Month: October 2020

Categories
GOLF

Off Season Golf Simulator Goals

SIMULATOR SEASON EXPECTATIONS

As the 2020 Golf Season in Ontario comes to an end, the Simulator Season begins. The last three off seasons I have utilized Golf Simulators to work on specific aspects of my game. Understanding the limitations of a Golf Simulator is the first thing you should be aware of when planning your Simulator practice. Some of the limitations are obvious. You can’t work on your bunker game, or recovery shots from awkward lies in a Simulator. There are a few limitations that aren’t so obvious. Having a perfectly balanced platform to hit off of is a limitation. Having to aim your shot previous to setup is a limitation. Even the technology of the Simulator can make certain shots impossible. For instance I use a Chipper out on the course but most Simulators read them improperly.

Most people would assume that hitting off perfectly flat ground is an advantage, but it isn’t. I used to wear my most comfortable shoes in a Golf Simulator. I found out the hard way that weight transfer is quite different if I am wearing something other than golf shoes. You can’t dig in or rely on your cleats to help you remain steady during an aggressive swing. In fact I used that understanding to focus on swinging with more precision to gain distance instead of faster. Aiming is quite different in a Simulator. You can’t just adjust your stance and play for a Push Draw or Pull Fade. You first need to adjust the aim point with the software to account for a Push or Pull. Then let your swing dictate how far the ball Draws or Fades. If you make the adjustment at Setup instead of with the software that can cause many Simulators to read it far too extreme, and guarantee a terrible result.

Last Off season I focused on improving my consistency with the Driver. The work I did in Golf Simulators definitely helped. Driving is actually one of the best skills you can practice in a Simulator. It takes the mat out of play, and in most cases the even ground in a Simulator is similar to what you have on a Tee box. It’s about as close to the real thing as you can get. I was able to work on my Setup, Takeaway, Club Face control, and Finish position in the Simulator. The practice worked and my consistency has improved. This Off season I will continue to work on my Driving. Only this time my focus will be on improving my Launch Angle.

Something I have really focused on lately is improving my quality of contact with my Irons. Unfortunately it is quite difficult to work on your Iron striking in a Simulator. First of all most hitting mats are quite forgiving. Bad strikes can read as good strikes depending on the surface. Secondly you can’t take a divot hitting off a mat. So there isn’t a visual indicator of where your club bottomed out. Lastly Irons are more likely to be hit off uneven surfaces in real life. A Simulator can provide you with a false sense of security in your Iron swing because every shot is perfectly level.

Now fortunately I have come up with a way to practice my Iron striking that provides me with a way to measure my quality of strike. Here are the numbers from a perfectly struck 7 Iron.

7 Iron perfection

For a full explanation of how I improved my Ball striking. CHECK OUT THE FULL VIDEO ON IGTV.

So if your Golf Off season is about to begin, and you are serious about improving. Find something that you can effectively work on in a Simulator, and stick to it.

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Categories
GOLF

PRIORITIZE YOUR GOLF PRACTICE

Rate your Golf Game

An idea I came up with this Season because practice time wasn’t easy to come by was to rate my golf game. In order to be as brutally honest as possible I decided to divide the aspects of an individuals golf game into 5 categories. Then assign a score from 1 to 5 for each category, but no two categories can have the same score. This will force you to rank your abilities from best to worst.

Here is how I ranked each category for myself.

Driving
-4

Putting
-1

Irons
-5

Woods\Hybrids
-3

Wedges
-2

What is particularly great about this system is that it doesn’t matter how good your overall game is. A 1 in putting doesn’t mean I can putt like a tour pro. It just means that it’s the most reliable part of my game. The next thing I did was make a quick note of one thing I would most like to improve in each category.

These were the primary goals I chose for each category.

Driving
-4
-increase average distance by 15 yards

Putting
-1
-improve proximity to hole on downhill putts

Irons
-5
-lower launch angle to increase distance

Woods\Hybrids
-3
-be more consistent with the distance

Wedges
-2
-improve bunker accuracy

So now what am I supposed to do with that information. This is where having an understanding of where you are able to effectively cut strokes really helps. I use a Shot Scope V2 to track my golf game. I also use the 18birdies app to take notes, and get a quick analysis of my game at the end of each Round while it’s fresh in my mind. This combination has enabled me to really understand what I need to improve in order to quickly lower my scores.

The goals that would have the least affect are adding 15 yards to my Driving distance, and improving bunker accuracy. An extra 15 yards off the Tee would allow me to take 1 less club into Greens. Unfortunately my Irons are the worst category in my game so 1 less club makes little to know difference. On average I only hit 1 or 2 bunkers per Round so having improved accuracy on those shots would improve my scores minimally.

The goals that could significantly lower my scores dramatically are a lower launch angle with my Irons to increase distance, and better distance control with my Hybrids. First of all distance, and distance control are key to scoring with the majority of your clubs. Hitting it short off the Tee with my Driver won’t punish me as much if I’m accurate, and relatively long with my Irons and Hybrids. Instead of hitting pop ups with my Irons that are difficult to control, and heavily affected by the wind. I could hit a shorter Iron delofted with more control, and lower so the wind doesn’t affect it as much. On long approaches into Greens I could take hazards out of play if my distance control with my hybrids was predictable.

Now that I have identified which improvements will have the greatest impact. It is easy to optimize my practice sessions to get the absolute most out of them. If I go out to the Range I know exactly which clubs to bring with me. I know exactly what to work on. I can bring along the correct devices in order to measure my results, and determine if the swing changes are working. For these particular goals I would only need my Swing Caddie SC200 at the Range, or I could get the exact numbers by booking time in a Simulator. I wouldn’t have to spend any time on a Putting Green, or Short Game Practice area. Not a second of my time spent practicing would be wasted.

If it wasn’t for the time constraints Covid-19 has caused I would have never developed this system. Having actually put it to use, and seeing the results first hand. I will be prioritizing my practice sessions this way for the foreseeable future. I would strongly suggest that if you are serious about improving your golf game you try it as well.

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