7 Ways to Get Better During the Off-Season

 
7 Ways to Get Better During the Off-Season

A good Tour Player friend of mine, Kevin Kraft, recently wrote an article for Inside Maryland Magazine about off-season training and inspired me to put together this article sharing 7 ways you can get better during the off-season.

I mean, after all, why wait until the season begins to start making progress? Wouldn’t you want to hit the ground running and start the season with low scores and momentum? Wouldn’t you want to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your game going into the season so you can capitalize on the warm weather and really take your game to the next level?

Growing up in New England, I’m no stranger to seasonal golf. Growing up, golf was played between Memorial Day and Labor Day. These two holidays mark the unofficial start and end of the golfing season up north. Depending on where you live, however, you may not be plagued by cold, snow, and ice, however, you may have fewer opportunities due to weather or daylight. But regardless of what your off-season looks like, blocking out several weeks of time and having a plan in place to train the specific areas of your game that are holding you back is essential.

0. ESTABLISH A BASELINE

Before you do anything, take some time to establish a baseline. Where are you at? What’s working? What isn’t? What did you do last year that was successful? What did you wish you had done last year but didn’t get around to it? What was your best round of the year? Where was it? Why did you play so well? What’s your big miss keeping you from doing it again?

How many greens in regulation do you hit in a round? How many fairways do you find off the tee? How many times do you putt? How often do you three-putt? Are you confident in the bunkers? How many balls do you lose each round? All of these and more are great questions to understand the state of your game and give your guidance as to where you should focus your energy and attention this off-season.

1. WORK WITH A PROFESSIONAL

Stop going down the YouTube rabbit hole (unless you're watching my channel 😉) If you want to get better, there are few things that will get you there faster than taking lessons with a professional. With over 29,000 PGA of America Professionals in the United States, chances are good you can find someone in your area that can help you.

If you’re unable to find someone near you that you connect with, perhaps look into remote lessons. Some professionals like myself will offer online remote lessons where you can connect with your professional and work on your game remotely. The only difference here is that the professional cannot physically get their hands on you but if they are good enough, they won’t need to. So long as you have a smartphone, internet connection, and a tripod, you can work together anywhere

Find a coach who will listen to your history and goals, will establish a baseline, and who can describe the plan they need you to follow. And be prepared to do the work. Every teaching professional will tell you their biggest pet peeve is to hear that a student hasn't worked on anything between sessions. Personally, one of my goals as a coach is for you to not need me right there standing over your shoulder. My goal is to get you out into the wild playing great golf feeling confident in your abilities to navigate your way around the course.

2. IMPROVE YOUR MOBILITY

When I work with players, the first thing we do is an evaluation of their mobility. I never want to ask a player to do something with their swing they are incapable of doing and I also need to know what’s holding them back from hitting the shots they want to hit. It’s rare that I work with players who don’t have some kind of mobility limitation. Even players who are high school, college, or professional athletes, often have limitations that show up as compensations in their swing.

Swinging the golf club incorrectly with limited range of motion is one of the quickest ways to become injured. Your body is designed to move in specific ways. Modern activities and sedentary lifestyles limit mobility. When you lack proper mobility, your body will automatically compensate to… 

1. Try and produce the result you’re looking for and 

2. Prevent injury. 

Working with a TPI Certified Professional is a great way to make sure the coach you’re working with is well-versed in the various movement patterns necessary to play great golf. TPI Certified Professionals are constantly obsessing over how to get players to move, feel, and play their best. And when you find a professional like myself who is both PGA and TPI certified, who can both evaluate and correct your mobility issues AS WELL as translate them into your golf swing, you’ve hit the jackpot.

3. DEVELOP YOUR STRENGTH AND SPEED

Speed training is in vogue right now and for very good reason. Distance is king! It’s very clear that players who hit the ball farther, have an advantage over the rest of the field. But getting faster isn’t as simple as swinging speed sticks. Yes, speed sticks work, but I always tell players, make sure the swing you’re trying to speed up is the swing you want.

I say this because oftentimes players come in with limited mobility and a swing full of compensations due to their lack of range of motion. If I were to take that player, sell them some speed sticks, and have them work on speed protocols for a few weeks, they’d likely become injured. That’s because their body is ALREADY compensating for poor movement patterns. Why the heck would we want to speed that up and further damage their body?! 

When done properly, speed training is extremely effective and something I believe all golfers should do. But take this advice with caution. First, seek out a TPI Professional to evaluate your mobility and make sure you can handle speed training. Work with them on exercises, stretches, and drills to improve your mobility, then work with a swing coach to make sure you’re applying those new movement patterns to your swing properly. THEN you can start speed training protocols because you know your body can handle the stress and the training will positively affect your swing.

4. DEVELOP A MEDITATION PRACTICE

One of the biggest issues players face is the ability to stay calm and focused throughout the round. They have negative self-talk and let one bad shot lead to another and compound bad swing after bad swing. I often get asked how to fix this. And the answer typically isn’t what players want to hear…

If you wait until you’re on the course standing over the ball to try and find the right mindset, you’re too late.

