Preparing for Portrush: DP World Tour winner shares his keys to a successful practice routine

Ever wondered what factors shape the pre-round practice routines of tour pros ahead of a Major Championship…

If so, you find yourself on the right page!

Tom McKibbin competes in his second Open Championship this week at Royal Portrush. The 22-year-old’s form of late has been electric, finishing in the top five in each of his past two starts on LIV Golf, including last week at Andalucia.

Now, amid his preparations for The Open, on a course which he tells us he’s played 50 times, the Belfast native shares his keys to what makes a successful pre-tournament practice routine, and how players might have to adapt this week.

Q. Tell me about your warm-up. How intense is it?

It’s changed a little bit more out here on LIV. The ranges can be quite busy with the shotgun start, and you have to leave a little bit earlier to get to the part of the course you’re playing.

Normally, I used to be about an hour. Start with some putting, then go and chip and hit some balls. Then now I’d say it’s probably an hour and 15 minutes just to get there a little bit earlier to get some extra time.

I keep it routine with my putting first, short game, then hitting on the range last. I like to sort of stay quite loose. I don’t like to go from the range and to putting and then not really hit for the last 30 minutes before the round.

Q. Why do you finish up on the range? A lot of players do it the other way round.

I do that so my feel stays consistent, and I’ve noticed over the years that if I stand around or bend over, I just lose that feeling of the last couple of shots I hit on the range.

I just don’t like losing that connected feeling from the range. I sort of just like to take that feel straight from the range, right to the hole I’m starting on. And that’s important because it gives me peace of mind and confidence in what I’m working on.

Q. I’m always intrigued by what places are doing and using on the practice green. Do you have many gadgets or putting aids?

I always use a Vizio putting mat. I’ve used that for the last four years. I’m really using that for start line too. There’s a gate where you can put a couple of tees, and then I roll about 15-20 putts down just to make sure I’m starting the ball on line and where I want it to.

After that, it’s more about trying to dial in the speed and trying to get a sense of the touch on longer putts for the day, and finding my confidence with my stroke early in my practice putting.

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Q. How does your routine differ during a major championship, particularly for the Open?

I wouldn’t say there’s much difference in pre-round work preparing for an Open Championship, but I would definitely say that during a practice round, you’re needing to get used to hitting a few more putts from off the green from a long distance, and also from off the green.

The greens tend to be a good bit slower, especially with wind and stuff. This can also be a factor when you play somewhere else the week before. With any kind of difference in green speeds, it can be quite hard to get used to.

I think hitting a lot of long lag putts is important, and from big slopes just off the green is important for your stroke to adapt to the speed.

Q. What about hitting shots into wind and dealing with cross winds during The Open week. What’s that adjustment like?

As far as on the range, into the wind, you need to get a realistic view of how short the ball goes sometimes with the cold weather and the cold wind. It’s quite a challenge to take in all at once. There’s a lot on your plate to get used to very quickly, and there’s much to wrap your head around. Let’s say you have 160 yards into the wind in the US, it might play 160 yards. At The Open, it could play 170-75 yards, so just getting used to those things on the practice days is important.

Q. How would you rate yourself as a wind player?

I’ve definitely gotten better at it, and I used to be absolutely terrible. When I was growing up, I didn’t really enjoy it. I’ve always hit the ball quite high. Then when I was younger, I didn’t quite have the strength to flight the ball properly, and I didn’t quite know how to hit different shots.

Whereas now I’m more prepared. I’ve played in some pretty miserable conditions (laughs), and I’m just getting used to seeing what my ball flight does compared to hitting the ball higher into the air like I used to.

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Q. What are you typically looking to get out of a range session?

I think it’s different for me the week of a big tournament. By the time I show up for practice range time, I have already done a lot of work on the range in previous weeks and gotten some things dialed in, so that when I do arrive, I can just go through a couple of small checkpoints and go out and play.

What I want to avoid is thinking about too much during the week of the tournament. Obviously, if I’m struggling at all with my swing, then I’ll be on the range a little bit more on the Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.

For example, the week before LIV Virginia, I had the week off, so I wanted to get re-acquainted with some of my range feels I’d been working on, so the first two practice days, I spent more time on the range getting my body used to them again. It’s all about drilling home the routines until you don’t have to think about it.

Q. What is your go-to drill that helps you attain those feels?

I’ve been using a DST, the compressor club, for the past eight weeks. And I feel like that aid gives me a really good feel of getting the club in front of me on the way down and hitting the ball almost with my core, with my stomach. So that gives me a helpful feel, so that when I start to hit my normal clubs, I can transfer the feeling over really quickly.

Is there anything about rhythm that helps you as you stand on the range?

When my rhythm gets off, I know that means my tempo gets off from the top and I get quick coming from the top. That can really upset a few things so I’m always telling myself to get to the top of the swing and let the club just drop down on the ball.

When I was younger, I had a lot of tempo thoughts, and it was easy for me to get very quick because I wanted to hit the ball further. I know I had a lot of tempo thoughts like, ‘Take it back smoothly’ and ‘Don’t rush it’. But as I’ve gotten older, I don’t really lean on those thoughts anymore.

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What keeps your ball-striking sharp?

For me, ball position and how far away you stand from the ball is key. One day you could be standing at a certain distance from the ball, and the very next day you could be standing two inches different than that and it could have a massive effect on your strike that day.

You might not even feel or notice that, but it can have a significant difference with where you strike it on the face, so I’m all about getting a good, consistent base before you even take the club away. That definitely helps with a quick fix for striking the ball as consistently as you can.

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