Posts Tagged ‘useful golfing tips’

Preparing for Winter Golf

Monday, September 19th, 2011


Well it’s that time of year again when the evenings are getting shorter and the last strands of summer begin to disappear with that Autumnal chill taking prominence. Autumn gradually leads us into the winter months and often a lot of amateur golfers tend to hibernate their clubs. Depending on your location throughout the globe there comes a time every year when golf stops resembling golf. In Ireland that is usually around November time, when the ball seems to travel about 20 yards shorter than it did in August as a result of too much clothing which inhibits any swing fluidity, also, the fairways become slightly slower while the greens seem to become dead and lifeless.

The enforced hiatus from the game during the winter months can often lead to golfers dreading the ensuing March or April when they take to the fairways once again. The clubs will inevitably feel like foreign objects and it can often take two or three solid months of play to rediscover the form of the previous summer. So the old adage that practise makes perfect is even truer for a game such as golf when the skills involved need to be critically precise. The Golf Academy at Fota Island Resort is an ideal environment to hone your skills especially during the winter months with some enticing membership offers at present.

Winter golf can be a different game than the summer variety particularly when jack frost or a hint of snow begins to cover the landscape. But the cold climate should not be an excuse for you not to enjoy the game. Often there are no lines and slow play may not be an issue if there is no one on the course but you! That water hazard you had trouble carrying in the summer months may be frozen and those flies that plagued you during those long summer evenings are no where to be seen. It may not be exactly the same game you played during the summer but if you prepare correctly, it can be just as, if not more, fun and exhilarating.

Some Winter Golf Tips


In his blog, Gareth McShea provides some insightful tips for the amateur golfer when preparing for winter golf:

  • Check your golf shoes and make sure they are waterproof. If not, you might want to consider buying a new pair. When cold weather comes, it brings frost and moisture on the grass along with it. This can soak your feet which can lead to an overall feeling of discomfort. Also, ensure that you have sufficient waterproofs for the wet months ahead.

  • When dressing for the cold, put on layers of clothing, as opposed to wearing thicker items like a lined sweater. Multi layering will provide more warmth and you’ll be able to easily remove a layer if necessary. Under Armour compression garments are great for these times.

  • Always wear a hat that provides warmth for the head and protects the ears. You may not be nominated for the most fashionable person of the year award, but you’ll never have to worry about frostbite, or a headache from the cold.

  • Performance gloves are an essential piece of kit in the cold. New materials have allowed manufacturers to create pairs of gloves which are highly effective in combating the cold and wet. All of this is achieved without any compromise in feel.

  • During cold weather, the air is denser or heavier, which slows the flight of the ball and the distance it will travel. You might have to use more club than normal for a given distance. For example, a 6-iron might have to be used for a distance that would normally require a 7-iron, and so on.

  • With the ground getting softer it is important to keep the grooves on your clubs clean. Clean grooves impart backspin on the ball which in turn creates flight, so include a dry clean towel and a 3-in-1 multi-club cleaner as part of your kit.

  • Your risk of injury increases with cold stiff muscles, so keep moving. This is not the time of year for reading putts from ten different angles (there is no right time of year for that!). If possible get to the club in time to do some gentle light stretching before launching a missile off the first tee or you could partake in some spinning and core classes, enlist in a boot camp, avail of the swimming lessons or indulge in some Ashtanga yoga classes at the Fota Island Spa.



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    Golf vs Athleticism

    Thursday, July 14th, 2011

    There is no doubt that golf has progressed into an era of power, athleticism and fitness. Golf’s precise synchronized movements, its mental demands and the training required to master repetition under pressure mirror the very essence of athletics. Even athletes of other sports appreciate the athleticism required for golf at the top level.

    Former Wimbledon Champion Boris Becker:

    “Golf is a different kind of sport than tennis if you’re talking about athleticism. I will say that walking four days in a row is exhausting. Not all golfers are athletes, but there are a lot more today than there used to be”.

    Tiger Woods, who was arguably the catalyst of this era, recently said:

    “You’ve got two guys who used to play basketball are now playing golf and that’s what I’ve been alluding to all these years. We are finally going to get athletes. Guys who can dunk. Guys could have played baseball or could have played football at the D1 level, but no, they are playing to play golf instead.”

    Recent US Open Champion Rory McIlroy may not appear to be the most athletic but don’t be fooled.

    “I’ve always been very flexible, which gives me a lot of speed through the ball. That’s where I get all my distance from. But I’ve started working on stability, injury prevention, because it puts so much load on my lower back during my golf swing. So I focus a lot on stability exercises and core stability. I’ve got a lot stronger over the past year. It’s something that I don’t feel as if I need to work out for two or three hours every day. I just have to keep myself in good shape.”

    The Power of Bubba Watson


    Are you looking for more power off the tee box? Or perhaps more distance with your irons? For practical advice, I find that Core Performance provides some interesting articles and tips. You can even have a look at the exact workout of one the best golfers in the world here. In a few weeks you may soon be ‘bombing it’ like Bubba Watson

    At Fota Island Spa, we provide fitness solutions that range from the full-on focus of morning or evening fitness bootcamps and spinning classes to the dynamic posters of the Ashtanga Yoga to the supportive regime of aqua aerobics. Fota Island Resort’s fitness team will motivate and lead you through the exercise that’s right for you. For more details, please click here.

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    Fota Island Golf, getting back to basics after a short or long break!

    Friday, February 5th, 2010

    Kevin Morris Director of golf at Fota Island Resort and PGA Professional since 1979 has given the following advice “Having not played a round for so long due to weather constraints or for whatever reason, why not play a few practice holes to ease back into it. It will help warm up your game and get you back on form” for a proper round of the course.

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