Winter Golf Practice

Question
I live in New England. During the winter, how can you practice golf inside? Thanks.

Answer
Hi Chris,

I've never lived through a winter in New England so I'm doing a little guessing in answering your question.  

Obviously, you need a little space.  Maybe you have some space in your basement, a spare bedroom or your garage.  First you need a mat like you would see at some driving ranges.  There are many kinds of practice mats...some are thin and will wear out quickly and the more expensive ones are thicker and will last longer.  Next, you need a net that will catch balls.  Look online for both of these.  You need to be able to hit real golf balls off the mat and into the net.

Now beyond those two items...you can decide how much money you want to spend.  There are computer simulation programs, there are launch monitors, etc.  You can get very high tech if you want to.  You can also set up a simple video station to take digital video of your swing over the winter months.  A low tech way to accomplish almost the same thing is to have a full length mirror that you can move into the face-on position or the down the line position to observe your own swing.  Be sure all your golf balls are caught by the net.  If you break the mirror with a golf ball you might have 7 holes of bad luck in the spring!

Mentally, watch the golf tournaments on TV once the tour starts back up in January.  Watching good swings helps you with your own visualization.  And practice concentrating when you are hitting balls into the net.  Visualize real shots on the course you play the most.  Don't just practice mechanics.

Good luck!

Sincerely,

Paul Dolman
PGA Golf Professional