Winter Blues

[Rick Sides]

Well today was the last good day we will see in the Northeast for a long time I think.  Do any of you guys practice any drills or swings inside that helps your game when it gets warm again?

[John Moore II]

If you have a reasonably large living room or another room where you can make a full swing motion, then set down two clubs at a right angle to each other, and go through a full swing motion. I do that at home. Momentus Golf makes a very short (but still heavy) practice club that you could use as well. Also, just stand up and go through the motion of a golf swing and envision the shot in your mind (that way, you ALWAYS make perfect contact, the shot does exactly what you want, and everything feels exactly right). The vision in the mind thing works real well for basketball players and free throws, I see no reason it would not work for golfers as well, so long as you make the physical motions.

[Rob Rigg]

Rick,

I like to use my indoor golf course cage/screen thinga majigy and a treadmill.

I select a course - like St Andrews or Pebble - hit my drive, walk on the treadmill for, ahem, 300 yards - hit my second shot - and so on and so forth.

If you get a couple fans and crank em up a bit you can get a feel for the wind.

It's lots of fun!

 

Winter sucks - snow in Portland . . . barf  

[John Moore II]

Rick,

I like to use my indoor golf course cage/screen thinga majigy and a treadmill.

I select a course - like St Andrews or Pebble - hit my drive, walk on the treadmill for, ahem, 300 yards - hit my second shot - and so on and so forth.

If you get a couple fans and crank em up a bit you can get a feel for the wind.

It's lots of fun!

 

Winter sucks - snow in Portland . . . barf  

Rob, if you really have a sim like that, its an awesome idea. I really like that idea. Gets you hitting the shots and doing the same amount of excercise you'd do on the golf course.  If you have a real high tech treadmill you can even simulate the hills on a course.

[Jim Johnson]

Rick, does this count?




JJ

[Anthony Gray]

  Rob,

  I am glad to see you don't use a cart.

  Anthony

[Joel Zuckerman]

If you have a reasonably large living room or another room where you can make a full swing motion, then set down two clubs at a right angle to each other, and go through a full swing motion. I do that at home.

Rick,

I like to use my indoor golf course cage/screen thinga majigy and a treadmill.

I select a course - like St Andrews or Pebble - hit my drive, walk on the treadmill for, ahem, 300 yards - hit my second shot - and so on and so forth.

If you get a couple fans and crank em up a bit you can get a feel for the wind.

It's lots of fun!

Two excellent ideas!  Or--here's another---move to Georgia!

[Dan Herrmann]

Here in Philly, we have http://www.playaroundgolf.net/

It's actually a lot of fun.  Nice clean establishment on US30 in Chester County.

[Rob Rigg]

John - I wish, I'll have one as soon as I win the lottery (although this could be the business idea I have been looking for). Unfortunately the treadmill part is real, at the work gym . . . grrreat.

Anthony - As you can tell, my commitment to walking is not bound by seasons!!! 

[Andy Troeger]

Don't move to Albuquerque...we have a couple inches of snow here now and more on the way supposedly. 

[John Moore II]

John - I wish, I'll have one as soon as I win the lottery (although this could be the business idea I have been looking for). Unfortunately the treadmill part is real, at the work gym . . . grrreat.

Anthony - As you can tell, my commitment to walking is not bound by seasons!!! 

Actually, depending on how much money you may have and space in the house (or the garage) you can just have a regular launch monitor (you can get a decent one for about $850, upper end ones cost $3500) and just 'play' a course in your mind based on the shots that come up on the monitor. I 'play' those types of rounds at the range when I go, but its certainly possible to do the same indoors with a launch monitor. Actually, Sims are the exact same thing, just with the visuals. But a good sim costs about $12,000 with upper end ones running about $35,000.

[Sam Morrow]

Here in Philly, we have http://www.playaroundgolf.net/

It's actually a lot of fun.  Nice clean establishment on US30 in Chester County.

They have a place like that in Grapevine (Dallas suburb) but I'd rather go down the street and play Cowboys, the designer is a nice guy.

