One of the best golfing tips I ever received came from my wife (of all people). For years she had been urging me to get more excercise than what I was normally getting through work and weekend golf. And for years, I had been brushing her off with every excuse imaginable. Not enough time, too cold outside, do it tomorrow, etc, etc, etc.
My wife, being the cagey woman she is, had a brainstorm and she shared it with me. . . and I'll share it with you.
If you're like me, you probably have a local country club where you play more often than not. For years, I'd been playing at this same club and listening to my buddies say, "What's on the other side of those trees?" or "What's around that dogleg?" Occasionally, I'd have to ask myself those same questions, which one might consider odd. Having spent so many hours on this course, one might assume I should know it like the back of my hand.
Truth is, I didn't know it very well at all. But I do now, and I owe this new-found knowledge to to my good wife.
Her suggestions was simple--and rewarding. Rather walk around the neighborhood (and have to listen to me grumble) she suggested we go to the club and walk a few holes each night. We'd do this in the evening when there were fewer players out and about. We'd pick three holes to walk, a different set each night, and as we walked I'd "look" at the hole's layout.
It's remarkable how much of the geography of a hole you miss when you're concentrating on playing that hole. Concentration is a good thing, don't get me wrong on that, but simply walking the hole, with no purpose other than being there, allows you to see just about everything there is to see on that particular hole. Also, when you're walking in the late day, you aren't being pushed by the group behind you. You can take your time, walk at your own comfortable pace, and take in the scenery, one step at a time.
A really great idea is to grab a score card and jot down notes as you go along. If you're into it, you can pace off distances, make little notes on how the ground rolls, or keep a note on just about anything for that matter.
After a few weeks of this, and a few times around all the holes at your course, you WILL know your course like the back of your hand, and your buddies will be amazed at how much better you are playing.
On top of that, you get some very good low-impact exercise.
