Short game and Mental training?

I've been out of action for about two weeks after having an operation and will only have fully recovered by the upcoming saturday which happens to be a medal. I want to do well in this and stun my friends by playing better than them despite not having played in a while. I've not really been able to practice full swings only a few simple drills and movements, but have however been working hard on developing something which I've never had before, a pre shot routine, I have also worked intensively on my putting and chipping. Is this a good thing to do and will it make considerable difference?

Yes and yes!

Having a well established, thorough and consistent pre-shot routine will help with your game immensely. With time you should find that whether you're staring at a fairway a mile wide or a postage stamp green 200 yards away the shot will be the same as the pre-shot routine helps you to eliminate the mental hazards of the game. My pre-shot routine is almost entirely focussed on alignment. I stand behind the ball, choose my line and then a small feature on the ground, say 2 to 4 ft, in front of me along that line. I then simply line up with that, don't look up and hit the shot. That means that I'm looking to hit the ball through a target just in front of me rather than seeing a small target way in the distance and the hazards that I may need to avoid.

I find that people just don't practice chipping and putting enough. For a reasonable golfer almost 50% of shots in a round are putts but, honestly, how often do we practice? Instead we go to the range and try to boom practice balls over the backfence with the driver which we use maybe ten times in a round. You could almost see the lay off as an opportunity to really tighten up and improve your short game which will almost certainly lead to a reduction in your scores.

Enjoy the medal!

Paul

Thanks a lot Paul