Tips For Winterizing Your Golf Game

As disappointing as it might be, there usually comes a time every year when you have to take a break from playing golf. Some of us in the northern states sooner than others! How many times have you started a new golf season with high scores, short drives and aches and pains? Let’s be honest, it happens more times than you’d like.

If you are like most of us, you tend to spend the winters being sedentary. Do yourself a favor: As winter approaches and you find your golf season coming to an end, review these tips on how to winterize your golf game to make sure everything is ready to go when the weather turns for the better.

1.  Avoid storing your clubs and balls in an unheated garage or in your trunk.  Cold weather isn't great for rubber grips and if you get a playable day in the winter, your golf balls perform better when stored indoors at room temperature.

2.  Re-grip your clubs.  One of the best investments you can make in the off-season is a brand new set of grips.  It's amazing how much better your clubs feel with a fresh set of grips and by doing it now you don't have to sacrifice a minute of springtime golf waiting for the local golf shop to put new grips on your clubs.  Plus, many golf retailers run re-grip specials this time of year to keep their store busy in the off-season.

3.  Get fit for new clubs.  If your going to buy new clubs this year then get fit now while your swing is still grooved.  Who knows what your swing will look like after the long lay-off during the off-season.  

4.  Throw out your golf glove and sunscreen.  Neither keep very well and a fresh glove and fresh sunscreen are not expensive items but they will make a big difference when you start up in spring.

5.  Put new cleats in your golf shoes.  At the least, the improved traction will get you through a soggy, early-spring round.

6.  Work on short game.  Improving your putting and shots from 150 yards in to the green is the best way to lower scores.  In the winter, compression of the golf ball really doesn't happen so working on your distance game is useless.  

7.  Use your training aids.  Winter’s a great time to work on all the golf drills that you skip in the summer, whether it’s a swing-aid such as the Orange Whip, or hitting into an impact bag, or cross-training with exercises and stretching. It’s also a good time to work on a grip change if you need to make one.