Trying to improve your golf game is a lifelong endeavor for most people, but something that has been found to be very effective in lowering a golfer's score is the quality of the practice that they put in before the game begins. Unfortunately, many golfers just seem to show up at the golf course and head out for their round with very little or no preparation or practice whatsoever.

This lack of preparation often shows up as it takes several holes for this kind of golfer to begin to get into some sort of rhythm in their game. All of that could be avoided by a well planned and executed practice session before play begins.

If you already have your tee time set in advance, you should have some general idea of when you will actually begin play. This is especially true if you already have your own group set and will not have to be paired with anyone else. So knowing when your game will begin gives you time to get to the golf course early, perhaps even an hour or two beforehand, in order to get in some good practice.

So what do you do in order to get limbered up and ready for a good round of golf? for best results, its very important to practice your shots in the right order if you want to be thoroughly warmed up for your first tee shot.

A lot of golfers seem to hit the driving range first, and then finish up with putting for several minutes before going to the first tee. But if you stop and think about it, why would you want to get all limbered out on the driving range just to go over and stand on the practice green without moving very much while you putt?

Instead, why not start off practicing your putting first? And a very good drill to help you get your putting stroke in good order, is to place coins about three feet apart in a line and then try to lag each putt so that it lands in between the coins. In other words, the first putt would land between three and six feet away, the second between six and nine feet way and so forth. This will help you get an excellent field for distance putting, which usually will improve your score much better than just practicing line putting instead.

After you're done with your putting practice, it's time to do a little chipping around the green as long as the golf course allows it on the practice green. So check with the pro shop beforehand to make sure that chipping is allowed first. Once again, chipping for distance rather than for a certain target can often produce better results on the golf course when you're actually playing, as you can have the perfect line for a chip, but if you leave it too short or way long, you still have a lot of work to do to save the next stroke. But if your distance is right you can afford to be off a little from one side to the next and still be close enough to make your next shot relatively easily.

Finally, head on over to the driving range and instead of taking out your driver and banging away as most golfers seem to do, start with your short irons first and work your way up to the driver instead. When your tee time comes up, you should be well warmed up and ready for a successful round of golf.

Even if your practice routine does not match the one suggested above, you'll always be better prepared and usually shoot a lower score by getting in some good practice before your golf round begins.