When playing isn’t an option here are some thoughts on having fun and improving in the off-season. Our ranges and teaching academies in Ann Arbor and Cincinnati are open all year with heated and covered teeing areas that make winter lessons and practice surprisingly comfortable. We even heat the range balls to keep then lively.
Time to Tackle the Big Issues with Your Game. If you are considering tackling a particular irksome problem in your game that requires something other than a quick fix, doing this in the off-season makes infinite sense. In talking with Dave Kendall at the Kendall Academy in Ann Arbor, he says he really likes working with students in the off-season because he can take a more aggressive approach to making changes. Not taking swing changes to the course until they are established is a real plus.
As an added benefit, lessons are less expensive in the winter. You can book a series of 5 lessons for the price of 4 at both the Kendall Academy in Ann Arbor and the MacDonald Academy in Cincinnati. It is even better if you take all your lessons before March 1 because you get an extra 6th lesson or 6 for the price of 4. Both academies give lesson all year out of heated and sheltered teaching studios that still allow you to see full ball flight.
Know What to Practice. Have a real serious talk with yourself or your instructor about the weakest part of your game. If you can improve, or better yet, make your weak link the best part of your game, you should see a dramatic improvement. Just be sure you are not practicing something that’s wrong. Practicing to perfect a fundamentally unsound technique doesn’t make a lot of sense. Practicing to perfect something that is fundamentally sound can greatly improve your game. This is why lessons and practice together will help you improve infinitely faster than trying to do it on your own through trial and error.
Measure Your Practice Sessions. Once you know what to practice, TrackMan is a great tool for measuring your progress. The TrackMan radar units on our range in Ann Arbor and at the MacDonald Academy in Cincinnati know a ton about each ball you hit: how far it goes, how fast it goes, where it lands, how much it spins, and the path and face angle of your club. This is invaluable feedback for a practice session telling you how effective a change in your swing really is
Hitting golf balls is fun. Can you imagine how much more fun it is when you have sound fundamentals to practice and you can precisely measure your improvement?
