Winter Maintenance
Some of the tips I write will help you and some will help
someone else. There are as many ways to do things in golf as there
are people to do them. Like someone once said, if as much were
written about sex as there has been about golf, life would be
extinct by now. So pick the tip that works for you and forget the
others that don’t.
Winter Maintenance
Some of the tips I write will help you and some will help someone else. There are as many ways to do things in golf as there are people to do them. Like someone once said, if as much were written about sex as there has been about golf, life would be extinct by now. So pick the tip that works for you and forget the others that don’t.
This tip is aimed at the golfers who want to limit deterioration to their golf swing during the winter months. If you enjoy tournament golf, you can’t take off much time in the winter. It takes longer to get the feel part of the game back than the full swing, so chipping and putting are something you need to do during the off season. You don’t even need a golf range to practice.
Putting. If bad weather keeps you inside, you can work on your stroke. Get a couple of two by fours about 18 inches long. Put them about the width of your putter head plus one inch apart and work on keeping the head from touching the edges as you stroke the ball. Don’t have a target, just work on moving the head back and through without touching the sides. I used to do this in the winters when I was in Nevada, so when spring arrived all I had to do was work on distance; my stroke never went away.
Chipping. If you have to practice inside because of weather, make sure you have nothing breakable near you. Get a couple of pillows and if you have the room put them in front of you about six feet apart. Now practice hitting one ball to a pillow six feet in front of you and then to the next one 12 feet away. Space them as far apart as you have room for. Hit some high and some low. Make sure there is not a bottle of wine in front of you like I neglected to do one time. (If you want to know how to get red wine out of your carpet call me and I’ll tell you how.)
Now for the part most people don’t even think about during the off-season. That’s it, thinking. Your strongest golf muscle is your brain, so exercise it. Can you picture how you look when you make a good, balanced golf swing? One of the things I want my students to be able to do is see themselves making a good golf swing. In a lesson, once we have reached that point I show them that swing on their videotape. I show it to them quite a few times and in slow motion so they have a swing model. I want them to be able to see that swing even when they are at home or at work. Your mind will give you what you want so don’t neglect keeping it in “golf shape.” “See” yourself making a good swing, put it to music. Picture some of your best shots of the year; just keep golf in your mind. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t take the winter off and then try and get back in shape during his body-building days. If you want a quick start to the next golf season keep your golf brain “pumped upped,” that way next season your game won’t go “hasta la vista…baby”.
The first person to e-mail me the correct answer to this week’s golf question will win a free round of golf including cart Monday through Friday at Eagle Ridge GC. The question is this. You are just off the putting green and there is a pool of casual water on the green between you and the hole and you mop it up. Have you violated a rule?
If you have any golf related questions, from rules to club fitting, e-mail me at
sk*****@ea**********.com
. Or, if you would like to read some of my past tips, you can do so at www.pinnaclenews.com. And don’t forget, if you’re not having fun call your local PGA or LPGA instructor. We will help, that’s what we love to do. We are the shortest distance between you and better golf.
