8-Week Golf Tournament Practice Plan & Training Program
Get ready for your next tournament with our FREE 8-week golf practice plan and training program.
Golf tournament preparation is different from traditional practice.
You want to focus on certain areas of your game for improvement without making radical swing changes.
Things like course management, practice, physical conditioning, and mental preparation can be at the top of your list.
We put together a structured two-month plan tailored to help you improve your game so it is tournament-ready.
- Week 1-2: Assess your game through practice rounds. Focus on conservative play, short game drills, and begin swing speed training with HackMotion monitoring.
- Week 3-4: Intensify practice with pressure situations. Use yardage books, continue swing speed training, and emphasize putting and chipping drills.
- Week 5-6: Play full practice rounds under tournament conditions. Work on visualization, pre-shot routine, and pressure putting drills. Monitor wrist angles with HackMotion.
- Week 7-8: Focus on recovery, mental preparation, light workouts, and maintaining flexibility. Ensure balance, tempo, and rhythm are your focus.
Week 1-2: Assessment of your Golf Game
The first part of this process is to see where your game stands. Play a few practice rounds and not areas where you are struggling.
Keep track of your scrambling percentage, make notes of where your misses go (left, right, short, long, etc.)
If you have access to a launch monitor make some notes on the distances you can hit each club, and your overall swing speed numbers.
Practice
For the first two weeks, you’ll want to focus on the areas of your game that need the most work and really start to zero in on course management.
Here are some practice objectives:
- Play at least two practice rounds in which your goal is conservative golf; don’t go after pins or try to hit hero shots. Record data and compare these stats to your original.
- Spend 30 minutes at least four times during the two-week period where you focus specifically on getting up and down (chipping, pitching, bunker shots, and putting).
- Begin a swing speed training program like SuperSpeed or Rypstick to gain a few extra MPH of speed before your event.
- Wear your HackMotion during practice sessions to ensure the clubface angle is square and proper mechanics are in place even when training at higher speeds.
Physical Conditioning
If you want to include physical conditioning as part of your tournament prep plan, you’ll benefit from better core strength, more stamina, and improved heart range management.
Strength Training: Focus on core and leg strength exercises 3 times a week.
- Squats: 3 sets of 10 reps.
- Deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 reps.
- Planks: 3 sets of 1 minute.
Flexibility: Incorporate daily stretching routines.
- Shoulder Stretches: 3 sets of 30 seconds each.
- Hip Flexor Stretch: 3 sets of 30 seconds each.
- Hamstring Stretch: 3 sets of 30 seconds each.
Week 3-4: Intensified Practice and Adjustments
If you have followed the plan through weeks one and two, it’s time to dive into the details more.
In these next few weeks, we will incorporate pressure training, improved decision-making, and intensified putting practice.
Practice
- Play at least two rounds of golf, this time focusing on pressure situations. Try to play a match with a friend, play for a sleeve of balls, or something so that it matters to you and you play under pressure.
- Before each of your rounds in this 3-4 week range use a yardage book or GPS to create a plan for your round – analyze after the round to see if you have followed the plan accordingly and what may need work.
- Spend at least three thirty-minute sessions working on some of the following drills for both putting and chipping.
- Continue with swing speed training.
- Use HackMotion specifically when working with short game practice. Look for consistency in wrist position in putting, increased flexion in the lead wrist when chipping, and a neutral to slightly extended lead wrist when pitching.
Physical Conditioning
Flexibility:
- Daily Stretching: Focus on shoulders, hips, and back.
- Exercises: Cat-Cow stretch, torso twists, and hip flexor stretches.
Plyometrics:
- Box Jumps: 3 sets of 10 reps.
- Medicine Ball Throws: 3 sets of 15 reps.
- Frequency: 2 times a week.
Cardio:
- Light Running or Cycling: 30 minutes, 2-3 times a week.
Week 5-6: Fine-Tuning and Tournament Simulation
You are now more than halfway to the date of your golf tournament.
