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What Should I Do With My Golf Off-Season?

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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!

Prepping For The New Golf Season

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It’s late March and for the first time in 2011 I was invited to play 9. I politely declined. Why? Well, it’s still just too cold. While the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky, the temps barely rose above 40 degrees. And as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t play if the temps are below 50 degrees.

But being asked to play today has made me realize how close golf season actually is. Additionally, it had made me realize how unprepared I was! Practicing over the winter, equipment, apparel…I see now that I had better get on the stick! So I got started right away.

I’m all set with the basics – clubs and a bag. Although my bag, well one of the legs anyway, is in rough shape, it will hold up fine for this season. The clubs have only a half-season on them, so those are fine also. But I’m sure going to need something to hit, right? So balls are the first thing on my list. Turns out, this is a nice time to buy golf balls! I found myself a couple of boxes of Callaway Diablos, normally $25 to $30 for a box of 12 that must have been left over from last season, for only $13! Hopefully I’ll have the same luck with some of the other accessories I still need.

Next on the list for me are new shoes. I’ve been kicking myself since attending the Connecticut Golf Show last weekend and not taking advantage of the deals some of the retailers were touting. I’ve been pushing the same pair of Foot-Joy’s for a while now and it’s certainly time to let them go – No more just changing the spikes.

Last, but certainly not least, is practice. I simply haven’t practiced enough this winter. I’ve only been to the indoor facility twice, and one of those times was just to play the simulator with my kids! So I haven’t worked on my swing, drives, short game, putting…nothing! Now, as you may or may not know by now, I don’t particularly care how well I play. But, I do want to at least give myself a chance and somewhat appear to know what I’m doing. Will that happen without any off-season work? I’d rather not find out. So it looks like I’ll be planning a last-second trip or two to the range.

So, for us golfers here in the Northeast, the season is right around the corner. Hopefully, you’re better prepared for it than I am. And for those of you living where there is no off-season, aren’t you glad you don’t have to go through this every year?

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Off-Season? Golf Has An Off-Season?

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Can someone please help me out with a few things here? Is the golf season officially underway right now? Are there actual tournaments going on? Didn’t the 2010 season just end? I swear I just saw something about Steve Stricker tied for the lead in a tournament.

How is this possible? Why would this be happening right now? I think what I’m saying is, it’s no wonder there are fewer and fewer people golfing or taking up the game of golf every year. Golf has just about everything going against it right now.

The first problem is; I had no idea there were any tournaments even happening! I’m sure many of you who are reading this were well-aware that golf was underway. But not me. I’m sure I’ve made it clear by now I am a very casual golf fan. Playing golf…sure! Watching golf…ehh….not so much. But when a golf tournament is competing with the NFL playoffs? I’m sorry, but out of 100 times, the golf tournament will lose 101. How can the PGA golf season kick-off during the most important time of the largest spectator sport (TV-viewer wise) in the country?! Seriously now…there is no possible way they are gaining any new viewers. Next thing you know, they’ll have a final round going on during the Super Bowl!

Second; When exactly did last season end? And when did this season begin? Was there really even an off-season? If so, how long was it…a month? See? This is another problem. The season is just too damn long and filled with too many meaningless tournaments that don’t get promoted properly. It’s like baseball season: Is it really necessary to play for six months then have another month of playoffs? Does it really take 162 games to figure out who belongs in the playoffs? Couldn’t the same be determined in, say, 100 games? You get kind of psyched up for baseball at the beginning of the year, then it’s blah for four months before you get excited again for the pennant race. And even though the season is too long, the off-season is long enough to give you a break. In golf…there almost is no off-season! I’m sorry but, there has to be a break or you simply get golfed out.

Let’s look at football again; This is my favorite sport and I watch the NFL at every opportunity. However, I don’t want the season to be any longer than it is for the simple fact that I don’t want to be footballed out! We’ve all heard the expression “Too much of a good thing.” Well, golf is a good thing. But too much golf is not. Fewer tournaments make each one matter more. When the tournaments matter, they attract more attention. Therefore, more viewers and more fans.

So what could be done differently? Well, probably a few things. For starters, and I know it’s not going to sound like a good idea to most but, having fewer tournaments could help. As mentioned earlier – fewer tournaments equals more meaning.

But what do you do with the down time? We’ve touched on this a bit before. Things that are fun and keep the fans interested are always a sure bet. Why not set-up some things such as long-drive tournaments and the like? It’s not an actual tournament, but it’s fun and certainly fan-friendly! And just a small exhibition here and there during an off-season of a decent length could do wonders to attract new fans, while still keeping the interest of current ones.

OK, so these are just a couple of silly ideas for the most part, but they are ideas nonetheless. And let’s face it, with fewer and fewer rounds of golf being played each year, a change is becoming increasingly necessary.

My New Approach To Golf’s Offseason

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Do you want to see something foolish? Take a look at that photo to the left. I mean, really now. Sure, that stall is covered and heated, but are you so desperate to hit a golf ball that you’ll stand outside in freezing temps at a snow-covered range on which you’ll likely have no idea where your ball actually lands? Yeah…me too.

I’ll admit to several times being that guy. Whether it’s out of boredom, or my genuine want to improve at this game, I’ve been known to hit a driving range a few times between the months of December and February. I know I could go to an indoor range, and I will. But there’s still something about tracking the flight of the ball.

But this offseason, I think I’m going to try something different. This offseason, I think I’m going to shut golf out completely. But I have reasoning behind this, and it’s really very simple. It seems as if the more I work in the offseason, the fewer results I see – and this past season was the worst yet. Coincidentally, last offseason was the one in which I practiced the most.

Now I’m not saying I’m not going to practice at all. I will still hit the indoor range once or twice, but that’s it. You see, when I first took up this game, that’s about as often as I would work in the offseason. And guess what….I improved every year! But it seemed when I would work more in the offseason and try to focus on individual aspects of my game, other parts of my game would suffer. What this added up to was higher scores, a drop-off in improvement and more frustration once out on the course.

So this offseason I am going to try to counter that by going back to the way things used to be. No more standing out in the cold at the range. Just a trip or two to the indoor range to keep the basics of my swing in order and that’s it. I figure by not focusing on any certain aspect of my game, I won’t lose anything anywhere else. Plus, let’s face it, the practice time adds pressure to perform when you get back out on the course. You go back out there expecting to see results, and if they don’t show right away…you know what I mean. Who wants to go through that?

So over the next several months, golf will be merely a distant memory. No pressure to work on the game. No high expectations. No disappointment when the expectations don’t pan out. And hopefully, with any luck, I’ll show some improvement…just like the old days before I tried!

Swing ’til you’re happy!

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