Exercise

Over this period of isolation we are all finding it hard to get our 10,000 steps in a day and rather much easier to find ourselves staying indoors, leading sedentary lifestyles and eating foods that we normally wouldn’t.  Please make sure that you are all getting out of the house, into the fresh air, once a day following the governments guidance.  This is extremely important for our golf. When we get back to the links, we will all find ourselves not ‘match fit’ and find that actually the thing that leads to poor scores, especially towards the end of the round, is that we are making lazy swings purely due to fatigue.

Mobility

In this time of lockdown I am sure that most of you, like me, are spending a lot of the time sitting in front of the TV, probably not being forced to watch Peppa Pig like me, but sitting idle and seizing up throughout the day.  Mobility is the biggest thing we can be working on right now for longer drives and a fuller swing.  There is a simple mobility exercise that we can do to ensure better hip mobility.  When seated raise your right foot and place onto your left knee.  Keeping your back straight, let your right knee gently relax down towards the chair or sofa.  By applying gentle pressure to your right knee will also increase the range.  Make sure you repeat the exercises on both sides and only work to your limits do not push yourself places you can’t go! 

Hip mobility is essential in aiding longer drives, making a fuller swing and keeping us ready for when we return to the golf course.

Putting

As for skills and technique practice, I am sure you have seen people showing off their skills and trick shots on social media pages, whilst I find all that great fun, I like to practice the practical elements. What I like to do is draw a thick, straight black line on the golf ball using either a line ’em up tool or free hand and practice putting the ball end over end.  This gives me the knowledge that I have got a square club face at impact and not making a poor clubface delivery.  When doing this at home on the carpet, it’s also great practice to use more than one golf ball and try and get all of the balls exactly the same distance, practicing our distance control.

Chipping

If you have got the ability to do some small chips in the garden, (and if relevant only with parents’ permission of course) spending 10-15 minutes each day or every other day will do you great for honing in on your chipping skills.  One tip I will give you is keeping your weight slightly on your left side (for right handers).  This will encourage the club to hit down into the golf ball and get a better connection, this in turn will give you better distance control and consistency in flight.  BUT… You must remember to keep your body still, if you move away from keeping you weight on your left side, all the work will be undone.  STAY STILL!

Practice Swing

The final thing I would urge you to do is make as many practice swings as possible in the space accessible to you.  Repetitive action supports muscle memory. We need to keep swinging as much as we can so that we don’t forget.  When it’s dry and the sun is out, get outside.  You don’t need a ball, just a club…BUT remember, NO DIVOTS ????