Best Golf Pre-Shot Routine | Titleist Tips

Titleist staff member Dr. Mo Pickens shares his “Four R’s (Refocus, Routine, React, Relax)” to building a solid pre-shot that will help you manage your thinking and stay sharp on the golf course. Incorporate Dr. Mo’s Four R’s into your game and find out what it is like to truly play one shot at a time.

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00:00 – Introduction: on-course thinking process
00:20 – One shot at a time
00:30 – The Four R’s
01:01 – Refocus behind the ball (analysis, decision-making)
02:48 – Pre-Shot Routine (brushing your teeth)
02:52 – React (swing the golf club)
03:07 – Relax (go to the next shot)
03:33 – Demonstration
04:05 – Summary

As an avid golfer, I know you’ve heard of 
pre-shot routines. But what you need to understand is that your pre-shot routine fits into 
an overall larger process that encompasses how you think on the golf course. One of the things I 
always talk to my players about is how you’re going to manage your mind to play on the golf 
course. We’ve all heard the phrase “one shot at a time,” we hear that every week on tv when we 
watch the best players, but we don’t know exactly what that means. So how do I go about doing that? 
That’s what I’m going to explain to you today. Your overall process is going 
to consist of four R’s. First, you’re going to refocus or make a decision. 
Second, you’re going to get into your routine, which I call “brushing your teeth.” 
Third, you’re going to react—that’s when you swing the club. And fourth, you’re 
going to relax in between shots. So really, the process to manage yourself on the golf course, 
the pre-shot routine is a component of that, but that’s not the only thing you need. You need 
to know how to refocus, go through your routine, react and swing, and then relax. And so 
I want to demonstrate that for you today. When I’m behind the ball, this is when I’m 
doing my refocusing. I might need to throw up some grass today to figure out where the 
wind is blowing. I’ve probably already shot this to get a yardage, so maybe I need to 
take into account the altitude or how cold or warm it is today. All my decision-making 
happens behind the ball and it is not part of my routine. I don’t want you to think 
that what you do behind the ball has to be the same every time. So, I’ve figured 
out for the target that I’m going to hit, and it is playing about 148 yards into 
the wind, so for me, that’s going to be a flighted eight iron. Once I’ve figured all 
that out, now I’m going to start my routine. I call this taking a decisive first step. Once I 
start in, I’m done with all of my decision-making. I don’t want to take my decision-making into 
the ball; I just want to take my answer to my math problem and then go execute it. Now, I 
would get into my pre-shot routine with this decisive first step, and I’m pretty disciplined 
about teaching all my players I want them to do that. For putting, short game, anything—every 
routine you would already have your decision made. Now I’m going to walk in and do the 
preparation for the shot. That’s your routine. So, as I walk in, if I were hitting this 
long M shot, I would line up the face, that would be the first thing I would do with 
an intermediate target, and then I would take my stance. Once I’m there, I’m going to always 
do three things: I’m going to look at the target, I’m going to simulate my takeaway, I’m going to 
look at the target again, and then I’m going to set the club down and swing. And that would be 
where the third R starts: react. What I’m doing is getting in, get the club, get my feet, look, mimic 
my takeaway, look again, and then I would react, and react is swinging the golf club. So I’m trying 
to make a decision behind the ball, then I’m going to go through my pre-shot routine, which is my 
preparation for the shot, then I’m going to react and swing the club, and then at the end of that, 
then I’m going to relax as I go to the next shot. So, those are your four R’s, which make 
up your overall process: refocus, routine, react, and relax. And you’re going 
to do that all day: refocus again, next routine, react or swing the club, 
and relax. And you’re just doing this over and over and over, and ultimately 
that’s going to produce your results. Let’s go ahead and hit a shot and see if I can 
execute what I’m trying to do. I’ve already told you I’m hitting this flighted eight iron, 
I think it’s going to go about 148 yards. I’m done with that, and now I’m going to 
walk into the shot. I’m in my routine: set the club in, take my feet, look at 
where I want to go, mimic my takeaway, one more look, set the club down, and 
react. That was right on the button. So basically, what I want you to remember is 
refocus and make your decision, then go through your routine, the preparation for your shot. This 
should be consistent. At the end of that, let your routine hit the shot for you—that’s how you know 
you’re reacting, as the swing just kind of takes care of itself. And then I want you to relax in 
between shots. And if the majority of your day you’re doing a great job relaxing, you’re going to 
have the energy you need over the ball mentally to do your refocusing, go through your routine, 
and hit great shots. Have fun trying it out.