[hick]

In Rhode Island we have eaglequest golf dome with about 50 bays. it works for the next few months.Those heated outdoor bays never worked for me. often you run into some of the local Rhody boys on the tour at the dome before they head out west.

[JLahrman]

If you have a tile or hardwood floor, winter is a great time to make sure that your setup and clubface are square.  With a mirror you can kind of check your shoulders as well.

If you have a carpet/rug that can withstand it, and a large pillow or something else you can prop against a wall, you can get some good practice in on your chipping technique - really coming down and clipping the ball up into the the pillow.

Somebody mentioned basketball...if you're a basketball player, lie flat on back with a ball, and shoot it towards the ceiling.  Flick the wrist, get the ball to go straight up and come right back down to your chest.  Do that for a half hour a day.  Your J will be buttery smooth by March.

[Peter Pallotta]

Rick-
this isn't what John Moore had in mind, but twice I've used the winter time to totally revamp my swing -- but only in my head! That is, I don't swing a club, I don't exercise, I just read a lot of instructional books and then imagine myself with a new swing. (It works especially well if you're lying on a couch, half asleep). The first time I revamped my swing to be more like Ben Hogan's, but when spring came I found out that, unfortunately, it didn't work so well for me. (I really wanted to swing like Ben Hogan, but without finding it in the dirt!) BUT the second time, last winter, I revamped it again by imagining I was Greg Norman...so I imagined myself standing more upright, and having a steeper swing plane, and finishing high...and you know what? I had a pretty good summer, and the best round I've had in years.  (Though, it didn't quite come out like Greg Norman - more like Vijay Singh's old swing I think.  Actually, it was more like Chris DiMarco's swing...).

Like I say, nothing a PGA professional would recommend...

Peter

[Anthony Gray]

  I went to the golf shop and told them I wanted an indoor net to practice. So this guy says this one is great, in the summer you can face your neighbors house and fire away.
















Good thing my neighbors house is brick.


Anthony

[John Moore II]

Rick-
this isn't what John Moore had in mind, but twice I've used the winter time to totally revamp my swing -- but only in my head! That is, I don't swing a club, I don't exercise, I just read a lot of instructional books and then imagine myself with a new swing. (It works especially well if you're lying on a couch, half asleep). The first time I revamped my swing to be more like Ben Hogan's, but when spring came I found out that, unfortunately, it didn't work so well for me. (I really wanted to swing like Ben Hogan, but without finding it in the dirt!) BUT the second time, last winter, I revamped it again by imagining I was Greg Norman...so I imagined myself standing more upright, and having a steeper swing plane, and finishing high...and you know what? I had a pretty good summer, and the best round I've had in years.  (Though, it didn't quite come out like Greg Norman - more like Vijay Singh's old swing I think.  Actually, it was more like Chris DiMarco's swing...).

Like I say, nothing a PGA professional would recommend...

Peter

Actually, I would recommend that. Its a little better if you have a club, but if you have a real small space, that works very well. The idea is the exact same. You make a full swing motion and envision hitting the shot. It gives you confidence and keeps your body making swing motions. I think its a great idea.

[Will Haskett]

First-time poster and new to the group... Looking forward to meeting some good golf friends.

I live in Indianapolis, so I normally have to deal with about a 4-6 month layoff of serious golf, which is depressing. I actually use the winter months (post-Holidays) as my biggest workout months. Really hit the gym hard, work on cardio and build up my muscle strength. When golf season hits, I have less time to get a lot of workouts in, so it's the best way to build strength and consisitency.

As for your actual swing, there are great indoor drills we all know. I've actually become a bit obsessed with my Wii video game system. The new Tiger Woods game is amazing in terms of graphics. The wand (controller) gives you realistic opportunities. Now, the touch is nothing like your actual game, and playing a hook or draw is totally different. However, I constantly work on my setup (feet, hips, shoulders, etc.) before I swing, and the game has a very realistic recognition of your swing's mistakes. I play a power fade on almost all drives, and the simulation of me on the Wii game almost always has that same fade.

Video games may not be up everybody's alley, but it's been a blast for me. You can actually hook it up to the internet and play any other people around the world. Virtual tee times on some of the world's best courses!