As I am now nearly a month into my winter swing changes, I find myself often thinking about the proper way to practice in the off-season. How often should I take a lesson versus work on the changes at the range? How often should I practice? Should I mainly focus on drills or hitting full shots? Or half shots? Or even full shots at half speed?
Given that I am a full-time corporate attorney and married with two daughters, these questions are even more important to me. My time is extremely limited. I cannot afford to have wasted lessons or practice sessions. The changes that I need to make in my swing need to be made by April when golf season begins, so the clock is constantly ticking.
As I work on my swing this winter, I will also be exploring the best practice methods and the amount of practice needed to make these changes permanent.
In the meantime, I welcome all thoughts on this subject from teaching professionals, touring professionals or those who have found some answers to these questions in their journey to a better golf swing.
You may be asking why, at age 45, I have decided to take on this challenge. In fact, some days I am asking myself the same question!
I have been playing golf since I was 8 years old and played competitively throughout my high school and college years. Then came law school, work, a wife and kids – in other words, life happened and golf wasn’t anything more than a hobby for two decades. My lowest handicap was a 6.
This year, due to COVID all of my work travel stopped and I found myself with a lot of time on my hands, with limited options on how to spend that time. Me and a few friends turned to golf. We started playing at least once a week, and I began practicing regularly. Before long, my scores began dropping, and I was having a blast!
Before I knew it I was a 5 handicap for the first time in my life, playing as well as I ever have. My passion for golf was back. I was hooked.
So this fall I decided to re-dedicate myself to golf. I am fortunate enough to have been able to join a private golf club and take lessons regularly, which I wasn’t able to do growing up. For me, I have always been athletic with really good hand eye coordination, but my golf swing lacked some fundamentals that I would only be able to get through regular instruction.
So I want to see how far I can take this. Can I get to scratch? I am not sure, but I will give it everything that I have within reason. I am going to take advantage of the latest technology, reaching philosophies and equipment, and also use this time to get back into shape.
Whatever the outcome, I know I have a lot of hard work ahead of me. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
Welcome to my new blog! Here I will be detailing my journey to become a scratch golfer before I turn 50. The goal is simple – move from a 5 handicap to scratch in 5 years – 1 shot per year. While the stated goal may be simple, I know that attaining it will be anything but. I hope you follow me on this journey as I discuss the improvements, the struggles and all other things golf along the way, including musings about golf courses, training aids, technology, data and hopefully even a little humor. Thanks for joining me on what I hope will be an interesting journey!