a doubt preventing yourself from employing your skills to their potential on the course.
• Make that swing change in the pre-season, not during the season. When you are not playing
meaningful golf you have the liberty to disrupt things. Making a swing change takes time. You will
need to build new habits. It will take a lot of repetitions doing it the new way before that habit will
override your old habit. Hitting balls into a net or a simulator will allow you to focus on the process
of making the new motion rather than being so distracted by the result of the shot.
I could go on and on with productive activities that you can be doing this winter but I will stop there.
Now here is my closing and what I firmly believe is a very important point. Don’t do any of those
activities until you have a plan in place. Part of the plan will be defining clearly what changes need to
occur. For this it would be best to take some assessments. You should never start a workout program in
the gym without first having an expert assess your current strengths, weaknesses and mobility. Simply
spending the winter strengthening your core for example might be a waste of time if your mobility is
limited. Likewise, making random changes to your putting stroke just because you think it looks or feels
better could not only be a waste of time, it could make you worse! If you are going to work on making
swing changes, make sure you are taking a coordinated approach where all the pieces fit together.
Deciding to change your grip, posture and takeaway can be a great idea if all three of those pieces work
together. If they do not, you will surely do more harm than good. So take time over the next month to
assess what you want to achieve, have an expert help you. Take a full swing lesson to decide what you
are going to work on this winter. Go see a putting expert to have your stroke evaluated. Reach out to Dr.
Josh Brant who regularly contributes to this magazine for a mental strength assessment. Set up a time
to have a physical assessment so your gym time is most productive. Next year can be the greatest golf
season of your life! To make that a possibility, start the improvement process now.
George Connor has been teaching and coaching golfers of all
abilities since 1989. The two-time Connecticut PGA Teacher of
the Year is based at Farmington Woods GC in Avon, CT. George’s
student’s include Division 1 College Players, Professional Players,
State Amateur Champions, Club Champions as well as beginners
and intermediate players.
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CSGA Links // October, 2016 | 11