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Dealing with time away from golf

Molten

Molten

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How do you deal with long periods of time without golf? Are there other hobbies or outlets that scratch the same itch?

Between injuries and life, my time for golf is essentially zero right now. I went from daily putting and twice a week practice to maybe a round or two a month (if the stars align and my body cooperates). I expect surgery will result in at least 4-6 months away from the game too, so I’m looking for something.
 
Molten said:
How do you deal with long periods of time without golf? Are there other hobbies or outlets that scratch the same itch?

Between injuries and life, my time for golf is essentially zero right now. I went from daily putting and twice a week practice to maybe a round or two a month (if the stars align and my body cooperates). I expect surgery will result in at least 4-6 months away from the game too, so I’m looking for something.
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A lot of YouTube, a lot of watching old masters replays, anything that just kind of keeps the spark there and alive. Maybe it’s finding something simple like a posture check, or something you can do in the mirror, anything.
 
Having to take breaks away from the game I love sucks, especially when you can pretty much play year round here in TN. But I can feel your frustration. I had to take a couple weeks off due to hurting my back. My other hobby (motorcycles) usually gets put on hold when it's cold, so my only other thing I can do to scratch the itch is to buy golf stuff, haha. The wife doesn't like that so much, haha, so she would much rather me go to the course and play if I can.
 
Having lived in this part of the nation for so many decades, golf has always been seasonal for me.
Thus, the off-season feels totally natural.
I enjoy reading a lot in the winter.

There'a always another April until there isn't, I guess.
 
I definitely get golf related fix from THP during the off season, but the actual activity itself is tougher to replicate. Rehab exercise, playing guitar, building things (shop and house related tinkering...), and reading are all ways I stay entertained.
 
Every winter.

Strength training gets better in the winter, but that's just because I can do it on the weekends.
 
In the last 2 years, I’ve had a cervical fusion and total knee replacement that kept me away from the game. I focused on my rehab. I was able to get back to playing quicker than I originally thought. I read a lot of THP, watched a lot of golf YouTube and tried to work on my grip, alignment, posture. If it didn’t require a swing or a lot of exertion, I did some work on it.

Best of luck to you and good thoughts for a great result.
 
I'm used to having a few months off every year, so I tend to read a lot of books, work on some music projects, maybe play some video golf on the PS4. I'll work on setup and backswing inside, plus I have an Orange Whip I'll use to stay loose.

Oh and I club ho. Like, REALLY club ho. It's terrible. I had one winter where I bought 2 sets of irons and then sold them before I even hit a ball with either of them.
 
Molten said:
How do you deal with long periods of time without golf? Are there other hobbies or outlets that scratch the same itch?
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I'm a sports fan, so I like to put a few small wagers down each day on college basketball and/or NBA in the offseason. It's kind of my routine to work on my picks for an hour once I finish up work and it helps me "decompress" before I come home. The goal is to win $30-40 a week, which I use to go out and eat somewhere after work on Friday. I also feel like it keeps my mind sharp after the same old stuff everyday at work.

Note: Gambling isn't for everyone lol.
 
Where I live you have to deal with time away from golf at least 3 1/2 months out of every year. Winter is pretty boring. I try to deal with through exercise, reading, and learning something new. This winter will be different however because I am facing spine surgery in early 2022. I have some arthritis on my spine that is pinching my sciatic nerve and causing a lot of pain down my whole left side. Yuk!
 
Every off season for me is at least 5 months. I find it’s a nice break and I come in every spring re-energized. I like to read more in the winter when it’s not as warm out.
 
I complain. A lot. Safe to say I’m not handling it well.
 
A lot of yard work, back yard basketball and cooking. At least that is what I have been doing for the last almost 3 months since I have played golf due to trying to recover from some injuries. Have also made a little coin by selling stuff I don't need. Just basically doing anything to stay busy and keep my mind off the fact I am not walking 18 five or so days a week.
 
RealPretendPsychic said:
I complain. A lot. Safe to say I’m not handling it well.
Click to expand...

This made me laugh, and is me.

Sorry to hear @Molten. I'm kind of used to it during the winter although I do try to hit balls once every few weeks even then.

I have started doing puzzles in the winter. More enjoyable than I thought it would be and takes up a ton of time.
 
First time in 12 years dealing with bad weather/no golf.....It sucks.
 
THP in the winter is gonna be key. Also a putting mat in the home office.
 
I hike, fish, and do road trips when not golfing.

I was away from my golf game for almost 9 years. 10 if you count the covid closures. I kept busy doing other out of door things. I did miss my golf, but it wasn't that big of deal.

I built some some stuff. Worked on my vehicles. I had a couple of dogs I hiked the desert with. Did alot of volunteer stuff for the NPS. Read alot of books.

I'd pick up a club once in while, thought I was keeping in golf shape. Didn't work out that way. I lost a lot my distance.

I know when I got back into my golf game on a regular basis, it was a fun challenge to rebuild what I could of it.
 
literally drive past golf courses and imagine hitting shots from the different areas haha wish i were joking... but its the truth.. literally was out with family - saw a new course that was really nice - ended up being top 50 in the state and the whole time was just imagining being a member and playing the course.


Between that and climbing the walls in the house, hitting putts and dreaming about the next peg in the ground .... i cry :cry::cry::cry:
 
There is a lot of yard work I need to do in the winter. I'm good at gardening, so from my perspective, plants need to be pruned back all the time!
In the early spring I'll move plants around, to give the big ones more space.

This year I have some home renovation projects. Now that the sun room has a newly refinished floor, I've ordered wall paper to fix the walls.

Hopefully the net in the back yard will survive the winter storms so I can practice my swing on those unseasonably warm winter days.
 
Over the winter I have my saltwater aquarium which occupies some of my time. I also try to go to the sim or golf dome once or twice a week. This year I’m in a sim golf league which runs from January until the end of March so I’ll have that to occupy my time
 
Winter time is guitar/music time for me. After the tour comes back from Hawaii I start to get the itch again.
I occasionally practice putting and the wife and I will go to an indoor facility 3-4 times during the winter. It has great food so we spend an afternoon golfing, drinking and eating.
 
Every winter here in Eastern Washington.
I bowl, play more music with the band, occasionally hit a sim and spend a lot of time on THP.
 
In the winter, I get swings in where I can (although I have a fitting in 2 weeks so I hope my swing doesn't altogether crumble during the cold weather), and do other activities - running, strength training indoors, and skiing are the go tos. I sneak in disc golf as well, but similar restrictions to golf there - although there are no frost delays!

I feel you on the other priorities thing though. Life tends to restrict me to an average of 1 round a week during the active season, maybe 2 if I'm lucky in the heart of the summer, and practice is few and far between. To really improve I know I need more than that. But I have lots of other priorities to chase...oh to have unlimited free time!
 
Golf is my hobby. Don’t really do a whole lot else. Usually only about a month here where I can play no outdoor golf. So I’ll get lofts and lies checked, go through my bag and linger on here.
 
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