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Strategy after a long layoff from golf

Bennet00

Bennet00

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If you were wanting to get back into a more regular game after a layoff of 3+ years with only 2-3 rounds per year just for fun, what would your drills and practice strategy be? I work on a military base, and drive past the course everyday on my way home. It has range hitting off mats on one side, and grass on the other, chipping green, and of course a practice putting green.

Last week I stopped by on Friday after work. Hit a medium bucket starting with short irons and working up. Didn't even touch the driver or 5 wood,. Then chipped for 20 minutes or so, and then got a beer and putted for about a half an hour. Most relaxing Friday afternoon I have had in a longgggg time.
 
Really depends on your golf goals. Do you want to get to scratch, compete with friends, play tournaments, or just have fun?
 
Compete with friends. And let's face it, playing better is also fun!
 
Don't over think it then. 3 nights a week at the range, one of those lots of short game work, 1 round on course practice and 1 round for score. Do that every week or as often as you can and you should be good to go.
 
ntanygd760 said:
Don't over think it then. 3 nights a week at the range, one of those lots of short game work, 1 round on course practice and 1 round for score. Do that every week or as often as you can and you should be good to go.
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This one, plus pick up the shortest club that you can hit reliably to 180 yards or thereabouts. That will be what you use off the tee, because it's rare for tee carries to exceed 180 yards. It's fun to pull out driver, but take your time moving on to the longer clubs.
 
For me, after long layoffs, it is all about my short game. I always lose a sense of touch and a whole lot of lose confidence. Once I feel reasonable about short game and shorter irons full swing, I'll get into the mid irons and finally into hybrids, woods and drivers.

I think theoverswingers' advice about the 180 club for when you're ready to go out on the course. I always start on Par 3's then jump to 9 hole courses and finally full 18's. But in LA, full 18s can take FORFREAKINGEVAR. :D
 
Golf after a long layoff ?? ... well .. having low expectations and try to remember ....whether you have a birdie .. or a snowman .. it will not determine whether you will be able to buy , food , gas , pay your house payment ...... golf is supposed to be fun ... if you remember just that you will be able to return again and again
 
I don't know if there has to be a strategy at all, I mean just get to the range and hit some balls , and putt, and chip. Just go and do it and take it easy and enjoy. Then go back and do it again and when you feel comfy enough to hit the course go ahead. Good luck! and enjoy! I had very many years where playing golf was only a couple rounds. No strategy, just played.
 
If you just want to have fun I think you about nailed it by spending more time with short irons and around the greens than with driver at the range. Think about that 5 wood off the tee - anything in play will definitely help make the game more enjoyable. And post round beers on Friday afternoons don't suck. Maybe try to find a friend or two to join you.
 
I would say don't play "cold" take 1-3 full practice sessions (Range, chipping, putting) and don't just blast balls. Any hacker can spend 3 hours spraying balls down the range, make it meaningful. The sessions don't have to be long either, I can get more answers out of a 35 minute session than out of a 3 hour session. It's all about what works for you.
 
For myself I made the greatest improvement in my swing by almost exclusively practicing with my wedges and 9-iron.

Previously I had done most of my practicing with mid irons.
The swing is so much faster with mid irons on up that it is hard for me to feel what I'm doing wrong, or different, on my mis-hits.
With a wedge it became so much easier to get a feel for what changed from swing to swing.

Also, I can hit wedges all day long, and I think it's really fun and relaxing.
I used to try and meditate before, but now when I'm stressed, or just want to turn my brain off and think of nothing, a large bucket and short wedge is like a nap for me.

I started doing that this past December and my swing has really improved, and so has my short game (dramatically).

I've only played 2 rounds this yr so far, so don't know what effect (if any) it will have in my HC. But, I feel like a much more skilled golfer than I was when I got down to a low of 7.7 this last fall.
 
Also play from the appropriate tees. If you're teeing off with a 5 iron so you can keep the ball in play and you hit it 180 yds, you should play from the forward tees.

And stick to it regardless of what your buddies say. Hitting the big dog off the tee is hard. The 7 iron is relatively easy to hit in comparison. The driver shows up all your swing flaws. Those micro flaws that don't show up with the 7 iron can cause a big miss with the driver.
 
I took a 6 month layoff every winter the first 20 years I played and never had trouble or a strategy for getting back into it. Just go out and play!!
 
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