Many golfers have plans to work on their golf games in the off-season this year. Unfortunately, for many, that means jumping into a regiment of random ball-hitting and time spent hitting a few putts here and there.
While it may keep you feeling familiar with your golf clubs while you cannot be on the course or at the range; it will likely prove very unproductive when it comes to advancements.
I’d suggest you start your off-season with a quantifiable assessment. It will let you know exactly where you are starting so you can measure your progress, plus it will allow you to identify weaknesses and make a proper plan to improve them.
Physical:
The game of golf, especially the swing itself, is one that utilizes many aspects of your body. That includes the range of motion required to swing a club as well as developing clubhead speed, an real asset when you have more of it. This means you should consider a Physical Screening to determine any mobility issues, as well as a Physical Fitness assessment to identify opportunities and limitations in your fitness levels. These should be shared with your professional golf coach to better inform your action plan with them.
Swing/Short Game Assessment:
Golf coaches usually have their own methods of determining a baseline for the many skills involved in a complete golf game but universal tests like a TrackMan Combine can help. This test of 60 shots not only comes up with a finite score, but within the test many levels of swing parameters are recorded that your coach can use to assess why the results are what they are.
If you plan to do any work on your game these tests also give you a jumping off point for comparisons at the end of the practice period. That means you can measure any progress or regression.
So, before you head aimlessly into practice this winter, identify your strengths and weaknesses with proper assessments, develop a plan based on that them, and enjoy executing that plan all winter long. You’ll be better for it in the spring; plus you can hold yourself accountable.