A proper mindset and the ability to control positive thoughts and stay calm and focused under pressure is something that happens off the course through daily training. Just like going to the gym and lifting weights makes you stronger over time, spending a few minutes each day meditating or journaling helps make your mind stronger. And since golf is more mental than it is physical, it’s important not to neglect your mind. 

Finding a coach who is able to guide you and teach you how to meditate, breathe, reflect, and grow, will take your game to the next level, especially since they’ll better understand your thought processes with each shot and develop a pre-shot routine that’ll lead to consistency.

5. PUT GOOD IN, GET GOOD OUT

New Years' day is often filled with great intentions. People look back on the last year and realize they aren’t where they want to be, and make resolutions to change. The problem with new years resolutions is they are surface level. Most people make them because they think they should, but aren’t really bought into the process. I’m a big believer that if the resolution you want to make is important enough, you’ll get started right away instead of waiting for the new year.

One of the most common resolutions made each year is to lose weight and get healthy. It’s important to remember that in many cases, the physical weight we’re trying to lose is actually a manifestation of poor mental health and decision-making. Getting to the root of your issues and understanding why you make the choices you do is the first step in changing them. 

If you want to lose weight, ask yourself, what decisions would a healthy version of me make? Would I pick up fast food on my way home? Or would I stop at the grocery and grab some fresh produce? Would I stay up all snacking? Or would I have a healthy dinner and go to bed at a reasonable time to make sure I get enough sleep to recover properly? 

Losing weight is a fantastic way to improve your golf game not just because you’re going to move better, but you’re going to feel better as well, both mentally and physically. The excess weight we hold on our bodies creates toxicity and stress on our bodies and minds. It leaks into all areas of our life, especially our golf games. Have realistic goals and work with a professional to make sure the habits you’re building are sustainable long-term.

6. IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S THE CLUBS

Let me first start by saying EVERYONE SHOULD GET FIT. Trying to hone your golf swing with improperly fit clubs isn’t going to happen. You’re going to get frustrated and be unable to see the results you want because of how your equipment is affecting you.

The off-season is one of the best times to get fit for new equipment. Most manufacturers release their new products at the beginning of the new year. Traditionally the new product is showcased at the PGA Show in Orlando to industry professionals and then released to the public the following week. Companies understand the off-season is the time to look into new equipment.

If you’ve already been fit, begin your off-season by working with a TPI Professional to evaluate your mobility, work on any limitations, take a lesson or two with a PGA Professional to make sure you can implement your new abilities into your swing, then work with a certified club fitter to make sure your clubs are dialed in.

If you haven’t been fitted yet, start by going through a fitting and getting your clubs tailored to your specifications. Then work with a TPI Professional and PGA Professional to get your body in check and swing dialed in using your equipment, then follow back up with your club fitter to make any necessary changes or tweaks to your equipment that may have occurred through the process.

This is why I recommend 2nd Swing for all equipment needs. 2nd Swing is the largest and highest-ranked golf club retailer on google. They have 6 locations in the United States with over 100,000 new and used clubs. They offer free fittings with the purchase of clubs and a 30-day return guarantee. So whether you go to one of their stores and get fit in person, or you utilize their online fitting experts and eCommerce store to buy directly off the website and have them shipped to your house, it’s the perfect way to make sure you’re getting the right equipment without overpaying or being locked into something you can’t return.

7. GET OUT AND PLAY GOLF

Depending on where you live, or how brave you are to get out into the elements, the off-season offers plenty of opportunities to get on the course and keep your game in check. Because of colder weather and less daylight, green fees will be cheaper and there won’t be as many players on the course. 

This opens the possibility of practicing on the course, dropping a few balls, trying different things, and not getting caught up in the score. This also gives you an advantage over the field as most players are unwilling to get out there in the cold. The ball doesn’t fly as far, your bundled up trying to stay warm, and it hurts your hands when you hit a bad shot, but these are also all reasons why you’re better off for playing in the off-season because when the good weather does return, you’re still dialed in and ready to go.

CONCLUSION

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to getting better this off-season but the 7 suggestions listed above are fundamental elements that all the best players in the world regularly work on themselves. So if we can learn one thing from the best players in the world, it’s that an investment in ourselves and our own self-development is the real way to improve. We talk about getting “better at golf” but really we’re trying to become better versions of ourselves.

The work we put in, the time, energy, money, and sacrifice, all go towards reaching a higher level of being. Becoming physically more fit and mobile, more mentally strong, calm, focused, and adaptable, and putting in the hard work and learning through doing are all fundamental lessons that golf teaches us about life.

So if you’re serious about getting better, take action today, don’t wait. Pick one thing on this list and commit yourself to it. Get started. Create momentum. See progress. Reward yourself, keep it fun, and keep going.

MOVE BETTER - PLAY BETTER

COACH BLAINE ⛳🏌️‍♂️

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