5 Ways to Get Ready For The Golf Season

It’s a magical time of the year for golfers. The end of March sees the clocks change, giving us the opportunity to sneak in a few holes after work, and the warmer and drier conditions mean that you’re able to head out on the course without a dozen layers on! With the anticipation building, check out our guide to getting ready for the new golfing season.

Audit Your Clubs

Dependent on the seriousness with which you take the game, there’s every chance your clubs have had some time in the garage over the winter months. However, as the season approaches, now is the time to bring them out of hibernation as they join you on your ventures back out on course. Before you take that first swing in anger, make sure to give your clubs a good once-over.

Treat your set to a good clean, removing the layers of mud that were left on following your last outing. It’s much less time-consuming (and even therapeutic!) to do this in one go, versus having to clean each club as you go once on the course. This is also the perfect time of year to give your set a regrip, helping to improve both feel and traction.

Finally, work out if these are the ‘chosen’ 14 that will start this year’s journey. Many leading manufacturers release new clubs just ahead of the new season, so why not consider adding a new weapon to your arsenal this year…even if it does mean saying goodbye to an old friend!

Get a Refresher Lesson

So you’ve got your clubs ready…but you’ve forgotten what to do with them?! A familiar story to many of us as we start the new year! Why not treat yourself to a lesson, making sure your fundamentals are set to go for the season. Old habits die hard, and it may be difficult to remember the feeling of the slight amendment to your grip, or the change to your posture that had started to work so well last September.

A lesson will give you the peace of mind that you’re at least starting the season with the right intentions, and will allow the pro to spot anything glaring which may be detrimental to playing your best golf once you begin to head back out there.

Get Loose and Limber

Your clubs are set, and you’ve remembered how to hold them properly! But a few months away from the game can leave your body stiff and lacking in the free flowing movements demonstrated by the fine folk on the PGA TOUR. Incorporating stretching into your pre-round warmups will help no-end. Yoga and Pilates are both are used regularly by the best players in the world, helping to keep their backs, shoulders, hips and knees in good shape. There are now an abundance of ‘Yoga for Golfers’ videos available across the internet, designed to activate specific muscle groups associated with the sport. Give it a go this season and we can guarantee you’ll feel better for it - before, during and after your rounds!

Set Goals and Expectations

Setting goals is a great way to begin any season. These can be tied to anything; handicaps, tournament wins, less thrown clubs, having more fun, duffing fewer chips. However, make sure to set goals that are achievable - and then start to plan on how to go about exceeding them.

If you want to shoot lower scores, are you going to practice more? Get lessons?

If you want to have more fun, are you going to work out a way of taking enjoyment from more than just the numbers on your scorecard?

Giving yourself something to aim for can be a great focus, and documenting your journey to exceeding these can provide both solace and inspiration throughout the season. Success breeds confidence, so ensure that at least some of your goals have a good chance of being met, with some bigger blockbusters to aim for if things are going well!

Plan in Your Schedule

A schedule isn’t just for tour pros! If you’re a member of a golf club, it’s likely that you’ll already have a copy of this year’s fixtures and events. Pencil these in early to avoid disappointment closer to the time, and make a note of available weekends which you may want to fill with something different. This might be an Open Competition (either on your own or with a friend), a golf break in the UK or abroad, or simply a visit to play with a friend at their club. It can be a hugely enjoyable exercise to plot in your schedule for the year, and help enormously with your goal setting and focus as you begin the new season.

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