Getting ready for the golf season

For every round of golf, practice twice

A time-honoured expression states that in spring a young man’s fancy turns to... golf, golf and more golf. If a special lady plays golf, so much the better.

With the warmer spring weather, it is time to dust off the clubs and return to the links. The first step is to take inventory of your golf equipment. Check for wear on the grips, replace the soft spikes on shoes, buy new gloves, clean out and file the groves on the irons and clean out the golf bag. The fun really begins when you visit the local golf store to check out new technology in balls and clubs. The final step is to be proactive and visit the local driving range.

Driving range practice

In the early part of the golf season, the emphasis should be on practice. The practice-to-playing ratio should be two to one. For every round of golf, practice twice. If you’re really motivated, for every four hours on the course put in four hours at the driving range.

Practice should involve every club in your bag, not just the driver. It is important to identify the weak parts of your game and work on correcting the problems. For example, if the problem is slow rotation of the hips, seek solutions and concentrate on opening the hips. That old expression is still valid: no pain, no gain. Work on the driving range is essential for improvement.

My favorite driving range is Birdies and Buckets Family Golf Center in South Surrey. In 2002 the facility was voted the best new driving range in North America, was number one in Canada and in the top ten in North America. It is a first-class, modern facility with 80 stalls on two levels and four greens as targets. Personally, I find bouncing balls off the target red car and the two gophers kind of fun. There is a 7,500-square-foot putting green, a 60-yard short game area, some practice sand traps and a nine-hole, par-three pitch-and-putt course called Panorama Links.    

Golf lessons

A big draw at Birdies and Buckets is the Learning Academy. Junior camp, group lessons and private lessons are all available, along with video analysis. Regardless of skill level, a spring tune-up never hurts. Lessons range from private to group, beginner to average, and include a tuneup for low handicap golfers who want to concentrate on technique.

Mark Lavigne is not your typical golf instructor, being a Class A CPGA Professional. Lavigne  offers three levels of group instruction called Get Ready to Play for Beginners (level 1), Groove that Swing for Average Golfers who need to understand the swing (level 2) and Play the Course (level 3), dealing with getting your game into shape for the actual golf course. Lavigne specializes in private lessons by going on a course with his students to teach course management.   

Professional advice

Lavigne feels the best way to prepare for the season is:

1. Raise your level of health, fitness and strength to become more flexible. Professional tour players spend considerable time in the weight room combined with cardio training.
2. Good nutritional habits translate into energy on the course and avoiding the empty tank feeling over the last three holes. 
3. Enlist professional instruction to improve weak areas of your game. 

The mental game

Many golfers start the season in a positive frame of mind, but self-doubt can quickly turn to negative self-talk and self-deprecation. This is especially true when having to hit special shots such as hitting over water, blasting out of deep sand traps, having to make that four-foot putt or dealing with that one hole which torments you every round. It is necessary to control the mental side of the game in order to improve, succeed and maintain enthusiasm for the game. Remember, where the mind goes, the body follows. A session with a sports psychologist may be necessary and could prove useful at the start of the season.

Lastly, in the first month of the season, play match play instead of stroke play and concentrate less on the final score and more on having fun—one hole at a time.