Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend four hours sharpening the axe.”
What ol’ Abe knew, about as well as any successful person in his day, was that, without preparation, greatness cannot be achieved.
Or perhaps not even greatness. Just fulfilling your own potential.
So, with the approach of every new season, the best golf pros undergo preparation to bring their best game. But what kinds of techniques and methods do they use to make sure that, come the first tee, they’re as razor-sharp as Lincoln’s metaphorical axe? Let’s find out.
Restock your bag and get kitted out
The first thing on your mind should be your equipment. You could be fully prepared in every other area, but if you hit the course without the proper gear, your game’s going to suffer.
The best pros always have their caddies stock up on the essentials – think ball markers, athletic tape, plasters, aspirin, sun cream… all those little lifesavers that you never think you need until you need them.
Then, go through your golf gear and consider replacing the old worn-out items with new ones. Get some new gloves, a new hat, a box of the latest balls, even think about replacing your shoes and socks… each piece of kit is important if you want to hit the ground running.
One thing every pro will do is regularly replace their grips. Most amateur golfers don’t even think about their grips until they’re practically hanging off the club (and even then it’s only because their local club pro pointed it out). Replacing your grips is relatively inexpensive to do and when combined with sharpening the grooves with a groove sharpener tool (which you find online for next to nothing), your clubs will be as good as new.
Of course, if you have the budget, you could even consider buying a whole new set of clubs! You’ll want to get them custom fitted so plan ahead. You’ll need to book in a fitting session and then wait a few weeks for them to be made by the manufacturer. It will be worth the wait as custom fitted golf clubs are almost guaranteed to save a few shots per round. Many custom fit centres will offer free custom fitting if you buy the set with them afterwards. Just remember to factor in a period of adjustment for any major changes to your armoury.
Get a feel for your clubs
After a long break, it’s essential to shake off the cobwebs. All the best pros put in endless hours of practice before the first big tournament of the year.
There are even a few methods you can use to improve your game without even leaving the house – for some inspiration, check out our blog post “Can You Really Improve Your Golf At Home?.”
But it’s obviously hard to replicate the real thing at home. So just before the season starts, find a golf centre and put in some hours practicing your whole game. Start with your putting, then work your way up from chipping, pitching, irons and finally your driver. Once you’ve regained your touch, you’ll be ready to start the season with a minimum amount of rustiness.
Get in shape
This may seem obvious, but it’s a big factor in the separation of class between being a decent and a very good golfer.
Despite the lazy observations of casual observers, golf is a physically demanding game. Come straight from the couch to the course, and you’re going to suffer, it’s as simple as that.
Professional golfers know this only too well and that’s why they spend plenty of time getting their body ready for the rigours of the season. Dustin Johnson is famed for his intense workout sessions that involve deadlifts, squat, clean lifts and medicine ball workouts.
Rory McIlroy is another big name golfer who helped bring the fitness standard of the modern game to a new level. His pre-season fitness routine focuses on building stability, strength, flexibility and speed.
Of course, fitness preparation is not just about hitting the ball further. For professionals, injury prevention is huge. So, preparing the body for all the twists and turns that come as part and parcel of the game makes perfect sense.
Get a swing coach
Even the best of the best need a little advice from time to time. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson all take golf lessons. When your game feels a little stale, and you’re having a hard time progressing, getting an outsider to analyse your game is a very wise move.
Whether you’re a scratch golfer or a complete hacker, getting one-on-one lessons from a PGA qualified professional is a great way to prepare for an exciting new season of golf. You’ll be able to increase your distance, improve your accuracy, develop more consistency and add new shots to your arsenal.
Considering that making swing changes normally means getting a little worst before you get better, the off-season is the perfect time to do it. Then, when the new season rolls around, you’ll be ready to shoot some of your lowest ever rounds.
Plan and set goals
Setting goals is a big part of the preparation of a pro. The best golfers set both long term and short term goals – as the old Chinese proverb goes, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Professionals use data from the previous year to analyse their performance and to set markers for the new season. Of course, not everyone has a spreadsheet and team of statisticians detailing their every round. But, it’s a good idea to break down some of last year’s scores (if you have kept track of any) and use them to set goals for the new season.
You can also get specific. If you have a certain shot that you know you struggle with, find a way of monitoring your progress and set goals to improve it. Using statistics is a great way of drilling down on the areas of your game that need working on.
Prepare your mind
Last but not least, mental training is key to a pro’s pre-season preparation. Sports psychology is an increasingly big part of the modern golf game and developing new techniques for managing stress or visualisation, for example, can take a golfer’s game to the next level.
Not only is mental strength training incredibly important to a golfer’s game, but it can also be easily achieved during the off-season. This is the time when new ideas can be explored and perfected, ready in time to put them to good use when the new season begins.