on the club shapes what the clubface does through impact, so better players tend to take their time getting it precisely right rather than rushing to address the ball. Committing to a consistent hand position, as part of the same routine every time, removes one more variable before the swing starts.

Leaving the clubhead on the ground while adjusting the feet keeps the posture and spacing measured instead of guessed at.

What happens once the hands are set?

With the grip in place and the clubhead soled on the ground, the feet make their adjustments last, finding proper spacing from the ball, accounting for ball position and aligning the body to the clubface. Picking the club back up while shuffling the feet is a common mistake: it tends to pull the posture too upright and turns foot placement into a guess rather than a measurement. Only once the feet are set should the club come off the ground again, to be waggled as the arms relax. Moving the feet and the clubhead at the same time makes it harder to judge either one accurately.

The order matters less than the commitment to it. A fixed sequence, run the same way before every shot, gives a golfer the same cadence and starting point each time, and that consistency shows up first in contact, then in rhythm.