At this point, you’ll want to continue to work on pressure-like situations, improve your mental capacity, and see how your swing speed training is starting to work on the course.
Practice
- Play several full practice rounds under tournament like conditions. Count all your strokes, try to go low, follow the rules of golf strictly. If possible play with a golfer who is slightly better than you are to try and improve your game and increase pressure.
- Work on visualization techniques, and make sure your pre-shot routine is the same every time you practice and while you play.
- Do some pressure putting at least 4 times during this two-week span; try to make 10 in a row from 5 feet, move to 6 feet, etc.
- Practice both short game and iron shots from various lies (sloped, thick rough, tight grass, etc.); these scenarios are bound to come up in a tournament, and knowing you have practiced will help. Focus on proper wrist angles while wearing HackMotion during these practice sessions.
Physical Conditioning
Continue with your physical conditioning, but make sure to focus on recovery as well. Adding in sleep and proper nutrition is important.
Daily Stretching Routine
Morning:
- Hamstring Stretch: 3 sets of 30-second holds.
- Shoulder Stretch: 3 sets of 30-second holds.
Evening:
- Hip Flexor Stretch: 3 sets of 30-second holds.
- Torso Twists: 3 sets of 15 reps.
Foam Rolling
Routine:
- Quads: 2 minutes.
- Calves: 2 minutes.
- Back: 2 minutes.
Frequency: After each workout session.
Distance Check
If you have been following along with your swing speed training plan, you have likely added a bit of speed by now.
Check in with a launch monitor and see if your distances have changed.
You’ll want to have these dialed in before the tournament. Even if you gained 2 to 3 yards, you’ll need to know for accurate club selection.
Week 7-8: Tapering and Final Prep
At this point, you don’t want to make radical changes to your routine or your game.
The tournament is a few weeks away, and even while doing your physical conditioning, be aware to keep workouts light and diminish the chance of injury.
Practice
- Play a few rounds of golf where you focus mostly on strategy. Don’t worry about keeping score; pay attention to executing shots according to your plan.
- Review previous weeks’ notes and make any necessary changes to your game plan.
- Start to taper off of distance training instead, work on balance, tempo, and rhythm.
- Continue to work on chipping, pitching, and putting without making any real changes. Wear your HackMotion to ensure your wrist angles and positions are remaining where they should be.
Physical Conditioning
Keep workouts light.
Do some walking, focus on flexibility, and maintain strength. Use the stretches and workouts that help you feel great. Stay hydrated throughout these two weeks to prepare for the tournament.
Don’t forget recovery, stretching, and sleep!
General Tips and Last Minute Preparation (Night Before & Morning Of)
Now that you have your basic plan down, here are a few other things to consider with your tournament starting in the morning.
- Focus on protein and healthy fats as a pre-round meal, stay hydrated, and keep things light; heavy food will weigh you down and make it harder to get your full swing speed.
- Mentally prepare by staying calm and focused. Nerves will happen, but you can keep yourself calm by breathing and visualizing.
- Don’t give yourself too much time on the driving range before your tournament; you’ve done the prep work, so spending just 20-25 minutes to warm up is all you should need.
Additional Resources
Here are some additional resources to help you prepare for your tournament:
- The Role of Wrist Action in Golf Swing: Learn how proper wrist mechanics can transform your swing and improve your accuracy and consistency.
- Personalized Driving Range Practice Plan: Tailor your practice sessions to your specific needs with this guide to driving range practice.
- 6 Months Later: The Before & After of Using HackMotion: See the long-term benefits and improvements in wrist mechanics after consistent use of HackMotion.
- Key Findings Wrist Action in Golf Swing: After analyzing more than 1,000,000 golf swings, here are some of the most important insights for improving your ball striking.
Final Thoughts
Take some pride in knowing that you have prepared for this event.
You’ll likely make bogeys here and there, but if you focus on the skills you have practiced and developed over the last eight weeks, you can easily recover with a birdie on the next hole.
Your tournament will never go exactly according to your plan, but the golfers who can make adjustments and work through challenges on the course will come out on top.
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