With each day the sun stays in the sky a bit longer, and you are that much closer to starting new golf season.  Until then, with New Year’s resolutions hopefully not forgotten and your golf clubs in your family room instead of the trunk of your car, let’s get to work! 

 

Here are three of my preferred indoor drills.  Each drill covers one of the fundamentals of game improvement:  putting, bunker play and full swing.  Please put last year’s member guest trophy in a safe place before you start!

 

Toilet Paper Roll Out

 

Direction and Distance Control (Putting):  Start out by unrolling a roll of toilet paper a few feet.  Place a ball just at the beginning of the toilet paper.  Putt balls down the sheet of toilet paper to the end of the roll.  Continue rolling out the roll by increments of five feet.  Your goal should be to keep the ball on the toilet paper so that your ball rolls and stops at the end of the roll.

 

Card Contact

 

Impact (Bunker Play): Place a playing card on the floor. Imagine that the ball is located at the front end of the card.  As you would from a normal greenside bunker lie, practice hitting a half-inch or an inch behind the ball.  In this case, you want the bottom of the club (the bounce) to contact the center of the playing card.  The card should fly about 10 feet when done correctly.

 

Chair Bump

 

Posture and Hip Rotation (Full Swing):  A dining chair can help you feel proper posture and hip rotation.  Position your backside against the chair.  Get into your normal golf posture and maintain proper knee flex.  As your swing moves away from address, turn and push your right hip into the chair.  Your left side will come off the chair.  Keep the right knee flexed.  As the club moves into the downswing, let your right hip come off the chair and firmly push your left hip into the chair.  This simple movement will also help you stay centered over the golf ball and eliminate swaying.  In addition, this drill is great if you have the challenge of standing up and straightening your back leg during your backswing.

 

With the PGA tour’s west coast swing on the tube in the background, there is plenty of time to practice in your home, keeping the rust off your swing come late March.

 

Before you hit your first practice ball of the season, incorporate these drills into your week about three times.  Don’t look back on your winter and wish you could have done more.  Start now!

 

Ryan Gingrow is PGA teaching professional at Whitford CC.  His full bio is here.