Unless you are fortunate enough to own a house on a golf course, your options for improving your golf at home are somewhat limited. You could do what I did when I was a kid and try to chip balls from the grass in your back garden through your bedroom window … trust me when I say risking a glass windowpane is a pretty good way to simulate tournament pressure!
(before anyone feels too bad for my parents, I was using those plastic air balls with the holes in them)
Apart from my garden golf chipping championships, there are plenty of creative ways to improve your golf at home. However, are any of them worth your time? That is the question I want to address in today’s article.
Let’s look at the most efficient ways to improve your golf at home and what you can do to significantly improve your scores when you finally do get on the course.
Improve Your Putting
Putting is probably what most people think of when it comes to practising their golf at home. After all, all you need is a carpet or a putting mat. However, can putting in your study help you on the course?
To be fair, your home is not the best place to work on your touch and speed control. Most carpets I have ever tried to putt were so fast they would put Augusta National to shame or so bumpy they would put my local council golf course to shame.
So unless you have a professional green installed in your garden, you will probably be working in a relatively confined space. Therefore, there are two goals you should focus on:
- Improving the mechanics of your putting stroke
- Holing more short putts
Spending your time working on short putts is a good investment. Studies show that 50% of all putts occur within six feet of the hole. If you want to see results, the three most effective things to work on at home are:
- Keeping the putter square at impact
- Hitting the centre of the putter face
- Gently accelerating through impact
Best Putting Drill For At Home
I am going to show you the best putting drill that I know. Whenever I spend time consistently working on this drill, I barely ever miss a short-putt. It’s like magic!
Start by placing two irons on the ground, like in the image below. They should be just over a putt heads length apart.
Congratulations you have just built your very own portable putting rail. The idea of a putting rail is to keep your putter swing path straight and ensure you hit the ball in the centre. Several companies would like to sell you a product that does the same job for £30-£40, but you now have one for free.
Next, put a target at the end of the rail anywhere between 5 to 10 feet from the ball. Make sure it is all lined up correctly. I.e. stand behind the ball to check that the putting rail is pointing at the target.
Now start working on your putting stroke. You will want to focus on the following:
- Not hitting the two clubs you put down on the floor – this will help you keep a straight swing plane
- Keeping the clubface square (i.e. not twisting your hands and wrists),
- Gently accelerating the club through impact,
Bonus – Putting Drill
Deaccelerating the putter through impact is a common cause of missed short putts and easily occurs if your backswing is too big. Get an idea for the correct backswing length for the distance you are attempting with a few short putts. Position the ball inside your putting rail so that the grips of the two clubs on the ground are where you want your backswing to end. The grips are a visual reference point to keep your backswing short. Start practising being careful to not take the club past the grips.
Improve Your Basic Golf Fundamentals
When was the last time you checked your grip?
I can hear you now:
“What? Who does this guy think he’s talking to? I don’t need to check my grip … I’m not a beginner! Why I ought to give this idiot a piece of my mind!!!“
OK, you probably didn’t get THAT angry. If you did, that’s cool too. I like the passion.
Anyway, you would be surprised at how easy it is to slip into bad habits. I nominate myself as a prime example here. I am not saying this to brag, but I have played golf to a scratch level on a university scholarship. You would think I should know the fundamentals of golf pretty well. However, when I go for a lesson my golf coach, he will often adjust my grip or stance. OK, the whole lesson is not “how to grip the club”, but it might start with him saying something like:
“OK move the right-hand round slightly, move your feet half an inch further apart, open the right foot a tad more, OK we’re good to go.”
These are just little corrections for things that slipped when I wasn’t paying attention. You will see tour pros getting similar advice from their coaches too. The fundamentals should not be something you learn once and then stop thinking about. You should remind yourself of the fundamentals of golf every time you play. The second you get careless; you will slip into bad habits.
Of course, the best place to work on fundamentals is at home because you have a mirror! I see the fundamentals as your grip, stance, posture and takeaway.
If you have not paid any attention to the fundamentals in the past few months, I guarantee you will be doing something wrong. It may not be big but something.
Watch the videos below, remind yourself of the correct techniques and get in front of your bedroom mirror. The next time you play, you’ll notice the difference.
Useful Golf Fundamental Resources
Instruction from Golf Monthly Top 25 coach Rick Sheils – Grip
Instruction from Golf Monthly Top 25 coach Rick Sheils – Stance
Instruction from six-time major champion Sir Nick Faldo – Takeaway
Athletic Motion Golf – Pros vs Amateurs – Setup
Improve Your Golf Fitness
Golf fitness is something everyone should be working on every day.
The point of working on your body is not just to play better golf; it is also to avoid injuries. The golf swing involves a lot of twisting and unnatural movements. No wonder us golfers are often complaining about hurting our backs and knees (especially as we age).
Working on your golf fitness does not mean going full Bryson DeChambeau or peak Tiger Woods. You want to protect your body, not break it! We recommend that all golfers should consistently work on their golf mobility and core strength to avoid injury and boost their distance.
If you already know your way around a gym, here are some of our favourite exercises for golf:
- Hamstring/glute bridge
- Plank/side plank
- Dead bug
- Bird dog yoga pose
- Squats
- Reverse lunge and knee up
Don’t worry if you have no clue what on earth I just said. Check out this free 10-minute YouTube video of John Rahm explaining his daily movement preparation exercises. You can perform everything with nothing more than your body, a mat and a golf club.
If you’re looking for something a little bit longer, check out this 20-minute morning workout from MyTPI Golf Fitness Academy.
These exercises are great for improving golf mobility and core strength. If you spend ten to fifteen minutes a day following just some of the exercises in these videos, you will see a significant improvement to your golf game.
There you have it. Three things you can work on at home, and provided that you stick with them, they will actually lead to a noticeable improvement in your golf game.
If you want to learn more about why mobility and core strength are so important. Check out our free article ‘Distance Secrets’. You can download the article by joining our mailing list here (if you are already on our mailing list, email info@golfclubstyle.com and we’ll send you another copy).
*If any of the videos or links in this article have stopped working please email info@golfclubstyle.com to let us know. This sometimes happens when YouTube removes videos or users take down their content. We are dedicated to maintaining high-quality articles that help your golf game. So please help us keep these resources up to date!