The end of the year is a natural time to reflect on the past and plan for the future. As a golfer, I’ll bet you’re already daydreaming of that first tee shot on a perfect 70 degree day. Let’s use the winter down time to put together a plan to make your first spring game even better than you can imagine.
Here is my list of the Top 9 Things you can do to have the best golf year of your life in 2023.
1. Make A Plan
According to the experts, you’re 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. It can be a simple list, but should include the following:
Handicap Goal. Set something realistically aggressive, for instance, lowering your handicap by 3 strokes. If you don’t have a GHIN handicap, get one here.
Number of times you’ll play each week on average during the season
Will you join a golf league (You’ll play more often if you do).
Will you compete in any tournaments? (There are several options with the Tennessee Golf Association)
Nutrition. What are your broad goals to improve your health through nutrition? Base them on info from your annual checkup with your doctor (You do that, right?) See more on this below.
Fitness. What are your fitness goals? Increase strength? Improve flexibility? Again, more on that below.
Rest. It’s important. More on that below too.
2. Focus on Nutrition
Most of this food is not on our nutrition plan, but it’s a great picture of a crab boil at a family gathering.
A few years ago I decided to learn more about nutrition and how it could help me perform better and feel better. I started with a dietary allergen test under the direction of Dr. Lee Howard at Compass Cellular Healing. From this he created a diet for me that eliminated foods I’m sensitive to. That knowledge simplifies a lot of things, including grocery shopping.
In addition, there are some practical things we do to help us eat healthy:
We rarely go out to eat. We probably have dinner at home 90% of the time. Using meal kits such as Hello Fresh or Factor 75 makes that easy and helps with variety.
We don’t keep extra food in the house, particularly sweets or snacks.
We limit alcohol, not because we necessarily want to, but…
I wrote more about both my diet and nutrition plan in this blog post a couple years ago.
3. Get Fit
Overall fitness is important in every area of our lives. In addition to that, however, there are specific things you can do to improve your fitness that will specifically help your golf game, and many of them don’t require any special equipment or training aids.
We have a great workout room at home but the gear is very simple.
My trainer, Bruce Lyon, and I put together a series of videos a couple years ago detailing my fitness routine. You can find these in the Golf Fitness section of my website. All of these can be done at home with little or no real equipment.
In addition, my chiropractor, Dr. Derek Leist from Prevail Rehab and Fitness, keeps me in good shape through weekly adjustments and occasional dry-needling.
Additionally, USGA published a good article on this titled “Winter Reboot.” Check it out and you’ll see how doable a good fitness routine is.
4. Improve Your Mental Game
Take a look at many of the successful players on the Senior Tour and you’ll realize something - golf is a mental game. Although physical fitness is important, it’s not the only thing. Mental fitness is just as important to success on the golf course.
These are my go-to books to sharpen my thinking. I’ve read each of them many times.
How Champions Think, by Dr. Bob Rotella
Mental Toughness Training for Sports, by James Loehr
With Winning In Mind, by Lanny Bassham
5. Journal
The thing that will keep you on track after you finish your plan is to activate it through journaling. I don’t mean just journaling your feelings, although that can be beneficial if you play a lot of tournament golf. Rather, create a book that helps you keep track of all the things you include in your plan through a series of checklists. For instance, every year, we put together a book that starts with a calendar for each month so we can plan tournament travel. The next section is my weekly workout log, followed by my winter workout log, then a mental map of each tournament I play followed by a place for me to keep up with my student’s lessons.
YOUR journal would look quite different from mine, but the concept is the same. Figure out what you can track that is included in your plan and put together a book to make that easy. Hannah does this with a calendar we create and order from VistaPrint, and a series of spreadsheets. She then goes to Office Depot to deconstruct the calendar then reconstruct it. For specifics, email Hannah at hannah@hannahparamore.com.
6. Do Indoor Golf Drills During The Winter (or all year)
Don’t just sit on the couch all winter and then think you can jump up and play a great round of golf. Take advantage of this time to work on core skills in your living room that will benefit your golf game all year long. Most of the drills on my website can be performed indoors. Check it out and get after it!
7. Practice Putting
The #1 THING YOU NEED TO DO TO IMPROVE YOUR GAME is to practice putting. NOTHING replaces putting practice. Here’s how to do it at home:
Buy this putting mat (I’ve had mine for more than 30 years)
Set a timer for 20 minutes and putt from 2 to 8 feet every day.
Try this drill:
Put a dime two feet down the line between the ball and the hole. Roll five putts over the dime. Once you hit the dime five times, go for ten.
8. Hold a club daily
Just putting your hands on the golf club every day is great practice. Arnold Palmer said so.
I am the king of the world!
#9. Rest
Finally, golfers are naturally obsessive. Focus is good. Obsession is bad. Get away from the game on a regular basis, especially in winter. Take up another sport, learn to dance or play bridge. Take an amazing vacation. It will round out your life and give you the mental break you need to perform consistently well all season.