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Six Ways to Prepare Yourself for the Golf Season

By: | Thu 29 Mar 2018


MANY of us will be dusting our clubs down for the first time in readiness for the new season. Not everybody enjoys playing golf during the winter months. The clubs are locked away in a cupboard during the short, cold and wet days of winter.

And then a new season dawns and out come the clubs again, complete with an optimism that this just might be the year when it all goes right and the handicap starts to fall. So what can we do to give ourselves the best chance of getting the most from our equipment and your game?

Empty Your Golf Bag

The last time you played in October the rain was coming down in stair-rods. When you finished, you put your waterproofs and your golf glove in your bag and you haven’t given them a second thought since. When you open your bag, those waterproofs are going to be smelling pretty ripe. Take a look at the manufacturers’ instructions. Can you put them in the washing machine? If you can, we recommend that you do so at soon as possible. Otherwise even your best friends may give you a wide berth when you put them on. And maybe, just maybe, it might be time to invest in a new set of waterproofs.

You then reach in for your golf glove. It has been in your ball pocket for the best part of six months and it was soaking wet when you put it in there. It will be crispy and it will be shiny. The chances are that there will also be a hole in the thumb. Go and buy a new one – and spend some money on a decent one. You get what you pay for – if you spend £4 on a golf glove we promise you that it will not last more than five minutes. Likewise, take away used tees and tired golf balls - maybe use them for practice - and make sure there aren't old pieces of fruit or chocolate bars lodged away somewhere!

So, new glove in hand, new or freshly-laundered waterproof suit neatly folded in your bag. You are all ready to go. Erm, no, not quite.

Check Your Grips

Remember the last time you played? Those grips felt shiny and slippery and you had to hold on for dear life to stop your driver or five iron flying from your hands and following your ball down the fairway. Before you head out to the course for the first time, consider applying a little soap and water to those grips – it might revive them. But it might not. If they are still slippery, it might well be time to invest in a new sets of grips. Your local golf professional will advise you on the best grips – they come in different sizes and different materials. Get the best ones for you. Take advice.

Clean Your Clubs/Grooves

The last time you played, it was wet. Your clubs were filthy when you packed them away, Guess what? They still will be. If the grooves in your irons are full of dried mud it will affect their performance. Fill the sink with warm soapy water and wash each and every one of your clubs, but speak to your other half first of all – don’t use the best towel to dry them and make sure you clean the sink when you have finished.

Consider Buying New Shoes

Remember that round last year when you took off your shoes at the end of the round and discovered that your socks were wet because your golf shoes had started to leak? That leak will not have repaired itself. Get out there and buy yourself a new pair – and look after them. If you buy a pair of leather shoes, you need to apply polish to keep them waterproof. And if you are going to buy yourself a pair of the super-lightweight shoes that are now de rigeur, make sure that they are waterproof. This is the United Kingdom. It rains. The Top 5 Golf Shoes of 2018.

Decide on New Golf Balls

Golf balls are not cheap, so you have some decisions to make. Lots of people buy lake balls. On the face of it, you will be playing with quality golf balls, which have all been through a machine to make them sparkle like new. But remember that they have been rescued from lakes – the clue is in the name. And it is a fact of life that a golf ball that has been in water for a lengthy period of time will almost certainly let you down as it is highly likely to crack. So the advice here is that if you are only playing a fun round with your mates, then lake balls are all well and good, but when you play in a competition, it might be a plan to invest in some new balls. And you really don’t have to spend top dollar on Titleist ProV1s. Speak to you club professional and ask him to recommend the right ball for you. The chances are that it will be something rather less expensive than a ProV1.

Maybe a Tune-up Lesson

If your bad shot last year was a slice, it’s odds-on that when you go out there for the new season that slice won’t have gone anywhere in the interim. It might be time for a lesson. Perhaps consider looking at the Golfshake Tips Section.

Oh, and don’t forget to have fun and get tracking your rounds and stats on Golfshake!


What do you think? post your thoughts and feedback on the Golfshake Forum: https://forum.golfshake.com/




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