Shooting balls into the dark all winter is pointless. Fabian Bünker shows five exciting alternatives to improve your game.Knowing that not all golfers can invest a lot of time into training, here are five golf training tips for your long game that you can apply at any driving range even with limited time.
1. Assess the Quality of Your Shots
Take 30 balls and hit each with a different club aiming at a different target. Before each shot, perform a routine similar to what you would do on the course or during a tournament. After each shot, grade its quality from 1 (excellent) to 6 (poor). This practice will increase your concentration over time as no one wants to give themselves bad marks.
2. The Tai Chi Swing
This exercise requires high concentration and a calm environment. Perform your golf swing, especially the parts you want to improve, in slow motion to feel every movement. Many golfers close their eyes to strengthen the mental image of the motion. Experts can precisely control the duration of their Tai Chi golf swing from 30 seconds to a minute.
Practice this without a ball at home (unless you have enough space and can hit air shots) or at the driving range to gradually increase speed using the 30-60-90 rule: start at 30% speed, then 60%, and finally reach 90%, avoiding full speed swings on the course due to loss of control.
Key points for Tai Chi tempo swings:
• Give clear and specific movement instructions to yourself
• Focus on one movement aspect at a time
• Find a quiet environment (turn off your phone)
• Get feedback from a coach
• Start with swings without a ball
3. Practice the Draw
A draw curves from right to left, with the ball starting right of the target line and curving back left. To hit a draw, swing the club from inside to outside with the clubface slightly closed relative to the swing path. If you often slice the ball, practicing the draw helps counteract that.
4. Practice the Fade
A fade curves from left to right and is done by swinging from outside to inside with the clubface slightly open to the swing path. Everyone needs to adjust their swing differently to hit draws or fades effectively; those struggling should seek professional coaching.
5. Focus on Specific Body Parts
If you take lessons, you might want to stabilize your swing over winter. Self-training can be hard as you cannot see yourself. While videos recorded on smartphones can help, angles often aren’t perfect for analysis by amateurs.
Instead, focus on one body part, like your left wrist, while hitting balls. Concentrate solely on how it moves and feels during the swing, ignoring other swing tasks. Ideally, focus on areas you work on with your coach. This can greatly improve your swing confidence.
Whether working on technique or just hitting balls, bring variety to your training with these tips!