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GolfRx: Keeping Your Game Up to Par in Winter

There is no reason to feel like you are starting your game over in the spring. There are many opportunities and ways to keep up on your game during the winter. Whether you keep your body in golf fitness shape or work on your swing, it will give you a head start next spring.

I think the challenge for most of us in continuing to practice our game through the winter is that the season for getting back to the golf course seems like such a long time away. It is very easy to lose that incentive to practice. I find that players that do take lessons and work on their game in the winter make more progress than players that work on their game in the spring and summer. In the off-season there is less pressure because there is no worry on how you are going to hit the ball on the course in the next week. Also in the winter players tend to focus more on improving their swing and not on the outcome of each and every shot.

Practicing your putting is the easiest. All you need is a carpeted floor, your putter and a golf ball. Here are a few ideas on indoor putting practice and ways to work on the full swing during the winter.

PUTTING INDOORS

Practicing your putting can be as simple as putting on your home or office carpet using a coffee cup as a target to having your own indoor putting green in the basement. There are many different types of putting mats available for purchase (see photo on page 22). There are mats that even double as a training device to help in squaring the putter to the target.

PUTTING DRILLS

When practicing, put your emphasis on making contact with the center of the clubface and squaring the club face to the target. I would say that the most common fault in putting is lining up the putter to the target incorrectly. Most players do not aim the putter appropriately. A simple and effective drill would be to make putting strokes between two parallel clubs lying on the ground (see photo on page 22). This will help in squaring the putter to a line as well as keep the putter from swinging too far off of the target line.

You might not have a green to read and the speed might not be the same as the greens that you play, but practicing your stroke on the carpet is just as beneficial as on the real green.

HITTING BALLS IN THE WINTER

There are driving ranges that stay open year round. Most will have covered tees that have some kind of heating unit above the hitting area. These heaters will actually melt the snow several feet out onto the range.

There are a few golf domes in the area. The ball will only travel 100 yards or so in the air before hitting the back wall, but that is okay. If you’re working on your swing it is not necessary to see how far it goes.

Hitting nets for the garage or basement are becoming popular and are a convenient way to work on your game at home all year. (See photo on page 21.)

Whether at the range, dome or at home, put your focus on the swing and the contact with the ball not the outcome of the ball. Better players know where the ball is going by the feel of the swing and the contact with the ball. Be more attentive to recognizing whether your club hit the ball or the ground first. Try to feel whether contact with the ball was on the center of the face or was it on the toe or heel of the club. Using impact tape when practicing is a great tool especially when hitting balls into a net or at a dome.

The off-season is the best time to make swing changes because there is time to build some muscle memory before you get to the course. Even if you find time to swing a club in the garage, basement, anywhere that the walls and furniture are safe can make a difference next spring. Make it fun. It’s a way to take your mind off the cold and snow of outdoors.

Any questions or suggestions for future article topics please contact me at: joep@carlsgolfland.com.