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Miss Shanksalot

Newb trying to break 100!
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over the winter months? Do you take lessons and work on your swing? Or do you just expect to sort of squeak by and hold on for dear life until springtime?

Obviously, this question is geared more toward those who live in colder climes and can't get out on the courses.

My instructor told me that although he uses the Chicago winters to revamp his swing, not a lot of people do. They seem to come in in a rush right at the beginning of the season after finding out that their games aren't where they'd like them to be.

I'd guess that since this is a golf forum, the members here might be more diligent in working on their swings.

Kim
 
I worked hard in 2010 to revamp my swing. It was god awful when i arrived at the site in April. 14 lessons Ayer and i finally have something im happy with. Im working hard to maintain all the hard work i put into it this year.

I hit the practice bay mon, weds, fri am- and i have a lesson scheduled the first Monday of each month. Come spring I have lots to prepar for, topmost the outing at PGA National!

Honestly my short game and putting i think are suffering most. I cannot wait to get back on a course and its been less than three weeks!
 
I work on the swing, but hitting balls in a bay is no substitute for a real range not to mention a golf course. Also it's tough on the short game...but at least one can still swing a club.
 
I ended 2010 really well, so I'm just trying to finetune things. We work in an indoor studio with cameras etc, so I do that for a few hours every week and also do a few hours per week in the gym. Specifically, we're trying to become more consistent by getting my swing to be more of a one-plane swing. Now I have a tendency to take it up a bit inside (but usually putting it in the slot on top) and then coming down too steeply on the ball which causes the occasionally pull.
 
Took lessons last winter and worked a bunch on my chipping technique. Winter is a great time to take lessons.
 
i take lessons but usually around the last month of winter
in the mean time i do alot of slow motion swings and swings in the mirrors to check plane and positioning
its really tough because i dont actually make contact with any kind of golfball
 
During the winter months most of the time that I'd normally dedicate to golf during the season turns to bowling league and gym routines. The only practice I might do is roll some putts on a rug or a few short chips. Occasionally I'll get out the impact bag and take some 1/2 or 3/4 swings because I get the itch and want to be out walking the courses again. I could go to the academy down the road for some lessons and get some time on the simulator or maybe hit out of some heated bays, but I don't think I'd practice with a purpose like I do during the warm season. My first few rounds are rough but everything usually comes back to normal soon once I get used to the courses again.
 
I'll be heading to the local indoor range about twice a week. I like to work on my short game swing mostly, but I will also do full shots with each club just to keep my swing fresh. They also have a simulator which I will probably use just a couple of times over the winter, and a big putting area that i'm sure will get a lot of use.
 
Well, here in Georgia I plan to play 3 to 5 times a week to stay ready. I probably should commit to some lessons next year, but have not made the decision yet.
 
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I have been working on a flatter, more of a 1 plane swing. I toyed with that in a simulator while testing a Supertri and saw my swing speed jump about 5-7 MPH and my driving distance went up by about 15 yards. Granted that was all in a simulator. I tested it first at Scranton while playing with some THP members and it seemed to work pretty good for the most part. Transitioned it to include my iron and wedge game too when I was in PHX playing with Yoccos and White Rhino and I thought I hit the ball pretty darn good that day. Been practicing it in my living room with a wedge and a Wii Chicken Stick. As soon as my test irons arrive I will be off to the range and indoor sims to work on it some more.
 
Does anyone have anything specific that they try to do for working on the short game during the winter months? Or is it just all pitching and chipping from mats? While I'm working on my full swing and putting courtesy of golfTEC and a dome, my short game stinks right now and I can't imagine it's going to improve any over the winter. Blah.
 
Miss Shanksalot said:
Does anyone have anything specific that they try to do for working on the short game during the winter months? Or is it just all pitching and chipping from mats? While I'm working on my full swing and putting courtesy of golfTEC and a dome, my short game stinks right now and I can't imagine it's going to improve any over the winter. Blah.
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The problem with short game practice in the winter (up north) is that I think you need real grass to effectively practice all the greenside shots. But I think with your dome access, you could certainly spend some time on your pitch shots, getting your distances dialed in at the least. For instance, using your wedge, practice hitting shots that carry 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards. Vary it up by hitting 50 yards, then 20, then 40, etc... Learn how long a backswing is required to hit each shot, and ingrain that swing for your lengths.
 
