Playing golf last weekend was a rarity. Not the playing golf part, but the last weekend part. Playing golf that late in the year is something I’m not sure I’ve ever done. But, after the thought had crossed my mind, it doesn’t look like there will be much chance of playing in December. No, with the temps here in CT dropping into the 30’s and low 40’s on a regular basis now, my golf season appears to have come to an end.
So what to do now? How do I still get my golf fix when I can’t get out on the course over the winter? The Golf Channel sure as heck doesn’t cut it. And I already broke my temperature barrier of 50 degrees last month. I’m not going to drop it below 40. So I guess I’ll have to find some other means.
I’ll start with planning a trip or two to the indoor facility. What I like about the indoor place we go to is you can work on every part of your game. I can work on putting, chipping, sand traps and irons. Although I can work on my driving there as well, because there is no actual range I can’t see the finished result. So it ends up being only a “feel” thing. So for driving, I’ll have to hit the outdoor range.
Ah, the outdoor range in the winter. It’s not as bad as it sounds. There are overhead heaters at your tee area, so it’s only bad when the wind is whipping. But at that point, you probably shouldn’t be there to begin with. But I need to go because I need to see where the ball is winding up. I can’t hit the ball only 20-25 yards and make sure it feels good. I have to see if I sliced it, hooked it or put one straight out there.
But both of these options equate to nothing more than practice. What if I wanted to actually play a round? Well, maybe option number three should be an out-of-season golf trip. Every golf trip I’ve taken has been during prime golf season. I could save some money going in the off-season. And really, I would only need to travel somewhere that the temperature is still in the 60’s to make me happy. I don’t need to turn it into a lavish trip at some tropical resort. I just need it to be a little warmer than CT this time of year.
Now that I think about it, maybe that’s the step I’m missing in the off-season. I have to get out of the habit of simply practicing and travel somewhere to actually play! No one wants to practice, but we all want to play. It’s more motivating. It’s more fun. And damn it, it’s what I want to do. So maybe now I’m going to turn more attention to playing rather than practicing. After all, what am I practicing for really? I stink. I’m always going to stink. At least I can have fun stinking.
Swing ’til you’re happy!
opti-shot,,,,, not the greatest but it works especially when it turns cold here in indiana