After the announcement that many countries will begin to ease lockdown rules, golfers are seeing a light at the end of what has been a long dark tunnel, and dreaming of a return to the golf course for some much-needed golfing medicine. To avoid a disaster, you should be looking at keeping your short game in tune, it is the area of the game that we lose the fastest, but more importantly it is also the area of the game where we require the most feel and a good touch.
We all know that the “average golfer” will be looking to get back out to the driving range as quickly as possible to loosen up and get the swing tuned and ready to fire. It is this mistake that will result in a performance far below what you are looking for on your first trip out. It has amazed me the number of videos I have seen uploaded to various social media apps that show golfers practising by hitting into a net with a 6 or 7 iron, commenting on how great their swing feels. Brilliant I am so happy that people have been able to “maintain” their golf swing, but please show me some clips of golfers honing the most vitals skills. Putting and chipping.
Putting is one of the easiest, if not the easiest areas of the game to practice at home, all you need is a putter, a coin and some balls. Throw the coin down on the floor and try to roll as many balls over the coin as you can. It is a great drill because it focusses your mind on the smallest target, meaning that when you get back to the course and see the hole, it will appear larger, having the smaller focus point will also help with your alignment on the course, as you will become accustomed to aiming small.
Chipping is another great backyard exercise, and again you do not need anything specific to practice it. If you want to work on your distance control grab yourself a bucket or old plastic plant pot and chip/pitch balls into it. If you need to work on your trajectory control (chip and runs) grab the garden bench and chip three balls underneath the bench then three balls between the seat and the bench back and finally three balls over the bench.
Trust me you will regret it if you do not keep your short game up to scratch with what are cost free exercises, no need to purchase any nets of simulators, use your imagination and use what you already have available to you.
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