Tag: practice

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Golf Tips

Set Goals To Improve Your Golf This Off-Season

By Shooting 90

Over the last few weeks, the courses in my area have all closed for the winter. As recent as three years ago, that would have meant I would have had to find ways to work on my golf game at home during the off-season.

I did drive two hours to the nearest indoor golf simulator and indoor driving range on multiple occasions each year, but that becomes both expensive and time consuming.

Many people take golf vacations during their off-season, but those are also expensive for many other people.

I was always able to find ways to improve my golf game at home, including building a DIY Indoor Golf Net and putting.

Fortunately it has become much easier over the last few years for me to improve my golf game in the winter, mainly due to now having multiple indoor golf simulator options within fifteen minutes of my house.

You need to know the areas of your game that are costing you strokes before you can set goals to improve your golf game. There are several ways to track your stats – all the way from a system like Arccos, or an app on your phone like TheGrint, down to tracking golf stats on your scorecard.

Early on this past season, I identified a few areas for improvement in my golf game. The two most important ones were greenside chipping and putting. I worked on chipping throughout the season. Turns out my biggest issue was not having enough weight on my lead foot at setup. I’m happy to say chipping is no longer an immediate area for improvement, but putting still is and leads my list of three off-season golf improvement goals.

My Three Off-Season Golf Goals

Make 95% of My Putts Within Three Feet

Putting was a huge issue for me this past season, costing me a lot of strokes on the course. Surprisingly, I made a few putts over 25 feet. The putts three feet and under were the issue. I missed a lot of these short putts, seemingly at least two a round.

Honestly, I’d be ecstatic with 90%, 9 out of every 10 3-footers. I’m no where near that now, although I do not specifically track percentage of putts made under three feet. Next season this will be a stat I track.

Missing that many short putts obviously means I’m not getting the putt started on line. There could be multiple causes for this, including poor alignment and clubface control. Regardless, either can be addressed in your home during the off-season! A laser setup is a great way to work on your alignment and putting stroke.

Lakeland Fitness and Golf has TruGolf simulators with E6 Connect software. While putting is always lacking on simulators, Trugolf seems to do it better than most. I’m looking forward to seeing how well I can practice five foot putts on it.

I honestly feel if this is the only goal I significant move the needle towards, my handicap will still drop a few digits next season.

Eliminate my BIG MISS with the Driver

Hank Haney always suggests to eliminate your big miss. Your big miss would be the incorrect shot that costs you the most strokes. Mine is the big hook with my driver. My normal ball flight with my driver is a high draw. I love it but when I miss it’s a big hook pulled to the left.

Indoor golf simulators are ideal for working on your full swing, especially your driver. You’re always going to have the same great lie on the tee box that you have in the simulator.

Eliminate is such a strong word. I doubt I won’t hit a big hook off the tee next season. Fortunately it doesn’t happen a lot, but when it does I need to be able to correct it on the course, making it a one time occurrence during a round.

Increase my Driver Clubhead Speed to 100 MPH

My current driver clubhead speed of around 93 MPH is just about average for a man my age. Can I really add 7 MPH during the off-season? We’ll have to see but if I can it will add twenty yards to my drives. Twenty yards longer turns my 5 irons for approach shots into 7 irons and my 7 irons into 9 irons. My greens in regulation “should” increase. Pair that with my improved putting and my scores should go down.

Of course added distance at the cost of accuracy is no good and on my local courses would mean twenty yards farther in the woods. Swing speed increase needs to be gradual, working in small increments toward your speed goal. Fortunately, indoor golf simulators are great for increasing clubhead speed. Even if the clubhead speed is off a bit on your simulator, it still should be consistent. Start with taking a baseline clubhead speed and work up from there.

What are your off-season golf goals? We’d love to hear them! Follow Shooting 90 on Twitter and comment on the tweet below!

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Golf Practice

Play More Golf to Lower Your Handicap

By Shooting 90

Playing more rounds will improve your scoring, lowering your handicap, faster than increasing your practice time.

Time on the practice range is important to continually improve our full swing. Developing a repeatable swing with as much club head speed as possible will allow you to hit more fairways and greens, but learning how to lower scores happens on the course.

There are simply too many factors that come together to lower your handicap. While all of these factors will be encountered on the course, some of these are more difficult to practice off the course, and some golfers choose not to practice them.

Working on your full swing is important, but at least half of your practice time should be on the short game; pitching, chipping, and putting. The majority of shots on the course will involve your short game. The practice time you spend on your short game should reflect this. Improving your short game equals lowering your handicap.

