8 things golfers can work on during lockdown
8 Things Golfers can Work on during Lockdown
By Michael Balderstone, PGA Master Professional
- Analyze your game
Now is a great time to reflect on your recent performances and evaluate all elements of your game to find strengths and weaknesses. Check your vital performance statistics if you collate them or play on a competitive professional circuit that keeps that data. Drives in Play, Greens in Regulation, Putts per Round and Scrambling are good basic statistics to give you a fair idea. The goal is to identify where you leak shots during a round, where you predominantly miss shots, and what causes the most destructive damage to your scorecard. Get feedback from your coaching team too, particularly if they watch you in tournaments.
At BSI we conduct a Performance Audit and Gap Analysis (PAGA) on each player, using performance stats, skills assessments and coach evaluation. Once the performance gaps are identified, it is easier to focus attention where it is most needed.
- Technique
Players have a great opportunity at the moment to work on their set-up, body motions and swing positions. Without the fear of bad shots or poor tournament performances, players can just commit 100% to making the technical changes that their coach has been wanting them to make. There are so many drills that you can do at home even if you don’t have a golf net to hit into. Don’t have anything to work on? Sign up for a remote lesson with a BSI Coach to get you started.
- Flexibility
Flexibility is a key element of high performance, and one that is all too often overlooked. Having sufficient flexibility and length in muscles, and range of motion in joints allows for optimal technique as well as injury prevention. Your torso, hips, hamstrings, glutes and shoulders are key areas. Now you have the time, make sure you commit to a golf stretching routine every day including foam rolling if you have a roller.
- Strength training
You don’t need gym equipment. There are many exercises that you can do using the floor, your own body weight and/or household items and furniture. For example; push-up varieties, core work with planks and sit-up varieties, tricep dips, lunge varieties, squat varieties and box jumps on a step will provide a great workout. Use some household items like bags of flour, chairs, a bag full of books to add some weight to the exercises.
- Aerobic fitness
Same as above, you might not have the ability to run or cycle in the streets at the moment, but there is much that you can do. For example; shuttle running between two objects, burpees, skipping, squat jumps, star jumps, lateral jumps, single leg hops, step-ups, high-knee running on the spot.
- Mental game
There’s a great story of US Navy Pilot Captain Sands, who was captured by the Japanese during World War 2. While stuck in a small cage in a prisoner of war camp, he visualized playing golf every day, creating the golf course, visualizing the entire place and imagining every smell and noise that would come with it in real life. After he was release, it is told that he shot 74 in his very first round back, having been a 90’s shooter before the war.
In addition to working on your visualization, you can set goals, write positive affirmations to be repeated daily, keep a gratitude diary, work on your pre-shot routine, practice breathing techniques, and even take a remote mental coaching session.
- Analyze your lifestyle
Your results are the product of your daily habits and choices. If you want to be successful, your entire life needs to be aligned to your goals. Now is a great time to self-audit your lifestyle and identify the habits and choices that might be holding you back. Eliminate what holds you back, add what makes you better.
Examples of habits that can hold you back are; alcohol, drugs, sugar, cigarettes, toxic relationships, poor sleep habits, laziness, and associates. These can be tough choices to make, but everything you do contributes to your performance either positively or negatively.
- Improve knowledge
Now is a great time to learning and grow. You can download self-help e-books, listen to podcasts, read motivational books you have at home, watch Netflix documentaries or even brush up on the rules of golf. There is so much content out there, much of it free, that can help with your performance. You just need to open yourself up to a growth mindset.
