Playing 5/6 mo. a year. How good can you get?

[Dave]

I love to play, but I just don't play as much as I used to. Now it's basically April through August and then the clubs get put away for the year.

I just had my first short range session since last Aug. and boy was it ugly. I was never great, but I shot low 80's at real courses from the blues. Now it's getting harder to find my swing each year. I used to think golf was like 'riding a bike', now I'm not so sure.

Is it realistic to expect to play well and not touch a club for 6 months a year?

[mdl]

I too have had a really busy winter. Not completely off from golf, but I think I've played 3, maybe 4 rounds in the last 4 months, with no more than 3 to 4 range sessions. I was struggling with the hooks before this semi-break, and it's gotten much worse with the time away from my clubs. I too used to shoot low 80s consistently, but the shot 93 last weekend and haven't shot better than 87 in 6 months. Speaking of which, I need to update my handicap...

I think that you can maintain low 80s play with a break every winter, but you'll need to commit to at least a couple weeks of intense practice time in April to get the groove back.

[Fatphil]

I love to play, but I just don't play as much as I used to. Now it's basically April through August and then the clubs get put away for the year.

no........

[shaun]

I love to play, but I just don't play as much as I used to. Now it's basically April through August and then the clubs get put away for the year.

It isn't realistic. You'll have to find more time for golf or dramatically lower your expectations, I think.

[goblue107501]

It is reasonable, but it isn't easy. This might be stating the obvious, but the better you are, the easier it is to stay that way.

I used to struggle with the same thing. It would be May before I got back to normal. I took some lessons and figured out how to play. More importantly, I developed a repeatable swing and know when I make mistakes. It is real easy to correct some wrong swings when you know what is wrong.

[blackxpress]

Can I ask a dumb question? Why do you only play Apr through Aug? If I lived in NC I'd play year round. I live in SW Ohio and this winter has really been the pits (record snowfall). Even with all the snow I finally got back on the course today for the first time in 5 weeks. It's normal to go 2 or 3 weeks at a time without playing in the wintertime here but 5 weeks is very unusual. Even though I spent the 5 weeks going to the range nearly every day, today's round was pretty ugly. Hitting range balls off mats is a lot different than actually playing golf. And, to answer your question, no. It is not realistic to expect to play well when you don't touch a club for 6 months. At the very least you need to go to the range a few times a week to keep your swing in the groove.

[Randy4h]

When Nicklaus was at the top of his game, he still sought out his old teacher, Jack Grout, each spring to look over his swing and to make sure no flaws had creeped up after a winter of inactivity. This was back before the "silly season" and year-round tournaments and exhibitions. I would suggest that you find a good teacher in your area who could give you a good "tune-up" each year at the start of your golf season.

[Dave]

Can I ask a dumb question? Why do you only play Apr through Aug?

Fall and Winter I have the longbow out after deer and the dog out after ducks. Late winter, it's bowling on Fridays :^) There's just lots to do and I'm not the rabid golfer I used to be.

[Bump-n-MI]

Fall and Winter I have the longbow out after deer and the dog out after ducks.

Yep, I too completely lose interest in golf once October rolls around.

[grantc79]

I love to play, but I just don't play as much as I used to. Now it's basically April through August and then the clubs get put away for the year.

Most pros feel like you get dramatically better by not playing golf, at least until you reach a certain point anyways.

My question is do you want to completely and totally forget about golf all together for those 6 months? or Do you want to be active doing drills, stretches, and exercises regularly but just not actually PLAYING golf? If its the former then no you can't pull that off most likely. But if its the latter you would probably be surprised at just how good you can play.

[Razz11]

I think that it is possible, but obviously unlikely. Living in Montana I don't have the option to play in the winter and there are no indoor ranges in the area, so I don't get to play or really swing a club for that matter from early October until March. To be honest I have been on the range for a few weeks and played my first round last Friday and played better than I did last year. I didn't score as well as I am used to, but pretty darn good for the first round out. My ball striking with my irons felt a lot better than it was last year, and my short game shots felt more natural and played better also. Sometimes time off is a great thing for golf. Obviously I would like my layoff to be much, much shorter, but you really don't know what a real Spring is until you've went through a long Winter... I obviously think that with less time off or no break at all that I would be a much better golfer just because of consistency, but I do think that you can play good golf without swinging a club for the winter.