We are fortunate in South Texas that we really haven’t had much winter yet. As I write this, they are forecasting 80 degrees for this afternoon. But I understand the rest of the country isn’t faring so well. (And I know ours is coming, sooner or later.) As I’ve made friends around the country, who live in areas where they have a genuine off-season, it has made me aware that not all are so fortunate as to be able to work on their games year-round.

So today’s article is for those of you who might not be seeing grass for a while.

Because you have a short season, I can imagine it is important for you to want to get the most out of it. But it’s not realistic to think those golf muscles, your skills and your golf mind won’t atrophy over the winter layoff. But you don’t have to settle completely that your first few weeks will be awful. Here are five solid tips for making 2020 your best year of golf scores ever. Here goes:

1. Putt short putts better. If you will just work on your putting, your scores will come down dramatically. The first area to focus on is getting deadly on putts under five feet. That you can practice in your living room or basement every day if you are so motivated. All you need is one of these cool putting mats, or nothing more complex than a six foot piece of smooth commercial carpet. Learn how to groove your stroke so that your short putts become automatic. The left side
leads, keep a soft grip on the putter and your weight favoring your left side (all for righty’s of course). And tempo, tempo, tempo. Slow back, slow through.

2. Strengthen your left side. If you are a right handed person, your left side is likely not strong enough to maintain a leadership role in the swing, because you don’t use it as much. On the simple side, keep a 5- or 10-lb dumbbell near your desk or sofa and do curls and other exercises several times a day. Even better is to swing a weighted club with only your left hand 15-25 times a day. A strong left side will do more for your golf swing than just about anything else you can do.

3. Improve your short game. Sorry, but that means practice, guys. Again, you can learn and groove a good chipping/pitching stroke in your garage off a piece of carpet. Refer back to my articles on technique; read books by Utley and Watson—learn, learn, learn . . . . then practice, practice, practice. Get better at getting up and down and strokes will fly off your scores.

4. Sharpen your mind. There are some really good books about the mental side of the game and this is a good time of year to spend some time with them. I’m a fan of Dr. David Cook and his book, “Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days in Utopia.” Besides that very fine story, he has written several books about this aspect of the game. But there are many more that are fine as well. Remember that a round of golf covers much more time thinking than it does actually hitting shots. The better y you get at the former, the better you are likely to be at the latter.

5. Visit TopGolf or other simulators. There is never a substitute for actually making swings and hitting balls, so treat yourself to some time at TopGolf or other simulators. If none are close, and you have a basement, set up a net and hit balls regularly. If none of that is available, at least get a short weighted practice club and take regular swings.

Bonus Tip. Have fun! We don’t do this for a living, so don’t let bad shots or bad rounds mess up a day in the sun with friends.

And when you get back out on the course, have realistic expectations—after all, you’ve been out of the game for months possible. When you do get out there, however, remember the old adage: One bad round—forget it. Two bad rounds—practice. Three bad rounds—get a lesson.