When is the best time to improve your Golf Game?
Start the season ready to golf and not starting to learn (relearn)
Unfortunately we have a shorter golf season that other parts of the world. If you are a chronic golfer, you might get 7 months of golf in. As long as you don’t mind a bit of cool weather in April and October. That’s if we have had an early spring and a mild fall and the courses are open.
Otherwise, the average golfer has about 5 months to golf (May to August).
But … why not use the off season to improve your golf swing. Hit the course in May (or April) ready to golf and not starting to learn golf again.
There are a number of things you can do in your basement, garage or anywhere. Some things with a golf club, somethings without a golf club. You can use the winter months to:
- improve your flexibility with stretching and yoga
- increase stamina with cardio (walking, running, elliptical training)
- overall health with an improved diet
Time to play Golf
- months available for practice
- quality playing time
- quality rounds played (average)
- information recovery time
- # of bad shots hit
- length of the learning curve
- distance traveled
Summer
- 5 months
- 5 months
- 0
- 7 months
- unlimited
- longer
- 100+ miles
Winter
- 7 months
- 7 months
- 10 to 40
- 0 months
- 0
- shorter
- 0 miles
IMPROVE POSTURE
You might never hit it like tour pros do, but there’s a part of their technique you can mimic: the address position. When your body is angled properly at the start, you have the foundation for a repeating swing. It allows you to coil around a constant axis and swing the club up and down on the proper track.
The key to a good setup is to tilt toward the ball from your hip joints, not your waist. The difference is subtle, but bending from the waist causes the back to get rounded (above, right). It’s tough to make a good swing from this unathletic position.
Read more
HAND POSITION
In a recent poll of Top 100 Teachers, 81 percent acknowledged that the grip is one of the first things they work on with new students. Most golfers see the grip as simple — grab the handle and squeeze. But there’s a lot more to it, and making even the slightest error can have serious ramifications in your swing.
By the way, the 19 percent who said their students’ grips don’t need work admitted to coaching only pro players.
Read more
IMPACT POSITION
One of the most common complaints by golfers wanting to improve their game is the lack of pure ball striking they experience. In fact, almost 70% of golfers are the happiest on the golf course when they hit the ball well, regardless of their score. It certainly can be extremely frustrating when you don’t hit the ball well, especially if you don’t know which way the ball is headed from shot to shot.
Read more
SWING SPEED
Creating more power in the golf swing is not necessarily about swinging harder. Here are three keys to increase your swing speed through improving key mechanics at work within your technique.
If you want to increase your swing speed, you need sound golf swing fundamentals. However, you also need to understand where power comes from in the golf swing. And it doesn’t necessarily come from swinging harder. Here are three things to work on.
See more
WEIGHT TRANSITION
Get to the left heel: Your weight should shift to your left toes and then into your left heel.
If you really want to develop power, you need to transfer your weight properly. Computerized testing of elite players shows they each produce the same weight-transfer pattern, moving it toward the front of the left foot as they start the downswing and to the left heel at impact.
This ideal weight shift allows these players to deliver the clubhead squarely into the ball at impact as they rotate powerfully around the front foot.
Read more
SET UP & ALIGNMENT
If you hook or slice and you aim your body and swing to compensate for it you are compounding your error with another. If you want to enjoy and play better golf, you need to correct your alignment and swing.
Watch Video
DOWNSWING
As your first move down from the top, get your weight moving to your front foot. This little forward bump will drop your hands and arms to the inside, setting up a powerful move through the ball. You can rotate your body through as hard as you want; just make sure you get your weight going toward the target before you start.
Read more
TAKEAWAY
With so, so many elements of the golf swing. The Takeaway is where it all starts. After your stance, ball position, hand position and aim has been set, you can ruin it all with a bad takeaway.
Watch Video
FITNESS / HEALTH
If you’re serious about your golf game, you might need a little more than good swing mechanics and short-game touch to be your best. Fitness — which brings mental focus, endurance and a general feeling of well being — is also essential to performing your best. And since most of us don’t play golf for a living, the greatest benefit we can get from any fitness program is quality of life in general, especially as we age