The Golf Drill Guru
It’s that time of year again! Its the time when you “are serious” about making changes in your life… until of course you see the dessert menu, or realize how difficult burning calories really is. Truth is, most of us don’t really know how to make resolutions that have a chance to stick around past the first few weeks. Our resolutions lack planning, lack accountability and most of all lack will power. I’m sure for many of you, golf is not likely to be on your list of resolutions, but it very well could be. For those of you who do have it – this post is for you.
To start off, if your resolution is to break a scoring barrier – whether that be 100, 90, 80 or par, good on you, but really, this isn’t a resolution… this is a goal. Same goes for those “resolutions” to get better at golf, or beat your playing partners, or finally place in your club championship. These are not good resolutions at all because there isn’t a plan to achieve them. They are arbitrary. Here’s our list of the top 5 New Years resolutions for golfers.
- Commit To Practice/Overcoming A Weakness – We always say, year after year that we want to get better at golf. We want to reduce our handicap, we want to break scoring barriers, we want to break our best every score, but how many of you actually take the time to practice and improve your game. How many of you take the time to actually identify your weaknesses and work to improve them? Resolutions should be things you commit to and can make a plan of attack to overcome and achieve them. Use 2016 to make a commitment to practicing the game, and working on the things you’re not good at. Something as simple as committing to showing up 1 hour before your tee-time all year to fully prepare you body for the game ahead is a good resolution. Or commit to hitting the range twice a week to focus on the parts of you game that need improvement.
- Commit To Lessons – Hey guys, lets put your ego aside for once and really learn the steps required to improve your game. Golf professionals don’t exist to mess up your swing, they exist to help you improve your game. The truth is most golf swings consist of compounded “fixes” that work inconsistently. In order to fix your swing, a golf professional will need to break some poor/engrained habits in order to get you in the right positions for a more successful swing. This will take some dedication and effort on your part (and most of all practice), but if you have a little faith you’ll be surprised at what you can achieve. If you really want to make 2016 an epic year on the course, find a teacher you like, and ask them for a lesson – on course lessons are best, if possible.
- Commit To Walking – Yeah, we know a cart is an easy way to play the game, but it takes the “exercise” out of it… especially when you’re using the cart as your own personal fridge. Riding a cart, for the average person will burn around 800 calories over the course of 18 holes. Walking the same 18 holes burns about 1450 calories. Interestingly, carrying your clubs or pulling them still killed about the same amount of calories in this test found here. That’s nearly double the calories burned by walking over riding. Aside from the physical benefits, walking will also help you save money on the course (unless of course the cart is included in the green fee). Even when the cart is included though, a commitment to walking can still be upheld by trying to walk as much as possible. If you’re a weekend golfer or someone who plays 5 times a week, try to make a resolution to walk more and more often throughout the golf season, its a simple way to get more exercise, stay fitter, lose weight and arguably, appreciate the game and your surroundings more.
- Commit To Playing More – Like all sports, if you want to get better, you have to commit to practicing and playing more often. On the other hand, if you want to play more just for the health benefits and being outdoors – that’s also a very valid resolution. Again try to make it something you can track, so if you’re a weekend golfer, commit to playing at least twice a week during the season, and track your progress month to month. Same goes if you can only hit the once or twice a year. Focus on doubling it make the effort to hit the course, get a membership if you’re really feeling it, or at a minimum buy some groupons and force yourself to use them. If all the above doesn’t work, or you happen to be stuck indoors because of the weather, watching golf on tv, playing wii golf or even online slots that are golf-themed will help give you the itch to hit the real course will be of more benefit than nothing at all.
- Commit To Eating Better On Course – It’s very easy to eat and drink poorly when you’ve on the golf course. Often, the clubhouse or cart girl usually has caloric food (how often have you gotten a salad from the beer cart girl) and drinks/soda and not to mention the temptation of a cold beer on a really hot day. This resolution is a little more difficult to achieve, but it can be done in stages. Stage one – eliminate or limit your own worst enemy at the course from your diet. Whether that be the chocolate bar after the first 9, beer on the front, or that hot dog – swap it out for something healthier. Stage two – commit to dry rounds. Quit drinking on the course, and focus on low calorie energy drinks or water instead. Stage three – bring healthier food/drink options with you to the course. Not only will this save you money, but it will help you feel full, light on your feet, and with plenty of energy to finish the round. Avoid the sugar nap, and the feeling of being bloated and heavy.
There you have it. 5 simple golf new year’s resolutions that are not only trackable, but should be achievable for any type of golfer. Some may resonate with you more than others, but each and every one is a trackable resolution that has a plan behind it to help you achieve it. Good luck in 2016!
