‘pro tips’

The winter seems like a great time to put the clubs away and forget about the game. By doing this, you are missing a great opportunity to make changes and improve. Some of the most important practice can be done without hitting golf balls. Most people consider practice to be playing or beating balls at the driving range. True practice is training your body to do something different than it did before. These changes often can be done by repeating certain movements or practicing a routine. Here are a few tips on what you can work on in the off-season.

Work on your grip, whether you are trying to improve your grip or not, grab a club every day or two and practice putting your hands on correctly, right in front of your eyes. When you get back to playing in the spring, the club won’t feel as uncomfortable in your hands.
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Practice! Practice! Practice! Practice makes perfect according many individuals who have made it to the top of their respective sports.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias said: “A couple of hours of practice are worth ten sloppy rounds.”
NBA Basketball star Larry Bird tells it this way: “I don’t know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody, somewhere, was practicing more than me.”
Tennis star Ivan Lendl commented: “If I don’t practice the way I should, then I won’t play the way that I know I can.”
Legendary baseball player Pete Rose has said: “My father taught me that the only way you can make good at anything is to practice, and then practice some more.”
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It has often been said that golf is 90% mental and 10% physical. I don’t fully agree with those percentages. There is no doubt that you must be able to think your way around the golf course. There are times on the golf course when you need to focus on one thing and times when you must assess many different variables. PGA Tour players benefit from having a caddie. Caddie’s take away much of the tough thinking for the player and allow them to be in a comfortable situation with a basic task in front of them. Imagine walking up to your approach shot and having someone tell you exactly where to land the ball, how far that landing spot is, where you should miss and which way the wind is blowing. That would sure make things easier. The reality is that very few of us “normal” golfers have the benefit of a caddie. We must do all the thinking on our own and then try to reduce all of those considerations into one positive swing thought.
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One of the most common problems golfers face is misalignment. Through bad habits, self correction and poor routines we often end up aiming in the wrong direction. Misalignment causes no end of trouble for golfers including: slices, hooks, pulls, pushes, shanks (yes, I said the forbidden word), tops, skulls, worm burners, whiffs, duffs. Even the often referred to “you lifted your head” can be caused by misalignment. Proper alignment may not cure all of these ailments but it will give you the best chance to hit the ball towards your target.

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“If you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” Anthony Robbins

This quote holds true for life as it does for golf. To become successful, we need to put ourselves in comfortable situations as often as possible. This is where routine comes in. Building and practicing a routine will allow you to replicate your optimal set-up, mind-frame, focus and level of relaxation.

Many of my students, when asked, would state they are seeking consistency in their golf game. Many of them also wonder why they hit the ball well at the driving range and not on the course. I believe routine plays a large part in both consistency and the ability to be “as good as you were on the range.”
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Unfortunately for many golfers the season is coming to a close. Many find that it takes months every spring to get their game back after the long winter months. This off-season take a little time and keep your game sharp. It can be done indoors and will make your comeback easier next spring.
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With the 2009 golf season less than a couple of months away it is important that golfers consider a pre-season conditioning program to get you into shape following the winter layoff.
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Now that the golf season is finished for another year, what is the golfer going to do with their idle time during the winter months?  Here are some suggestions, as supplied by our resident Caledon Country Club golf addicts.  Feel free to add your own ideas to this list, and drop us a note and let us know what you’ll be up to over the winter! Read more…