So it’s November and, for the most part, the golf season has wound down. Sure, there will be a few beautiful days left, but not quite enough to warrant consideration of an extended season. So what to do? Without golf, what’s to occupy your Saturday afternoons? I suppose you could always get some work done around the house. Maybe you can clean out the basement that your wife has been hounding you about since last winter? Nah….I’ve got a better idea. How about keeping yourself in “golf shape?”

Golf shape. That’s a funny term. Think about it. It’s not like the word “shape” is preceded by “football” or “basketball” or any sport which really requires an athlete to be in peak physical condition. Well, not us stinky golfers anyway. If we were out on tour, then I can understand it. But playing a game of Nassau with a few other stinky golfers during a round of eighteen which is sandwiched between a few rounds of beer? You could probably guess that “golf shape” is not first and foremost on my list of New Year’s resolutions. As a general rule of thumb, I pretty much believe that if you can consume an alcoholic beverage during the activity you are performing…and it quite possibly makes you better…that activity may not be considered a “sport.” Bowling of course comes to mind.

Take a look at that picture of John Daly up there. Now I’ve got myself a gut, but I like to believe that it doesn’t look much like his. Also, is that an adult beverage in his hand? Thing is, he could look like he does, be as unhealthy as he may be and play at six in the morning with a hangover…and on my best day, he will still beat me like a four-year-old at Wal-Mart!

My point is, golf shape doesn’t necessarily have much to do with your physical condition. Too out of shape to walk eighteen? Just take a cart! No, golf shape is more about your mechanics and the act of the swing…not what the person swinging the club looks like. So in lieu of heading out to the course, maybe you should take a Saturday here or there and head to a decent practice facility.

Here in the beautiful northeast, out of necessity, many of the local driving ranges feature heated stations. After all, how much business would they do during the winter months if customers just had to stand out in the cold? Instead, you turn a knob and just like that, heat is reflected down on you from the roof above.

Don’t want to stand outside? Me either. So I head to an indoor facility. At a large indoor facility, I can work on just about every facet of my game. The one I choose to use contains a driving area, an area for irons, chipping area, putting green and even a couple of bunkers! If you’re in the mood for more than just practice and are looking for a little competition, they also have a couple of simulators. Also, if you need a little help with something, there’s a PGA Pro right on-site.

So maybe, like me, you’re stuck with some projects around the house. Who isn’t? Maybe you have some other involuntary commitments that are getting in your way. Whatever the tie-up may be, you can’t let that crap take over your golf life! Get yourself out to one of these places and get to work. With any luck, you can hit the course next season looking more like Jack Nicklaus than a Jackass.