Golfers living in colder climates usually take winters off. That means they’re idle from golf for three or four months—maybe more. That’s a long time for weekend golfers to layoff—regardless of their golf handicaps. Doing drills at home can help, but it’s not the same as swinging a club on the course. So many golfers return from their winter hiatus needing to shake off the rust.
Below are five golf tips to help you shake off the rust. They’ll help you “re-learn” the feel of things after a long layoff. Working on these fundamentals is a good way to shake off winter rust and jumpstart your game for the spring.
Relax Your Grip
Re-turning players tend to grip the club too much in their palms. This creates tension in the hands and arms, and inhibits a free flowing swing. Instead, grip the club more in your fingers for a quicker swing. Ideally, you want the grip to run diagonally across your fingers. This relaxes your hands and arms and allows your wrists to cock naturally. To ensure the proper grip position, grip the club when it’s off the ground and in front of you. It’s an old golfer’s trick teachers often use in golf lessons.
Create A Solid Base
Golfers must create a solid base at address. The key is to engage and stabilize your core muscles—the area around your belt buckle. A solid core encourages good balance throughout your swing. It also encourages consistency. To recognize what a solid base feels like, position a short iron in front of you with the grip angled toward you. Put your right hand on top of the grip. Put your left hand on top of your right hand. Then, push the club into the ground with your forearms. You should feel solid from the ground up.
Aim The Face First
Teachers often need to remind golfers how to aim the clubface. It’s one of the things we cover in our golf instruction sessions with returning students. Golfers tend to align their bodies and feet first at the target and then the clubface. Instead, square the clubface to the target first, then align your body and feet to the clubface. Aim the face at something on your target line close to your ball, like a tuff of grass. Or, place a ball a foot or so in front of the first ball. Use the second ball as a guide to reinforce the direction your clubface is aiming. Now, hit some practice shots.
Check Ball Position
Ball position is another fundamental players need to be reminded it of in golf lessons in the spring. It’s a fundamental you must get right to make solid contact. Adjust your stance in relation to the ball. Why—because the bottom of the swing arc varies with each club. For example, a driver’s shaft is eight to 10 inches longer than a pitching wedge’s shaft. So keep these three guidelines in mind when thinking about ball position:
* The longer the club, the father forward the ball in your stance
* The longer the club, the father away you should be from the ball
* The longer the club, the wider your stance should be
Coil And Uncoil For Power
If you don’t coil and uncoil correctly—and many in our golf instruction sessions don’t—you lose power. To remind yourself what a good coil feels like get into your golf posture and put your hands on your hips. Now, turn your upper body as if looking at someone directly behind you. You can even look back over your right shoulder. If you do this correctly, you’ll feel your upper body torqued against your lower body. Now simply move your weight onto your front foot and uncoil your upper body aggressively. This will carry you into a poised finish where your chest is facing the target and you’re up on your toes.
It’s hard to stay sharp after a long layoff. Executing the golf tips we discussed above—will jump start your swing and get you back on track in the spring. Work on them until they become second nature. Mastering these tips will help you chop strokes off your golf handicap.