When is the last time you practiced uneven lies on the practice range? Most beginner and high handicap golfers hit every shot at the range from a near perfect lie. Improved scoring comes from mastering how to hit the four main uneven lies, which can only be done on the golf course. Hitting out of the rough is also best learned on the course.

Two great ways to play more golf is by getting a membership at a club or by joining a league. Joining a club immediately made me feel more obligated to golf, since I prepaid my season. Playing competitive golf in a league has so many benefits. Golf’s handicap system levels the playing field making for an enjoyable experience for all golfers.

Start playing more rounds today and lower your handicap today!

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Golf Practice

DIY Indoor Golf Net

By Shooting 90

These are plans for a roughly 8 foot high, 8 foot wide, and 5 foot deep DIY indoor golf net. The frame is 1-1/4 inch PVC pipe and the netting is 3/4″ #18 black square nylon.

Materials

Quantity Item Cost Each Item Total Cost
1 8′ x 8′ GOLF IMPACT BLACK SQUARE NYLON BARRIER BACKSTOP NETTING 3/4″ #18 $49.95 $49.95
3 8′ x 5′ GOLF IMPACT BLACK SQUARE NYLON BARRIER BACKSTOP NETTING 3/4″ #18 $32.95 $98.85
1 1-1/4″ Furniture Grade 3-Way Corner Elbow PVC Fitting – 8 Pack $24.90 $24.90
8 1-1/4″ x 10′ PVC Pipe $3.38 $27.04
4 1-1/4″ x 5′ PVC Pipe $2.71 $10.84
1 1″ x 10′ PVC Pipe $2.21 $2.21
3 100 Count Black 8″ Cable Ties $2.46 $7.38
1 King sized sheet $0.00 $0.00
Total Cost $221.17

Assembling the PVC Frame

Cut all 8 of the 1-1/4″ by 10′ pipes down to 7’10” in length.

Cut all 4 of the 1-1/4″ by 5′ pipes down to 4’9″ in length.

Make the bottom frame by connecting two 7’10” lengths and two 4’9″ lengths using four 3-way corner elbows to form a rectangle. The remaining open end of each corner elbow should be facing up.

Insert a 7’10” PVC pipe into each of the four corner elbows.

Make the top frame by connecting a 3-way corner elbow to the top of each column and connecting two 7’10” lengths and two 4’9″ lengths to form a rectangle.

Congratulations! You’ve assembled the PVC frame.

Adding the Net

The 8′ x 8′ net is the back net. The three 8′ x 5′ nets make up the left, right, and top nets. Hang each net in place. My nets came with loops at each corner which made it easy to hang each net in place. If for some reason your net does not have the loops at each corner, you can just use a cable tie around the pipe and through a corner square of the net.

The nets are attached to the frame by using an 8″ cable tie around the PVC and every four squares of the net. So cable tie, skip three squares, and then another cable tie.

Along the top of the frame, the same cable tie will connect the top net and either side or back net.

Going down the back columns, the same cable tie will connect the side nets and the back net.

Leave an opening along the top sides about 6″ from the back. The 1″ PVC pipe will rest on top of the sides and the impact screen will hang from it.

Adding the Impact Screen

Here could go your impact screen where you could project the image from your golf simulator. To break out the costs of a full feature simulator over a few years, we are using a king size bed sheet.

Cut the 1″ x 10′ PVC pipe down to 8′. Make a loop in the top of the king size sheet around the PVC pipe. Mark where you want to sew the seam. If you have sewing skills, or know someone who does, you can sew a seam to make a loop for the 1″ PVC pipe. You could use safety pins to create the loop if you are unable to sew it.

Place the 1″ PVC pipe through the loop of the sheet and rest each end of the pipe on top of each side of the frame about 6″ from the back of the frame. Connect two cable ties together to make a longer ones and wrap one around the top side support and the 1″PVC pipe to hold it in place. Fasten the remaining area of the nets around the 1″ PVC pipe to the frame.

I’m not sure how long the king size sheet will hold up as an impact screen. The next upgrade could be to install an actual impact screen we can project on.

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Golf Practice

The Chipping Game

By Shooting 90

High handicap and beginner golfers lose a lot of strokes around the green. Yet it’s probably the area that golfers practice the least. How often do you see someone chipping by the practice green?

My 12 year old son started taking his golf game more seriously this season. Like many beginner golfers, he made quick improvements in his long game from tee to green, but still gives up too many strokes around and on the green.

We’ve identified the need to emphasize practicing chipping and putting, but chipping and putting ball after ball from the same spots is not the way. There’s been a lot written lately about the need to practice like you play in order to simulate real shots and golf round pressure.

My son and I play a game for our chipping practice. It’s simple, fun, and provides a large amount of chipping and putting practice.

