Continue Practicing at Christmas

Not everyone stops to celebrate Christmas but when it comes to family celebrations, it is easy to forget all about playing golf.  For some people, celebrations can last for two weeks and that means time away from the golf course.

However, you should not stop practicing golf because you cannot get out to the golf course or practice range.  There are ways you can work on your golf gameat home and the good news is you do not need a huge back garden to keep practicing.

Perhaps the best thing you can do is invest in a golf driving net.  You can place this in your back garden and work on your swing.  Make sure you place the net in a position you know you will hit it and not send the ball into the garden across the street. If you are worried about damaging your lawn, place a piece of carpet down on top of the grass and this will protect it from the golf club.

You will not see where the ball goes in terms of direction or distance but driving nets are available cheaply and great for working on your set-up and swing.

Another practice net you can buy is a chipping net.  This is different from a driving net in that the net acts as a target for the ball and you will be aiming to land the ballin the net as opposed to driving the ball at the net.

You will need a little more space in the garden to use a chipping net but you can also use it inside the house if you are comfortable with that option.  A hall is a great place to practice using a chipping net when the weather is bad outside and allows you a short distance to chip the ball.  Much like the driving net, a chipping net allows you to focus on your set-up and technique rather than your overall chipping game.

The easiest aspect of golf to practice when at home is putting.  You can practice on the carpet and use a cup as the hole but the best way to practice putting indoors is by investing in a putting mat.  A putting mat comes with an imitation putting surface and many feature a raised hole, allowing you to practice hitting uphill and downhill putts.

If you have a carpet at home which has lines, you can use them to work on the alignment of your putting and the line of your putter during the swing. 

For all other golf swings, you can use a mirror and recording equipment to capture your action. Try filming yourself from different angles when putting or chipping indoors and watch the footage for any faults.  Work on these faults and when you are free to get back on the golf course, implement the changes you have made and look for improvements as a result of your practice at home.