PREPARING FOR THE WINTER MONTHS
Now that the cold weather is just around the corner doesn’t mean that you should hang up the clubs. In fact the winter months are the best for working on your game and making swing changes. You may not be able to get out and play as often as you do in the spring and summer months but you can have a practice plan which will help you be a stronger player and not have to re-learn the game when the good weather rolls around. Here are a few tips you might want to try in the upcoming months.
GRIP
A great swing begins with a great grip. Learning the proper neutral grip can be very uncomfortable. Also, for the more advanced player there is always room to master your grip. The easiest way to work on it is while you are watching your favorite TV show/football game. Before the show or game begins take a practice club (preferably with a training grip on it) and place your hands in the perfect position. As a commercial comes on, take your grip off. Once the show/game begins again, re-place your hands on the club again. Because you are watching TV, you won’t be thinking about how uncomfortable it is to learn the proper grip. Repeating this exercise can help you develop muscle memory without you even knowing what is happening. Make sure you purchase a training grip that is the correct size for your hands.
The Set Up
The proper athletic set up position takes effort. After a long layoff, your body will try to set up in a position that takes little effort. In other words you will have a tendency to be lazy and looked all hunched over. To remedy this, go to Home Depot/Lowes and purchase a full length mirror. Once you have your mirror set up a practice area at home. Take your proper set up position and have a friend place masking tape on the mirror indicating your spine angle, hip and knee flex. Throughout the upcoming cold days take your set up position and look to see if you match the masking tape that was placed when you had the perfect set up position. This is an easy way to make sure that you don’t get lazy.
The Full Swing
A long layoff affects your full swing as well. Making a great swing requires you to coil and uncoil your body properly. After not swinging for some time you will have the tendency to just use your arms and hands as opposed to coiling and uncoiling your body. This is simple, just take one of your clubs, a broom or a weight lifting bar (no weights) hold the ends of the object as you place it across your shoulders. Then, take the proper set up position and simply coil your shoulders back in a circular, clockwise motion, while resisting your hip turn. Once you are tightly wound up, uncoil in a counter clockwise direction by turning the lower body the other way. Make sure that you are moving the object back and forth properly. The object should move more around than up and down in a see saw motion to obtain maximum coiling and uncoiling of the body.
The Short Game
Usually this part of your game will suffer the most after laying off. You will unfortunately lose your touch around the greens. All you have to do is practice a little during the down time to keep it sharp. Set up a putting station in your house or office. There are plenty of inexpensive putting devices out there that will create an artificial golf hole. Some of them will even include indoor outdoor carpet. Try practice putting as often as you possibly can….especially the short putts. Secondly, you can use this same putting station to practice your chipping stroke. Simply find a 1X1 piece of higher pile carpet and lay it on the ground to chip from changing the distance from time to time. To help you practice pitching go purchase a small pitching net.
It just takes a little creativity and practice to keep your game sharp in the off season. It does take a little effort, but once the new season rolls around you will be glad you kept working on your game.
Good Luck!! |
