Honing Your Skills in the Off-Season on a Budget

Well, winter is here in my part of the country, and it seems Mother Nature just skipped right over fall. One day, we were out on the course fighting the autumn winds, and the next day were suffering through frosted greens and wind chills in the 20’s. Such is life (and weather) in Kentucky.

These are the times in which I start missing the things to which I no longer have access – like the local course. There are many around my area which stay open and operating in colder temps and minor restrictions.

I’ll admit, I’m one of those crazy fools who will go out and golf on days in which others would prefer to be hiding under a blanket, drinking hot chocolate. There’s little to no crowds, and while the ball doesn’t travel as far as it would in warmer weather, I still get a good practice round in. The winter rates make for some substantial savings on greens fees.

This is a great time to work on those skills that you wouldn’t want to address during a round of golf. Many courses offer deeply-discounted rates for those brave souls willing to brave the elements in order to get in 18 holes. If I’m feeling it that day, I’ll play away as if I were in an actual competitive round. At other times, I’ll view the excursion as a practice round in which I won’t focus too much on score, but on those intricacies that tend to make or break our games during the season.

I don’t have anything against range practice, but I prefer to use my local range as a kind of warm-up. If you truly want to see how your skills are progressing, you’ve got to hit the course. You can take one of these days and work on shaping shots, dealing with those difficult lower irons, or maybe take a new piece of equipment out for a test run. All of this can be achieved without feeling as if the round was a loss. Given the winter rates and the lack of pressure from groups following, these rounds can be some of the most productive in terms of refining certain aspects of your game.

Sometimes the weather is just too brutal to golf. This may sound extremely cheap, but I’m also one to pull out my wife’s yoga mat and my portable golf hole to set-up a practice indoor putting green. The mat makes for a smoother roll when I’m working on straight line putts. The fluffy style of many bath rugs and an empty laundry basket serve well as a makeshift pitching green and net.

When the courses are not allowing play, but I feel like getting in a few real hits, I’ll simply go out in my back yard with a high-lofted club and some limited-flight practice balls.

Department stores and specialty golf stores sell many golfing aids that are safe for use indoors. One of my favorites is the SKLZ Weighted Tempo and Grip Trainer.

I’m always looking for ways to improve my game in the off season. I know that I could just bite the bullet and shell out some major money for some indoor lessons in the off-season, but I’m always looking for the best deal in golf – it’s already an expensive sport.

I’d be interested to hear of any other budget-conscious ways in which others practice their golf game in the winter. Please feel free to leave me some ideas in the comments section.

Cover Image via Flickr