Warming-up for a round of golf is not only essential as physical preparation for the upcoming game, but also an integral part of the necessary mental preparation.

Pro golfers go through an extensive warm-up routine, just like any other professional athletes, and the benefits of such are found in greater flexibility, reduced risk of injury, and peak performance.

As an amateur enjoying the relaxation offered by a recreational day or holiday of golf , you're not going to be after world-class scores, but a decent performance on the golf course works wonders for one's frame of mind. Through a proper warm-up, a golfer's increased flexibility, blood flow, and strength and power are able to create more efficient movement patterns.

Make sure that you get off on the right foot, and don't rush yourself to get out on the green. If you're able to conduct your business at the golf shop , prepare your equipment, change your shoes, and partake in some physical warm-ups at a leisurely pace, then it's going to work wonders for a relaxed state of mind - and a greater chance for this to translate into a better performance during the course of play.

The first step to a physical warm-up routine should be on the putting green. As putting is estimated to make up 43 per cent of the golfing game it's a good place to start. Furthermore, the gentle and measured action that comes with putting is the ideal way to work from an initially slow pace to upping the tempo later in the warm-up. Working to practice your aim with a tee or a coin, rather than the hole itself, will provide a distinct psychological advantage for later in the game. By comparison, the hole will seem enormous!

To warm-up for your swing, it's essential to stretch, and this process should take about 15 minutes. Not only can stretching help to avoid injury and chronic joint pain, but it can also considerably improve your range of motion. Using static or passive stretching techniques helps to relax the area being stretched in order to maximise the range of motion, and active stretching techniques combine movement, greater flexibility (achieved through static stretching), and increased body temperature to improve the movement patterns specifically related to golf.

So whether you're headed to Greater London for a technique workshop offered by London hotels or are dreaming of partaking one day in the British Open; if you're travelling through the United States to see if the grass is always greener on the other side, or sticking to the Emerald Isle for links near a Galway hotel, just remember: the key to a successful game is the warm-up.