Putting the clubs away when the days shorten and the temperatures drop is a sure-fire way to making a slow start to the new season.<\/p>\n
There are all manner of ways to keep your game ticking over and they don\u2019t involve standing on the range in freezing temperatures and hitting hundreds of balls.<\/p>\n
Mental performance coach Duncan McCarthy has worked with golfers across all the main tours.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s helped Erik van Rooyen to his two wins on the PGA Tour, likewise Marcus Armitage on the DP World Tour and, in 2022, he helped Ashleigh Buhai capture the Women\u2019s Open at Muirfield.<\/p>\n
Evaluate<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve got to be realistic but a good way to start, if you have any aspirations to do a little bit through winter, is to look back at your last season.<\/p>\n
Obviously, it\u2019s nice to identify the good stuff, but identify an area or areas that you would love to just have a little bit of improvement with next season.<\/p>\n
I had a client recently who would like to be a little bit fitter and stronger and a bit more supple. So it might be freezing but you can still improve your golf by not hitting balls.<\/p>\n
So, for the next few months, find a PT, join a gym or go to a local exercise class. Or you might even just start walking, depending on what level you\u2019re at, or buy some exercise bands and just do some work at home for 10 minutes a day. It doesn\u2019t have to be something unrealistic.<\/p>\n
Goals<\/p>\n
I think it does help to define some little goals that you\u2019d like to achieve through the winter. If you\u2019re really keen to still hit balls and keep playing, then it might be a small investment in a putting mat to keep your eye in. There\u2019s no finish line with it, but having small practice sessions will certainly help.<\/p>\n
You could even have a small golf club that\u2019s cut down to about two foot long. With that you can do some mirror work and you can use that indoors. You can always work on your movement, it\u2019s nice to hit balls but it\u2019s a movement and you can train that.<\/p>\n
A half set<\/p>\n
If you do continue to play, actually make it fun. I would always use a half set in the winter; I\u2019d go a driver, no fairway woods and then the even irons and a wedge and a putter. Then I\u2019d swap to the odds for the next round.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s enjoyable and that\u2019s keeping your imagination thriving through the winter months because you don\u2019t need to be winning comps. You just need to keep your eye in and have a little bit of fun, but also understand that the enjoyment that somebody gets through golf doesn\u2019t just have to be the direction of the ball or the score that they\u2019re shooting, this is going to be a part of the enjoyment.<\/p>\n
The other part of the enjoyment of golf might be the people that you play with and the conversations and general fun.<\/p>\n
Exercise<\/p>\n
The other area of golf that you can get enjoyment from might well be exercise. You\u2019re outside and that\u2019s good for your mental health. The clocks change and everybody goes lower.<\/p>\n
But having that game of golf, even if it\u2019s raining, even if it\u2019s windy, even if it\u2019s cold, that\u2019s going to do a hell of a lot more good for your mental health than cancelling and choosing to sit inside in the warmth. That\u2019s a negative because then you\u2019re going to start chewing on your thoughts.<\/p>\n
Mental strength<\/p>\n
In the winter you\u2019ll have more time to pick up a book or you might spend a bit of time working with somebody on the mental game, talking about visualisation, the steps to the pre-shot routine or just articulating certain areas of the game.<\/p>\n
You can work on improving your self-talk, or your personal growth because that has a big impact on how you play and your reactions and how you talk to yourself. There\u2019s lots of different areas that people can improve.<\/p>\n
The positives<\/p>\n
There will always be setbacks and many of us will reflect on our worst shots of the day but you\u2019ve got to find a way to move forward from it. You\u2019ve got to be positive. No matter how bad a day you\u2019ve had you need to ask yourself what you have done well.<\/p>\n
And how do we do things better?<\/p>\n
I could tell you to keep a journal and jot all these things down but that\u2019s probably not overly realistic.<\/p>\n
Just ask yourself on the drive home what two things you did well today? Pat yourself on the back and start this winter to shift your mindset to look for things that you\u2019ve done well rather than things you haven\u2019t done well.<\/p>\n
About Duncan McCarthy<\/p>\n
Duncan is a mental performance coach who works across all sports, including with women\u2019s Major champion Ashleigh Buhai<\/p>\n