New golf clubs can be an exciting prospect to ponder, but when is the right time for a change? There are two schools of thought: club manufacturers’ marketing departments seem to suggest a new set every season or left to…
Today’s technology has certainly increased the distance golf balls travel. But it has also improved the way we consume golf knowledge and information in the form of smartphone apps. Golf apps can not only help keep you updated on the…
No matter how much golf we play in a season, sooner or later we will likely hit a slump. Nothing may necessarily precipitate it, but suddenly, without warning, we may find ourselves in a mid-season slump. Not to worry. As…
Technically, a sand trap is a hazard, but if you ever watch the professionals on television, hitting from a bunker if often much more desirable than some nasty, four-inch long rough. Therefore, for the rest of non-broadcast golfers, we shouldn’t…
There are many theories on the golf swing. Swinging a golf club is not exactly a natural movement for the human body and there are as many different swings out there as golfers. Tom Lehman once said, it doesn’t matter how you swing, it’s more important that it’s a repeatable swing. Repeating the swing is key because it can get out of whack. And when it does, we need to know how to fix our golf swing.
The first step to fixing a broken swing is to diagnose what is not working. Plenty can be learned from paying attention to what happens to the ball after it is hit. Does it slice to the right (for a right-hander) or hook to the left? Did you top it and hit a worm burner or hit underneath it and shoot it straight up into the air?
It was a long summer golf season in Minnesota filled with great weather, excellent conditions, and many rounds — a boon for golfers and golf courses alike.
But try as we may to extend those Minnesota golf rounds into late fall (or even early November), the cold winds of winter will eventually shut it down. But you don’t have to stop swinging a club just because the snow is flying.
There are numerous golf domes, golf simulators and indoor golf facilities to keep the good golf season going all winter long. In some cases, you may have to drive a bit, but there are so many facilities in Minnesota, you won’t have to go far to stay in the swing.
Before you head out to swing a club, keep in mind a few ideas worth considering for your winter practice.
Beginning golfers have a chance to improve quickly at the game, particularly if they start with the right fundamentals. In golf, the best way for a beginner (or anyone, for that matter) to improve is to work on their short game. Most golf pros will tell you that the skills required for a good short game can translate to your entire game and improve your efficiency.
Chris Foley of Cragun’s Legacy Courses in Brainerd also owns and operates Chris Foley Golf Schools, and he agrees that short game proficiency leads to overall performance.
“You have to cover all aspects of the game,” Foleys says. “Kids, especially, love to hit driver. But you have to come to the realization that the short game – let’s say inside 50 yards – is about 60 percent of our score or more. So if you want to score well, you have to spend some time in that area of your game.”