Unless you’re fortunate enough to reside in California, Old Man Winter has likely greeted you and your golf game with unpleasantries by now, forcing some of you to throw the ol’ sticks in the closet to gather dust.
And if you are not a die hard, I get it, golf is not as fun in 40 degree weather with whipping winds and rain. The ball stops compressing and feels like a hunk of granite.
But your game doesn’t care how unpleasant it may be out in the elements, it needs constant attention. And although a nice scheduled break from the game can indeed rejuvenate and in some cases aide in (getting rid of) bad habits, more often than not it causes your game to head south like a flock of geese.
It is not necessary to play a ton of rounds during the wet season, but a few would be helpful.
What is essential, however, is that you find somewhere dry to keep practicing.
This is because golf is about creating and maintaining proper muscle memory through repetition. When you stop playing, even for a short period of time, your mind forgets what you and your body have been working on and the club will feel foreign when you decide to dust off those clubs. You will also likely forget many of the key swing tips you’ve been working on all summer and fall.
Here are five tips to staying sharp:
1. Take 20 swings per day.
This is one of if not THE most important things you can do to preserve your form. Find some space in your garage or even in your house, and take 20 real rehearsal swings, going through your set up each time as if you were actually hitting a ball on the course. This will build and maintain muscle memory so you don’t have to think as much out on the course. Work on your fundamentals, don’t just swing lackadaisically.
Buy a range mat or get a piece of carpet from Home Depot and brush the ground to simulate making a nice, shallow divot. If you have enough space to create a set up like the image above, even better. Then you can actually hit Wiffle Balls or actual golf balls into a net. You can take it even further by setting up a Trackman or something similar.
2. Find a place indoors to do some chipping and putting.
Your full swing is not the only part of the game that needs nurturing. In fact, the touch required in the short game is the first thing to go when you put the clubs down. So don’t neglect it! Using the green mat or carpet, chip real golf balls into a range bucket. You can pick one up online. Set goals. Start with 20 chip shots and see how many you can land in the bucket. Then increase the goal. If you made three one day, try to make four the next. Also, alter the distance of the bucket. Start with a five yard chip, then try 10, then 15, and so on. This will keep your sand wedge, or whatever club you chip with, feeling familiar when you get back out on the course.
Do the same with putting. Roll putts on the carpet (or even the wood floor) to a target. Your putt won’t roll true but the goal here is the same; to keep the familiar muscle memory intact for when you tee it up again.
3. Write down all the keys you have been working on.
We all have many swing thoughts, and we all have limited memories and many other things to remember in our daily lives. Nothing is worse that honing a new swing tip and then forgetting it after a break from the game. So keep a journal. It doesn’t have to be thorough. Just write down what you have been working on and denote which swing keys are working better than others.
4. Read about golf to learn new methods.
When it’s pouring outside, and you’ve already done your inside work, find some good golf material to read or watch. Whether it is this site, Golf Digest, School of Golf on Golf Channel, or something else, anything to get you thinking more about how to improve your game is beneficial. Be careful not to try to fix what isn’t broken, but remember, there is always room for EVERYONE to improve. Even the pros. Until someone birdies all 18, this will hold true.
5. Challenge yourself out in the light rain every now and then.
Personally, I have come to enjoy playing in a light rain. Not only is the course soft and vacated but the aura of nature is even more palpable when you feel drops on your skin as you address the ball.
Furthermore, I always figured, if I am practicing in bad weather and most people are not, I am getting a leg up on the competition.
So when you have practiced enough indoors, go give a round in the elements a try. You just may find that you enjoy winter golf!
I’m sure Tiger Woods would agree based on this classic American Express commercial.