How to shake the winter rust from your golf game?

Golf Nut, do you have any recommendations for starting the new golf season? Any special golf drills or exercises to shake off the stiffness and rust of the winter months?

Well one way to shake off the winter rust is not to ever develop it! Play golf through that snow and ice; you probably won’t be called down by the marshal for slowing down the group in back of you. Well, they do call me The Golf Nut! I’ll play anywhere, anytime, and …. wait, I digress. No, seriously to start a new golf season on the right track I have three major recommendations
First, stay in top condition during the winter. You should have a regular stretching program that you continue during the colder months. Also, keep up a regular exercise routine year round. By coming into the warmer months in good shape, you not only avoid early spring injuries to shoulders and other joints, but you can get your golf swing grooved much quicker.
Second, I recommend using golf swing trainers year round. Keeping this up during the winter helps keep your golf swing as grooved as possible. There are a couple of trainers that I have written about before that you can use in a garage or basement with a high ceiling. I like the Momentus swing trainers and the Kallassy Swing Magic. I’ve used both of these for years and still use them today. You can find out more about both of them at The Golfer.biz.
Third, I like to start slow and short with my early season golf practice. I usually start around the green with chipping and putting. The first 3 to 5 times I practice I won’t use my full golf swing. I will only chip and putt to work on getting my touch around the green back. Then I will spend the next 2 to 3 practice sessions hitting only the shorter golf irons, i.e. the wedges and my 9 iron. What I have found over the years is that by the time I work up to the longer irons and woods, I’m ready to swing the longer golf clubs without just banging away too fast and too hard.
One final recommendation related to #3. If you’ve never taken a golf lesson about the short game, I would recommend it to make your initial practice much more effective. This is my recipe for shaking off the rust. It has worked for me; it may or may not work for you. But I encourage you to definitely do #1 and #2. Then whatever you choose for #3 will go better.