Each player plays one ball. Players alternate choosing the spot off the green to chip from along with the hole on the practice green to chip to. The object is to get your ball in the hole in the less strokes than your opponent. No points are awarded to either player in a tie. The winning player receives three points if they chip it in with one stroke, two points for getting “up and down” in two strokes, and one point for getting the ball in the hole in three strokes. No points are awarded for four or more strokes even if you get in the hole in less strokes than your opponent. The winner of the match is the first player to reach ten points.

This chipping game is a great way to simulate real golf round pressure both with the match play aspect and the need to get the ball in the hole in three strokes or less.

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Golf Practice

FixYourGame.com Online Lesson Review

By Shooting 90

There’s no doubt that having a golf coach is the fast track to improving your game but very few of us have the time and money required to make that a reality. While there is a lot you can do on your own to improve your game, we’re sometimes blind to many things with our game and this is no where more noticeable than with our swing.

While analyzing your own swing will lead to improvement, it doesn’t compare with a golf teaching professional taking a look. This is especially true if you are new to the game. Have a teaching professional get you started in the right direction. Even if you’ve been playing for years, we sometimes slip back into poor fundamentals that we are blind to see. Have a teacher get your swing back on track.

For years instructors have used video to help them improve their students’ swings. Now smartphones have made it easy to record video of your own swing. The ability to easily upload these videos to the Internet has also opened the door for a relatively new form of golf instruction – online golf instruction.

The idea is simple. Shoot video of your own swing, upload it to a website, and have a golf professional review it and offer ways for you to improve. It’s been something I’ve been contemplating for some time, so when Brant from FixYourGame.com offered to review my swing, I jumped at the chance.

Getting started at FixYourGame.com is very easy. I took two videos of my swing, one from behind down the target line and facing me perpendicular to the target line, filled out the online form and uploaded the videos. Within a few days my online lesson was ready!

Your lesson consists of two parts. The first is a written review with observations and suggestions on areas of your swing to work on. Brant also included links to YouTube videos featuring himself demonstrating proper technique.

The second part of your lesson is a video analysis of your swing. Areas of improvement from the written review are further analyzed with your swing compared along side swings by pro golfers. My swing was compared frame by frame with Rory McIlroy’s and Luke Donald’s.

I felt the combination of the written review, video analysis, and YouTube videos coming together to reinforce the three areas of improvement for my swing did a great job of emphasizing what steps I need to take to improve.

Check out FixYourGame.com today for online instruction for your game!

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Golf Tips

Warmup at the Practice Range Before Your Round

By Shooting 90

Do you show up to the golf course five minutes before your tee time? I used to do this all the time, but is can cause a few issues!

First off, I’m usually pretty amped up to golf when I get to the course, which sometimes translates into my swing, resulting in a duck hook off the first tee. Not exactly the way you want to start a round.

Secondly, you just never know what swing you are going to bring to the course. Your ball’s flight path may normally be a nice little draw, but I highly doubt you have that shot every time you golf. Even the pros don’t have their A shot every time out. Your swing today may produce a bigger draw than usual or even a slight fade.

How do you help fix this two issues?

A great way to lower your anxiety, settle into golf mode, and see what kind shot you have today is to show up thirty minutes before your tee time and hit a small bucket of balls at the practice range.

The key point of the preceding sentence is a small bucket. This is a warmup session and not a practice session. A small bucket, 30 to 50 balls, is the perfect amount of swings to get comfortable without tiring yourself out. This is also the right number of swings to determine what kind of ball flight path your swing will produce that day. During warm up is not the time to change your swing to match your desired ball flight path. You are instead finding the swing you will be playing with today.

Hitting a small bucket of balls also gives you the opportunity to fix your swing in an emergency. Remember, you are not using the warmup session to change slight differences in your swing that result in a slightly different ball flight path. That work is for a longer practice session with a large bucket of balls. I’m talking about when you show up to the course with a terrible swing. Many times this is caused by you performing a piece of your swing majorly wrong. By slowing down and resetting your swing, you can many times get it corrected in the course of hitting a small bucket of balls. Trying to reset your swing on the course is much more difficult.

So why show up thirty minutes early when you can hit a small bucket of balls in 15-20 minutes? You’ll want to use the extra 5-10 minutes on the practice green to determine the speed of the greens. Putting some balls on the practice green, while not a perfect indicator of green speed on the course, will help you gauge the speed of the greens before you get to the first green.

Hopefully, I’ve convinced you of the benefits of hitting some warmup shots before your next round. It will go a long way in getting you off to the good start needed to score well for your round.

