How to Practice When Your Course is Covered in Snow

Cindy Miller is a former LPGA Tour Player, a current member of The Legends of the LPGA Tour and an award winning golf instructor

The first thing I must say is Kinona makes the most awesome golf wear for women! Their ladies golf outfits are made of the softest fabric ever, feel great, and allow you to move the way to you need to swing the club and hit the golf ball!  Now, how to play better golf!

Winter is the perfect time to work on your golf game. In fact, the off season is the time to make changes and work on the things you want to improve. The first thing you need to do, however, is plan. Here are a few things you need to consider:

1. What would you love to change?
2. If you could fix one thing about your game, what would it be?
3. How much time/money are you willing to invest in improving?

If you can realistically look at your game, it will help. Sometimes we don’t really need to change too many things to make a big difference. 

Putting

Most people could eliminate three to five shots per round if they just improved their putting. Let’s say you live in the north, don’t live near a golf dome, and have to practice your putting at home. What can you do?

1. You can purchase a six-foot piece of indoor/outdoor carpet at a local hardware store. Lay the carpet out on your living room floor, basement, garage, or wherever there is room. Place a quarter on the rug as the cup. Having something smaller than a hole will help you become more accurate, and the real cup will appear huge to you.

Start practicing from two feet away, using your back hand (right hand if you are right-handed). Stand a little open so you can easily see the line and the ball roll into the hole. Add your other hand and practice hitting the quarter on every putt. Try to make one hundred putts in a row. 

1. While you are at the hardware store, purchase a metal yardstick. Place the yardstick on the floor. On one side of the yardstick there will be a hole. Place a golf ball on top of the open hole. Practice hitting three-foot putts down the yardstick, keeping the ball on the yardstick. If the ball rolls off the left, you have pulled the putt. If it rolls off the right, you have pushed it.  Feel the putter head follow through as an underhanded toss down the yardstick.  Once you practice this, you will make many more three footers. 

Alignment

Many people are unsure how to aim correctly. The ball goes where the FACE points, NOT your SHOULDERS. Learn to aim the clubface at the target and align your body parallel to the left of the target for right-handed players. 

Take a short iron. Find a wall in your house that you could practice setting up along. Pretend you are hitting a ball down that target line. Practice walking up to the ball parallel to the wall. Set up to the shot. The wall will not allow you to aim to the right. You may need to learn how to see the true line you want the ball to travel. It may look way left to you if you are right-handed. Trust the line.  This will make a he difference in your game!

Full Swing

Everyone would like to hit all shots clean, airborne and straight on purpose. If you have room in your home to make half swings with a short iron, I suggest you do so. You can use the indoor/outdoor carpet you purchased to practice putting and now hit golf shots. 

1. Pour a little flour on the carpet about the size of a quarter. Take small swings practice brushing the carpet on the down swing where the flour is. Learning to make clean contact with the flour as your target without a ball will help you when there is a ball there. 
2. I understand you cannot hit real golf balls in your living room. You can, however, purchase some marshmallows. Yes, I said marshmallows. You can practice hitting clean shots in the living room off the indoor/outdoor carpet using marshmallows as golf balls. It might be a little crazy, but at least you won’t hurt anything. Maybe even have someone stand on the other side of the room and see if they can catch the marshmallow in their mouth!

Cindy Miller is a former LPGA Tour Player, a current member of The Legends of the LPGA Tour, a Golf Pass Instructor, 2010 LPGA National Teacher of the Year, and recently named an ELITE LPGA Teacher in the World.  Cindy and her husband, Allen Miller are the only married couple in the world who have competed on all four major tours. The PGA TOUR, the LPGA Tour, The PGA TOUR Champions, and The Legends of the LPGA. As a Certified Behavior, Motivation, and Emotional Intelligence Professional, Cindy is a highly sought-after speaker, coach, and corporate trainer. She teaches people how to get, do, and be better. For your FREE Learning Style Assessment, click HERE! Reach out to her at cindy@cindymillerinc.com . Follow Cindy  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. She and Allen teach in Buffalo, New York as well as Orlando, Florida.