How to Hone Your Golf Skills During the Winter

While the casual golfer may not realize how important practicing their golf swing is year-round, dedicated golfers know how crucial it is to constantly be looking for ways to improve. However, living in Minnesota poses its challenges.

We typically spend upwards of six months in the frozen tundra, battling snow and cold all the while trying to maintain a normal life and keep up with hobbies. As avid golfers know, continuing to improve your golf game during winter is extremely difficult because of snow, ice, cold, and other unfavorable conditions.

Here, our golf professionals at Burl Oaks Golf Club will discuss some of the best ways to hone your golf skills during the winter.

Stay Active and Gain Strength

If you are serious about golf and want to make continuous improvements in your game, one of the easiest ways you can do this is by adhering to a strength and conditioning program. Or, if you’re not interested in becoming an elite golfer, simply staying active is an easy way to improve.

You can either create a strict strength and conditioning program to follow or simply stay active and practice on occasion to stay in golf shape. Workouts can be targeted to improve certain attributes of your golf game. Just don’t forget to stretch before and after exercising, just as you would before getting on the course.

Golf is a sport, like any other, so if you want to stay on top of your game, you have to train. Those who frequently work out feel less fatigue after playing 18-holes, and that’s especially important after the winter ends and summertime comes around.

By building strength by exercising in the winter, you form good habits that you can continue all year round. Once the winter snow clears and the spring flowers come out, you’ll hit the ball further and with more speed.

Do Yoga at Home or With a Group

One of the most neglected aspects of golf is keeping your mental game on point. While not everyone trains to be a professional, you must stay calm to win.

Yoga is a form of meditation that synchronizes your body and mind, making you more relaxed and improving your body's flexibility. Additionally, yoga improves joint moveability, and as you already know, golf is strenuous on your joints.

Yoga has numerous other health benefits, such as developing muscle strength and tone, improving breathing and respiratory functions, boosting metabolism, helping blood flow, preventing future injury, and weight loss.

If you find yourself getting angry on the course for missing a par, yoga will keep your mind sharp and present, so even if you’ll miss again, you’ll stay calmer, and it won’t effect you for the rest of the game.

Review Golf Material

Just because you can’t play golf in the Minnesota snow doesn’t mean your game can no longer improve. Like any sport, review and analysis is key to improving your game.

If you formed a bad habit over the summer, it is time to reflect on it and build a routine to fix it. Watch professional golf players and see how they form their strokes. Many shows on the Golf Channel show instructional material and recordings of tournaments. Additionally, you can go to YouTube for comprehensive advice.

A review session isn’t complete without checking out some books and magazines on golf. Read magazines to learn about new developments from players, tournaments, equipment, and clothing. Technical books can help you learn more about the fundamental aspects of golf, the history of golf, and tips and tricks to improve your game. Other books focus more on the mental side of the sport.

Visit Our Indoor Golf Simulators, Go to the Driving Range or Set Up a Practice Spot at Home

We have recently added two indoor golf simulators for our member’s use in the offseason. Our members utilize these simulators for play, leagues and everyday practice.

If you live in an urban area, chances are there is at least one, if not several, indoor driving ranges in your area. You should continually visit indoor practice facilities to put in your training during the winter.

However, if you don’t have an indoor driving range or other indoor practice facility near you, you can easily create a small practice area in your garage or shed. Simply set up a net or another device to catch your golf balls, then practice your swing as much as you want.

Continually Practice a Consistent Swing

Whether you go to the driving range, set up a space at home, or something else, you can always practice refining your golf swing. It doesn’t matter if you are consulting an expert, taking tips from a friend, or adjusting your swing to something that works best for you, constantly practicing your swing is the easiest way to improve.

Additionally, you can improve your swing speed and power by purchasing a weighted club. By taking smart practice swings on a regular basis with a weighted club and not overdoing it, you can drastically improve your swing.

Contact Burl Oaks Golf Club Today

If you are in the Twin Cities metro and searching for a state-of-the-art golf club to hone your skills and be part of a community, join Burl Oaks Golf Club today.

With a beautiful course and high-quality amenities and space for events, we are one of the best golf clubs in all of Minnesota. To learn more about our services or to speak with one of our team members today, give us a call at 952-472-7017 or message us on our contact page today.