Spring is here meant to be here!
Instead as I write this I’m waiting for the snow to fall and am house bound.
The Masters is just over 30 days away and the golfing bug is meant to be starting to hit people.
Just because golf courses are closed this does not mean that we can’t improve our golf games.
In this post I will give you some simple examples of how we can improve without going to the range or the golf course.
If you want more information on any of these topics feel free to ask me.
1. Mirror Work
More than half the people who come to me for lessons have issues at set up. Most things that happen in a golf swing are a reaction to something else.
There are plenty of good videos showing you good golf movements online now and I recommend giving fitforgolf a look for some great videos.
Also make sure that if you have been to your local PGA Pro for a lesson make sure you ask them to give you some practice routines to do at home.
I like to give my students at least 1 drill to do at home in front of a mirror and 2 drills for them to practice at the range at the end of a lesson.
The set up can be worked on at home with a golf club and a mirror. If you can nail your set up your mistakes can be minimised. Having your alignment, posture, grip and ball position checked regularly at home will improve your consistency on the golf course.
2. Putting
This is an area that people don’t spend enough time on. A rule of thumb for practice should be 3:2:1 for every shot hit on the range you should hit 2 chips or pitches and 3 putts. This is a rough ratio but should always be kept in mind when practicing.
Putting at home can be very boring for some people, the best way to avoid this is have a plan for practice.
Step 1 Check your basics – grip, eye line, shoulder alignment & ball position
These can be checked in the mirror and don’t have to take too long. Spending 5/10 minutes on these will hugely improve your putting.
Step 2 Make up some games – this sounds simple but a mistake people make here is that they don’t think of games with good scoring systems. You want to be able keep score and be able test yourself against your personal bests.
Also make sure that your games test different areas of your putting.
Face angle, Strike point & pace are the main areas that need to be tested, I will have videos up in the future of good drills for these facets of your game.
3. Attitude/expectations
Attitude can be the worst part of peoples games. The amount of times I play with amateurs and they hit one bad shot in the first couple holes and they think there game is over is amazing. These people are meant to play golf as a hobby and to enjoy their time on the golf course yet they drive themselves mad with bad decisions and mental talk.
This used to be an area of the game that could only be improved by buying an expensive golf psychology book ( nothing wrong with this either ) but now there are so many easier ways to help us. Mark Immelman’s Off the mark and Cordie Walkers’ Golf Science Lab podcasts are a really great way of getting some excellent information from some of the leading minds in golf. I often listen to these as I’m cooking dinner or driving to tournaments.
These are just 3 simple ways of practicing without having to leave the house.
Please feel free to share with me ways you practice at home.
David Barry Golf Coaching 