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Golf Tips

The Advantages of Golfing by Yourself

By Shooting 90

Golf can be played in a variety of ways. You can compete individually or as a team. Even when competing individually, you are usually playing in a group. When not competing, playing golf with your regular golf companions is a very enjoyable activity. Golf is a very social sport.

While golf is obviously enjoyable with others, I would also encourage you to not avoid golfing alone. Many courses will not allow singles during busy times and will pair you up with others to make a foursome. This is understandable. A bunch of single players on a busy golf course is not an efficient way to bring in income. However, even at my local home course which is very busy during the summer, I can get out on the course by myself during twilight and early morning times. I can usually go out solo anytime of the day during non-peak months.

There are many advantages to golfing by yourself.

  • There’s no pressure – Most of us experience some kind of added pressure and tension when playing in a group. Playing with someone new for the first time adds to this tension. Hit a few bad shots and soon you have a snowball effect. This pressure if non-existent when playing alone. Shrug off a bad shot and move on.
  • It’s easier to play forward or back tees – By playing off of a different color tee, you will have different approach shots than you are accustomed to from playing off your regular tee. This gives you valuable practice with clubs you might normally not use. You are free from any questions to play any tee you want when you are out alone.
  • You can set your own pace – Playing alone, you will not feel rushed by other players in your group or by other groups behind you. If by chance a single or group of two catches up to you, simply let them play through. You will most likely be forced to slow down your game so you will not be on a group in front of you for the whole round. Use this time to think through every shot and practice your pre-shot routine.
  • Play two balls – Hitting two balls if the pace of play allows is a good way to avoid continually being on a group in front of you. You can mix things up by playing a worst ball scramble by yourself. Hit two balls from every spot and play the worst shot. This is a great way to practice tough shots.
  • You can talk to yourself – I don’t mean negative talk. There’s no place for that. I’m talking about giving yourself positive motivation during the round. Verbally congratulate yourself after good shots. The positive affirmation is great for your golf game.

 

Take advantage of times you can get out on the course by yourself. The solitude, ability to set your own pace, and being able to play your own game provide a great atmosphere to improve your game.

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Golf Practice

Making the Most of the Practice Range

By Shooting 90

Hitting balls at the practice range is essential for a high handicap golfer to reach playing bogey golf. You are being unrealistic if you think working on your swing only during rounds is enough to quickly progress your game. While we all live busy lives and not many of us have the time that pros do to hit thousands of balls a week, an hour a week at the practice range could be the difference between shooting 90 or not.

Committing an hour a week at the practice range is the first and most important step but you also have to use that hour as productively as you can. Many amateurs hit too many balls with their driver or go through every club in their bag each time at the range. The best plan is to work primarily on the areas of your game that are costing you the most strokes. Keeping statistics during each round is the easiest way to know what you need to address at the practice range. Take the guesswork out of it and let your game tell you what you need to work on. Don’t work on improving an area of your game that is already relatively strong when there are other areas that truly need the work. Your golf game is only as strong as its weakest link.

Once you have determined what clubs to work on at the range, don’t just robotically hit one ball after another. Do some role playing. What I mean by this is to pick a definite target and go through your pre-shot routine. Simulate shots you will encounter during actual play. By doing this you will find it easier to translate what you gain on the range over to the course.

Along with a driving range, golf courses have a practice green to go along with it. Most of these practice greens also have a sand trap along side. The short game is the most important part of anyone’s golf game. It’s vital that you spend time on and around the practice green along with the time you spend on the practice range. More of your strokes come from putting than any other area of your game. Work on producing a consistent putting stroke so you can correctly judge the speed of your putts. Remember to work on the short putts so you can consistently drain the three foot putts on the course.

Putting is not the only part of your short game. We do not hit every green in regulation so we need to build proficiency around the green. Make practicing your chipping part of your regular routine at the practice range. Many amateurs use a wedge around the green for all their shots and attempt to fly the ball almost all the way to the hole. A better way is to get the ball rolling as soon as possible by using a less lofted club such as a seven or eight iron. Practice chipping the ball just on the green and correctly reading its roll to the hole. It’s easier to judge the slope of the green than it is to correctly fly it the right distance to the hole.

Most amateurs are terrified of hitting out of a green side sand trap. The truth is while it takes a different setup and swing to successfully get out of the sand, it is a shot that can become consistent for you with a little practice. Spend time in the practice bunker until you feel confident you can successfully land your ball on the green from a green side bunker while out on the course.

There may be some talented athletics who can take up golf and shoot 90 by just playing rounds, but most of us need to spend regular time on the practice range to elevate our game. Just spending time on the practice range isn’t enough. Target specific areas of your game that need the most work and include time for your short time in each practice session. Making time for quality practice each week will put you on the fast track to shooting 90.