I signed up for lessons at the local Golfers Warehouse in CT. I took lessons last year with the same pro and I cant even begin to tell you how it helped my game. My swing became much more consistant and my iron play really straightened out. This winter I hope to learn how to work the ball left/right and up/down.

As far as chipping goes, I've got a mini chipping net set up in the basement (about 20ft away) and I work on a few different types of chips with all 3 of my wedges. I like to practice bouncing the ball once or twice before the net, and then opening the face a little and getting some air under the ball to fly it into the net.
 
When I was stuck inside in winter I worked on putting mechanics. Putter path, shaft lean, square face, solid base, etc.


I think putting is the quickest way to lower scores and much practice on artificial surfaces is misleading. My experience with mats has been that all shots feel solid even if hit fat or thin and feedback in terms of ball flight is missing.
 
This winter I am revamping my driver swing. I can still golf in the winter here although it is cold, but I spent a lot more time on the range working on may game. I am very happy with my iron game and short game so maintenance is just the goal there for now but the driver needs the bulk of my winter time.
 
This winter I am going to work even harder on physicality than I have to date. My SS is up considerably to the point where i am now able to hit s-shafted drivers with increased distance as opposed to the other way round. In fact I am right on the border of transition between my R9 SuperTri with regular shaft to a SuperDeep driver with stiff shaft. I have really started to hit the SuperDeep very well with improvements in accuracy, distance and trajectory. My driver accuracy and distance are now starting to hit acceptable levels finally.

I am also going to work on my putting now that I have a matt in the basement and will do what i can for my chipping. The only chip shots you can practice and not really that good are tight lie chip shots because that is all the chipping mat will give you. That said, for the hold and hinge a tight lie is a challenge so I will get some benefit out of it.

I am going to hit the heated ranges as well regardless of their deficiencies. At least you get to hit the ball. I have no interest in going three months without.
 
This winter, I have actually made a plan to work on the basics. Mostly chipping and putting. My putting did improve some from last winter.
 
I've gone from playing almost every day to playing about once or twice a week because of the weather. I've been really concentrating on doing exercises that will strengthen my golf game since I wasn't taking the time to do that when I was playing all the time. I joined the gym and researched specific golf exercises and do them when I go. Since I'm older, my flexibility really needs some serious improvement.

I will probably continue to take one lesson per month.
 
alignment, stance & pre-shot routine on the tee. I have a number of problems, but alignment and stance were the main problems I was having with hitting fairways reliably. I've made some major changes and already seen my FIRs go from 4-ish/round to 10-12/round in the last 3 rounds....gotta keep practicing to make it less deliberate though.

just picked up a (new to me) set of MP-52 irons and making major adjustments to iron stance and hitting. iron play has always been my strong suit, but I have a style suited to my 12 y/o cast Callaway knockoffs. The MP-52s are entirely different and require a switch from "picking" to divot-taking. good results so-far but again, it's all very deliberate. I hit em on a lie board at Edwin Watts yesterday and had the lie angle adjusted a couple of degrees. Hopefully the fade I've picked up when I switched to these clubs will go away now.

I'll play all winter here as long as the temps are around 38-40 or higher.....looking forward to spring already though.
 
Last winter my Wife and I did some pretty intense work-outs (P-90x), we were both stronger last golf season due to the work-outs. It seriously helped a lot, and I would guess that she gained about 15-20yards last year due to workouts and also making solid contact more often. I might have gained 5-10yards, but I dunno for sure however, due to the stretching and hard workouts, I feel I am able to swing with what I feel is less effort now, and still hit it just as far.

This year we started working out, but got sidetracked and will be starting again after the holiday season. We are both spending some time putting in the house on some yoga matts this year which is something we have never done. Her putting has always been great, mine sux though and I hope the practice on our 3 yoga matts pays off.
 
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