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My regular foursome usually tees off quite early in the summer (5:30 AM). We play at a course that has no driving range and I find it usually takes me 2 or 3 holes to get going.......... by that time I have usually butchered a couple of holes and wind up struggling to break 90. I seem to slice the first few shots I hit for the round and by the 4th or 5th hole I am back to hittting the ball straight with a slight draw. Any stretching or warm up routines that may help?

i do that quite often and what helps me is swinging the momentous club for a minute or two after stretching the legs and back. my biggest problem is my tempo is too quick in the morning.

I bought a no name weighted club awhile ago @ Walmart, but never really used it. I'll give it a shot before I play tomorrow. Can't believe I'm playing golf in MA less than a week from Christmas.

i like to wake up early...go downstairs and grab 'YE OLDE 58*' and start by swinging it about 2 feet forward and back continously....slowly i increase the arc until i am making full shoulder turns...takes about 5 minutes for me to get it all the way to the top...

then i will take and do actual shot routines...take my address posture and then take a real swing....take about 15-20 of those..

after I feel adequately stretched I like to take 5-6 super hard swings, to get all the stupid swings out of the way before I get to the course.....afterwards its time for breakfast....and coffee...then take a couple normal 80% swings grab the bag and jump in 'YE OLDE CARRIAGE'

This little routine has helped me a lot with those "to early to hit range balls" tee times...

the reason i do the super hard swings is because I am in 'YE DUMB 20's' and have to take at least 5 super hard swings a day to balance out the testosterone levels...

actually, that's what i have too (Intech). It's called Global Warming.

i know how you feel, although i'm almost 50, many times when i get up, i feel like i'm about ready to jump out of my skin.
really ticks the wife off too on non golf /work days.

I just don't try and do to much to start the round when I don't have much time to warm up. Just make nice smooth swings not concentrating on distance. Put the ball in the fairway and take an extra club into the green with an easy swing. Accuracy will go up and if you miss hit a shot your miss wont be near as bad as if you had swung for the fences like most do.

i have to force myself not to hit dirver on first hole...when i hit the 2 or 3 wood i have a fairway lie...on the first tee i cannot solve the driver slice due to adrenaline yet...

just make sure that you are stretched out and warm. i also tee up a Junk ball and just blast it purposly into the woods just to get that "contact" feeling going. then i just pretend that i am already 3 or 4 holes in, not on the first one

Commit yourself to the shot...follow through included !

JT, the best thing you can do to get started on the right footing is to make sure that you're getting plenty of rest the night before. Last season I likewise had early starting times on the weekend with our group up at my club, and it didn't take me long to realize that I was getting to bed much too late to be getting up that early the next morning.

Speaking of which.... I never was one to sleep until the last possible minute, get to the course 5 minutes before my starting time, and expect to play well right out of the gates. So I got up early enough to actually adjust and not feel rushed. I think this is really important.

I do think that you do need to get to the course early enough to swing some clubs to loosen up, at least 10 minutes of stretching before you play. Then spend the next five minutes focusing on a smooth, balanced swing. I like to use my 8iron for this, because it happens to be a confident club that I use quite a bit during the round. Don't get overly technical with mechanics, just focus on good tempo and rhythm. Then simply take that feel with you to the first tee.

More than anything else, I think the toughest part is waking up early enough to get your senses. That's kinda tough to do with such an early tee time, but I do think that there's a definte relation to being up for an hour or so before you play and being ready to play. Being mentally prepared and ready to score is the real battle at that time of the morning.

JT- I agree with Mikey300. A weighted club is a great way to stretch out and get loose before a round when there is no driving range.

On a side note, what part of MA are you in? I grew up Manchester, MA and grew up playing Bass Rocks G.C. in Gloucester, MA. What course do you play at?

Play an iron of the first tee and put it in the fairway. No need to fire up the driver at 5:30 in the morning for your first swing unless its a 440 par 4.

I live in Boston so I play mostly couses near the city.... George Wright, Franklin Park, Braintree, Granite links a few times a year.

I really just started playing a lot this season....... next year I hope to play a few more different courses.

I can help you out. I've played just about EVERYTHING worth playing in MA! Granite Links is awesome though!