What To Do During The Golf Offseason

It’s getting to be that time of year where we don’t get to play as much golf as we would like.  And for some of you, depending on where you live, the golf courses close completely until the spring.  I’m thankful I live in the sunny Southern United States where we do get to play year round, although not every day or week.  But I was asked recently about off season programs and plans.  So I thought I would share a few thoughts on this.One of the key things that I encourage golfers to do if they aren’t already (and way too many of us aren’t) is to get into a regular fitness program.  First of all, golf is not a complete exercise program.  Even if you walk the golf course, that only does so much for you.  And you don’t have to spend big bucks to join an expensive health club.  But if you aren’t currently exercising, please start today.

I recommend three components to your program that will all help your golf game.  First is stretching.  This is something that I didn’t do early in life, but as I have gotten older I realize how important it is, and it really helps keep your flexibility for your golf swing.  The second is weight lifting.  I have written about this before and some golfers think I am crazy.  But a weight training routine is key to overall strength and conditioning.   The third component is a cardio routine of some kind.  It might be walking, running, or using a treadmill, elliptical or some other piece of equipment.

For you older golfers like me,  a book on fitness and staying young that I read recently really motivated me to take my workouts to the next level.  It’s called “Younger Next Year” by Chris Cowley.  If you are anywhere near or above your late 40’s I encourage you to check this book out.  I don’t agree with everything he writes about, but his message on exercise and the impact it has on helping your body stay young is tremendous.

Now of course I can’t totally ignore your golf swing during this post, so let’s talk about what I try to do and encourage my students to do during the offseason.  First, I really try to work on tempo.  Depending on the weather, one of the things that I do is swing a weighted club.   I really work on swinging smooth and easy and thinking about my swing thought for tempo.  Another thing that I use to do this is to hit into a net.  I am doing this to work on a smooth tempo and solid contact.  You can’t tell how the golf shot shot would have finished up, but after a short time you can definitely tell how solid the contact was.

The other thing that I will do a fair amount this time of year is work on my short game.  Primarily chipping and putting.  Now I am fortunate that I have access to courses that don’t shut down for the winter so for some of you this may be limited in what you can do.  But any chance that you have to reinforce consistency in your short game will help.   I use the same drills that are in my golf program described here.  You may want to check it out.

But until next time, golfers let’s get in shape and fine tune that short game where the strokes can be shaved.