Remain Patient
We are in the last month of Summer. The temperature has already dropped, and shorts aren’t always an option. My last three Rounds of Golf were excellent by my standards. My ball striking has been good. My chipping has been great. I’m satisfied with the way I’ve been putting. I have kept the blow up Holes to a minimum. All in all my game is where I hoped it would be about two months earlier than I had hoped. Amidst all the excitement, and celebration I’ve been feeling the inevitable happens. I severely pull a muscle in my back. Not a big deal right. I’ll take a week to relax, and then loosen up at the Range. Well it only took about 10 balls at the Range to realize that my back was going to require a lot more rest. What to do now? What if all the progress I’ve made is slowly fading away with each day I don’t get out and play? I’m sure many of you have worried about the exact same thing. Maybe it wasn’t due to injury. You could have been on vacation, or were blocked from playing by weather. It can feel like any considerable amount of time spent away from Golf, can have you feeling like you are starting over when you return to the game. Trust me when I tell you, that isn’t the case at all. The reason I can assure you of that is because every step you make to improve your game is significant. If you haven’t read my Beginner Golf Focus Starting from Scratch SS-16
I suggest that you do. Your game improves because you have found your grip, perfected your backswing, know your distances with each club, and increased the number of shots you can effectively make. These aren’t things that you will easily forget, because it took an incredible amount of time to learn them in the first place.
Change your Focus
Everyone has cancelled a day of Golf for some reason beyond their control. On those days I’ll make up for it by hitting a few Putts on my putting mat at home. Maybe I’ll watch the Golf Fix on Golf channel, and see if I can pick up a few tips. Sometimes I will go over previous Rounds of Golf that I’ve played to see where different choices would have benefitted me. Would I rather be playing a Round of Golf? Of course I would. There are many ways to improve your game without actually playing though. In some cases your handicap has a better chance to improve if you take a moment to really analyze your previous Rounds of Golf. Learning where your game is weak, and then focusing on ways to either improve it, or avoid those situations in upcoming Rounds of Golf. This can significantly improve your scores without experiencing a major improvement in your actual game. Just by treating long Par 4s as Par 5s has reduced my handicap by 3 strokes. I was able to identify that approaches to the Green over 150 yards were dangerous plays for me. It was a far better play to lay up, and leave myself with a 50 to 100 yard approach. By limiting my mistakes I was able to improve my scores.
Check your equipment
The more your game improves, the happier you will be with your Golf equipment. Don’t believe me? Think about how quickly you are at your local store, or online reading reviews when you aren’t playing well. Hit a few slices with your Driver the last time you were out. You can’t get to your local store fast enough to try whatever is new. 90% of the time it isn’t your equipment that’s holding you back. What about the 10% of the time that it is? If you are sidelined by injury. Take this time to really inspect your equipment. Maybe you haven’t changed your grips in a while. Could be the perfect time to get the whole set regripped. How are the grooves on your Wedges? Do they still have grooves? Are the hosels still tight on all of your Woods? These are things that many of us tend to overlook during the Golf Season. I switched from a Standard to a Midsize grip this year, and it made a huge difference. Take notice of new technology on the market that may help improve your game. I know a couple of guys I play with that had never tried a Hybrid club before. They thought that Hybrid clubs were only for Beginners until I urged them to try one. They were amazed by the versatility, and penetrating ball flight. One of them immediately bought one to replace their 4 Iron. Don’t dismiss everything you read about as being some sort of gimmick. Improving your game isn’t just about becoming a better Golfer. It’s also about identifying which equipment is right for you.
Even when life throws you a curve ball, and something prevents you from playing. There are a lot of things that you can still do to get your Golf fix. You can even use the time creatively to improve your future scores.
