If you're like me, the winter season provides a nice break from the stresses of golf season...for about a month. I live in the Northeast and start itching to play around mid-January. April seems so far away, especially with 18 inches of snow on the front porch. Luckily, there are a few remedies that keep my mind sane, and can help you escape to warmer weather.
1. Always keep a putter in the living room: Practicing your grip and working on rhythm is actually quite important. Short game touch and feel is the first thing to leave and last to come back at the start of the new season. Rolling a few putts when you're trying to kill time is fun and will give you something constructive to work on. If you want to take it a step further, practice the putter raise!
2. Commiserate with other golfers: Keeping in touch with your golf friends will get you excited for the new season. Dropping phrases like "I'm hoping for some 40 degree weather," or "I need to find a patch of grass to work on my wedge game," for some reason, makes the winter go faster.
3. Try indoor simulator golf: If you haven't hit balls on a simulator, you should definitely try it. The experience isn't the same as seeing a ball fly 200 yards into the distance, but it's better than practicing your swing in your living room. Rates vary depending on the place, but an hour on the simulator can be as little as $30 and can be split between a few stir crazy golfers. Simulators can also be connected to a bar or restaurant and can make for a fun weekday night out!
4. Subscribe to a golf magazine: Golf Digest and Golf World are two of my favorites. They run about $15/year but have many instructional articles and stories about courses and the world's best players. They provide more color to the broadcasts we know you're watching every week on the Golf Channel. The magazines also give great ideas about cheap trips and courses to play around the world.
5. Dream of that first tee shot: There's lots of pressure when you put that first tee in the ground. Luckily, you have time to visualize the feeling of the strike and see the majestic flight of that hard fade down the middle of the fairway. We all can hit the shot in our minds, and we think of ourselves as better golfers the further we get from our last missed 3-footer. Hopefully these five tips will make the shot a reality come April.