Stay Fine-Tuned With These Winter Golf Tips

If you live where it’s really cold or snowy, playing winter golf is only a fantasy.

It’s just too cold or too snowy to play.

This is a bummer.

Instead of getting out two or three times a week, you’re sitting on the couch watching golf on television.

While this is nice, it’s not the same for a passionate golfer.

But the winter doesn’t mean you can’t work on your game during the layoff.

You may not be able to take golf lessons outside in the winter, but you can create a program that will help you stay fine-tuned.

A good winter program includes both fitness exercises and indoor golf drills.

The fitness exercises keep you flexible and in shape.

The golf drills keep you sharp over the layoff.

Worked on faithfully, your winter golf program will provide two benefits:

It will help you recover quickly from your layoff and it will help you ingrain habits than can chop strokes from your golf handicap in winter.

Below are some examples of the types of drills and exercises you can include in your winter program.

Winter Golf Set-up

Having the right setup is critical to hitting a good shot.

The winter allows you to make subtle changes to your setup and get comfortable with them.

You may find that you need to move the ball back some in your stance or strengthen your grip at bit.

If you practice setting up this way, the new setup won’t feel as strange or awkward when you finally get out there.

Use a different club each day and work on setting up to that club.

Putting Winter Tips

Putting on a carpet isn’t like putting on a green.

But it can help you improve distance control.

To improve in these areas, practice putting to a cup or a spot on your carpet several times a week.

Don’t worry about “sinking” them.

Instead, work on your stroke and ball contact.

Focus on keeping your stroke smooth and your contact solid. You can also practice your pre-shot putting routine.

Go through the whole routine before putting.

This practice will also help you get back into the groove quicker when you do get out there.

It’s a drill we often recommend to students in our golf instructions sessions.

Chipping Winter Practice Tips

You have to be creative to practice chipping indoors.

But you can do it. If you’re not confident hitting real golf balls, try using plastic balls.

We use them in our golf lessons all the time.

You can stack some books or magazines to create forced carries.

And don’t hit one ball after the other without thinking.

Instead, go through your whole pre-shot routine, like you did with your putting drill above.

And pick out a target.  Picking out a target, we tell students in our golf instructions sessions, is critical to improving accuracy.

Full Swing Practice Tips in Winter

Winter is also good time to work on your full swing—even if you can’t your club in your basement.

We use the drill described below it in golf lessons to help students gain power in their swings all winter long:

Take your normal address position minus the club. 

Now grab an ordinary towel at two spots about a foot apart.

Keep some slack in the towel. Stretching the towel out as tightly as you can, make your backswing and downswing.

As you do this, you’ll feel how your two hands fight to keep their distance as they pull in opposite directions.

That’s the feeling of width you want to create when on the course.

In addition to working on general fitness and golf skills during the winter, work on your flexibility—especially if you’re older.

People lose flexibility as they age. Stretching can help you retain flexibility as you age. Yoga is good also.

If you can’t play winter golf, don’t despair.

You can still work on chopping strokes off your golf handicap over the layoff.

In addition to reviewing golf tips in golf magazines and golf books, develop a winter workout program and use it.

It will keep you fine-tuned over the winter and improve your fitness level.