Miguel Angel Jimenez has a rather unique warm-up routine.
It's one the public had largely never seen before the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St. George's. Given the social-media reaction to it the first time it was broadcast, ESPN now makes a habit of showing it every year at the Open.
That's true again this week at Muirfield. And it's deserved: Jimenez opened with 3-under 68 to end up just a shot behind first-round leader Zach Johnson.
So, just in case you want to emulate the 49-year-old Spaniard, here's exactly how to do Jimenez's warm-up routine, as described by him to Golf Monthly.
First, get up and eat something. Presumably, he begins working on his first cigar of the day because he typically arrives to the course with a cigar already partially smoked and chewed.
Once on the range, Jimenez grabs two clubs and begins stretching his torso with them. He begins by flexing his wrists with the clubs, alternating cigar lifts with the other hand.
Then it's onto the back. Jimenez anchors the two clubheads to the turf and begins to slowly twerk up and down to stretch out his back. A full extension of the torso and a wide base are important here to get maximum stretching and arching of the back. Not only is this a great technique for warming up, but it's excellent form at the club. To finish, transition from twerking to a downward-dog yoga pose and snake back to an upright position.
After the back is loose, the clubs turn into a weight bar, which Jimenez uses to stretch out his shoulders and a balancing point to do some squats. This has nothing to do with golf. It's so he can reach for a bottle of wine from his cellar -- or any cellar -- after the round.
The Mechanic then moves into the time-warp portion of his routine, as he again puts the clubs to the turf to help him move his legs. With the two clubs to the side, Jimenez puts his knees together and does a modified Charleston for a few seconds, moving the knees in a circular motion and from side to side.
Next, it's onto the feet. Jimenez lifts his feet skyward and uses a club to keep it stretched. It helps with the calves.
But we're not done. Now we return to the upper body, namely the triceps. The clubs go behind the back, stretching out the arms in all directions. Jimenez says it helps stretch out the chest, too. No wonder he always appears to be walking around like a peacock.
He finishes off the tricep routine with some more yoga-inspired stretching.
Then it's finally time to start making some golf swings, using both clubs in a somewhat exaggerated motion to transition into hitting golf balls.
If Jimenez could find a way to extend this into a 30-minute workout video, it would be a global best seller. A suggested title? "Par-ana: Better Golf and Living With Miguel Angel Jimenez."
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