Useful Off Season Practice Recommendations

 

Justin Tomasulo
PGA of Canada Head Teaching Instructor

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Off season practice is essential for swing maintenance. As golfers, we should all know (I hope) that golf isn't like riding a bike. By that I mean, it is very rare that one strikes the ball the same as they did before the season ended. It can take as little as a few days to lose your rhythm. If one hasn't ridden a bicycle in a long while, the chances of remembering is pretty good. Yes golf and biking are two very different things, but you wouldn't believe the amount of people I know that criticize their game after not having practiced for months! Come on, really?

The first thing that tends to leave you is your short game. Putting, chipping and pitching to be exact. I strongly suggest that short game be the focal point of indoor training leaving full swing in the shadows. I recommended that using an 80-20 percentage split on short game versus full swing as a good model. Inside of the 80% short game model, 20% of your time should be spent on chipping, 20% of the time should be used for pitching and 40% of the time being used for putting. Why so much emphasis on putting? If you have ever kept track of your putts per round I have found that my average student uses 35 to 40% of their entire shots on the putting green. As of last week, PGA Tour stats dictate that the best putter on the PGA Tour had an average of 25.67 putts per round with the last place stat showing 32.43 putts per round. That's almost a 7 shot difference. The median is 29.80 and with that number, there is no reason why we can't all be having an average putting day at 30 putts per round.

With the above mentioned, I would like to share some great short game things to work on during the off season months.

Putting maintenance

1. Work on keeping your head still through your entire stroke. One thing I see time and time again with students who have trouble putting is the good ole 'bobble head' movement. Simply put, all that is required is keeping your eye line on the ball and leave it there through the entire stroke. Forget where the ball goes for now.

2. Work on squaring your putter. What does that mean? If your putter head isn't square at impact the ball with go off line immediately upon impact. The only way to compensate for this is by either pushing your putts or pulling your putts back on line. Without technology to help, this is a tough one. I use a very useful laser that attaches to the putter shaft and emits a laser showing instantly what is happening with the putter head.

3. " Mark it, Line it, Check it, Confirm it, Stroke it". One thing that many people have great difficulty with is green reading. How many times have your lined up your put only to make slight adjustments at address? One must be ready to pull the trigger with absolute confidence that they have picked that correct line.
Mark it - simply means to mark your ball and clean it. Do it!
Line it - this is your time to look at the slope of the green. There are many ways to do this. Once your line has been chosen, use the insignia on your ball or better yet, draw your own line on the ball and point it in your intended line. I play a video game in my spare time call Golf Star. When it comes time to putt, there are lines moving all over the green which indicate the slope going up, down, flat, left, right or a combination of all. It can be very overwhelming. With focus and patience it will become second nature. Green reading is an art. You cannot be a good putter without understand that art.
Check it and Confirm it - (most of the time completely disregarded) after choosing your line, take one full step back and look from behind. This is your time to tweak the ball if it doesn't look correct. Warning, anytime you adjust the ball, please check it and confirm it.
Stroke it - at this point you should be taking your stance looking down on that beautifully chosen line on the ball. Knowing you should be keeping your head perfectly still and only moving your arms and shoulders, go ahead and stroke the putter. If the ball rolls on your intended line, but doesn't drop it's ok! It worked. You just chose the wrong line. No one's perfect!

Chipping maintenance

There are two types of chips shots. The low running chip and the higher lofted chip that rolls less. When does one chose one over the other? This is a simple one. If you have ample green to work with between your ball and the hole you should be using the low running shot. The clubs recommended for this shot are a 7 , 8, 9 or PW. Why? Because they all produce very little spin on the ball. Backspin (aka checking the ball) looks awesome. You'll find that most good short game players will only 'check' the ball when needed. When is it needed? Easy, when you have very little real estate between your ball and the hole.

Low chip shots

1. Pick a 7, 8, 9 or PW.
2. Put the ball back in your stance imagining a line coming off your back heel line out towards the ball. The line should dissect the ball. This is crucial for keeping the ball low.
3. Get 90% of your weight on your front leg and keep it there. If you fall back towards your back leg through the stroke you most likely will blade (skull) the ball. Guess what? You most likely will have to do this shot all over again from the other side now.
4. Get your hands in front of the ball at address. This shuts the clubface down helping keep the ball low and reducing spin which is not your friend on this type of shot.
5. Keep your head very still through the stroke as it will help produce solidly struck chip shots.
6. At the end of your swing the butt end of the club should be pointing away from your body. If it's pointing towards your stomach you have 'flipped' your hands. Bad things will happen.

High chip shots

1. Pick a Sand Wedge (54 to56 degree) or Lob Wedge (58 to 64 degree).
2. Open your stance slightly to compensate for using a club with more loft.
3. Get your weight to the front leg by 75% and keep it there through the entire stroke.
4. 'Hinge your hands on your take-away keeping your front arm straight. This is called the a hinge and hold method.

To book a lesson please contact me at jt@jtgolf.ca