Practice with Contact and Consistency in Mind to Start the Season

Practice with Contact and Consistency in Mind to Start the Season

After a taste of good weather in early March this year, the past few weeks haven't allowed for very many ventures onto the course. As we begin May, however, that trend has begun to change and more and more golfers are migrating out to begin another season of play. But that begs the question, "Should my practice early in the season look any different than later in the season?" Simply put, if your goal is to shake off the winter rust and regain solid contact and predictable ball flight quickly the answer is an emphatic "Yes, it should!"

While it's tempting to grab the entire bag and head out to the driving range when the weather turns warm, I have the majority of my students focus intently on short chips and pitches and migrate outward to 50-100 yard shots as their confidence builds. This type of routine serves two very important purposes:

1It allows the player to regain a sense of clubface control and solid contact, both of which are typically much easier to achieve at lower swing speeds and with shorter swings.

2It takes the pressure off of the full swing during the early months of the season, helping to prevent inflated scores.

If you think of the process like a graduation of control from one club to the next longest you'll get to the driver before you know it and avoid many of the negative contact and ball flight issues typical to early-season play!