Embarking on a journey to elevate your golf game this year? It might be time to unlock your potential off the tee, in the fairways and on the greens. Here are some training aids to help you get there.
1. Increase distance
Practice center contact
Hitting the ball in the center of the club face minimizes wayward shots. One way to focus on your ball-striking is by using Strike Spray (available on Amazon), or you can chalk any of your clubs to see where you’re making contact with the ball.
Increase your swing speed
There are lots of ways to increase your swing speed. You can use the ground to generate more power and speed in your rotation, and you can also incorporate flexibility- or weight-specific workouts. Another is training aids.
Try using the Superspeed Golf Training Aid System, which will help you work your way to a faster swing and, eventually, more distance.
2. Improve approach shot accuracy
Practice alignment
Your golf ball can’t go where you want it if you’re aimed the wrong way to begin with, which is a common mistake many golfers make. Try practicing with alignment sticks to make sure you are starting in the right direction. I’m a big fan of the “Hazy Sticks” brand alignment sticks, which are made out of hickory wood and feature nickel endcaps. You can even get them custom-engraved.
Hazy Sticks The Royal
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Zero in on your distances
It’s important to figure out how far you hit your clubs, and it’s not always as accurate as you might think when you are firing away on the range. Are you a simple GPS golf watch kind of person, or do you prefer a high-tech point-and-shoot rangefinder? (If you’re in the market for a new one, tap here to figure out which of our favorite rangefinders from 2023 you’d prefer.)
Launch it
Or, you can hone in on your specs by using a launch monitor like the Swing Caddie (shown below) and receive all the information you’d ever need. Do your homework and get with a fitter, too, and they can use this info to help you figure out clubs that might work best for your game.
Swing Caddie SC300i Launch Monitor
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3. Enhance your short game
Just as important as finding the fairway off the tee box, you have to execute your chip shots, especially those daunting short ones. Here’s some recent advice from GOLF Top 100 Teacher Kellie Stenzel on how to become a chipping virtuoso. As for putting, sometimes the best way to practice it is to just have fun with it. Make a game out of it with friends or even on a quiet night at home. You can get pretty creative with it — play around with putting on carpet or hardwood.
You can also get yourself a high-quality putting surface like The Putt King Pro, which is a three-hole plus flagsticks turf green with an average USGA Stimpmeter speed rating of 11.
Putt King Pro Green 5’ft x 11.5’ft
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