You have to practice if you hope to get better at golf, but with work and family obligations it can be hard to find the time to visit the golf course.
The solution is to practice golf at home. There are many different ways for you to improve your game without leaving your house.
We aren’t kidding. You can take steps to reduce your golf handicap whenever you have a few minutes to spare.
Our goal is for you to play your best golf and you can get there by starting to practice golf at home.
Stop wishing you could improve and start making changes to your approach.
Busy at work, in charge of the kids, and bad weather are no longer valid excuses. Learn to practice golf at home and take your game to the next level.
Let’s get started!
8 Ways to Practice Golf At Home
We are going to assume you can’t afford to put a $10,000+ golf simulator in your living room. Our techniques require little to no additional golf equipment!
#1: Make Some Full Swings
It probably isn’t a great idea to hit golf balls in your house but that doesn’t mean you can’t work on your golf swing.
There can be value in simply swinging the club. Find a spot with plenty of room and no ceiling fan and grab your 7-iron.
We would recommend you use a small mat, you don’t want to put a hole in your rug or carpet.
When you can’t make it to the golf course it can be beneficial to grip the club and make some swings. It prevents that “I have never held a club before” feeling the next time you play.
You can also set up your phone and take a slow-motion video of your swing. This can allow you to work on different swing techniques.
Check if your spine angle is consistent throughout your swing or if you are covering the golf ball, or pay attention to your foot postion.
Practice golf at home to help implement swing changes!
#2: Improve Your Mental Game – Read A Book
You can practice golf at home without breaking out your clubs or a golf ball. Amateur golfers lose strokes every round due to course management and tension/nerves.
Arnold Palmer famously said, “Golf is a game of inches, the most important are the six inches between your ears”.
We could all improve our mental game and there are some great books available for you to check out.
Do you want some recommendations? Try “Golf is Not A Game Of Perfect” by Dr. Bob Rotella or “Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game” by Dr. Gio Valiante.
Yes, you need to work on your golf swing, but some “brain work” can also help you improve as a player!
#3: Watch The Professionals Play
Could you ask for a better teacher than Rory McIlroy or Justin Thomas? Why not learn from the best?
Can watching television really be counted as practicing golf at home? Yes, no doubt. You can get better by observing the best in the world.
The key is to make sure you are paying attention. There are several things you can learn from your couch.
First, watch their routines. Watch how they prepare to execute a shot. Watch how they read the greens and think through different shots.
Second, pay attention to how they react after a good and bad shot. They do show emotion, but the better players let it go before they make another swing.
You never want to carry negative emotions from one shot to the next.
Finally, listen to the conversations between players and caddies. You will learn valuable information about how they prepare for the next shot.
We know it sounds crazy, but watching the professionals on TV is a great way to practice golf at home.
#4: Do Some Speed Training
All golfers could use more distance. If you want distance, you need more speed. Did you know that you can perform speed training in your home?
There are several products on the market, but we like SuperSpeed Golf. Their program can quickly increase your clubhead speed.
Each training session takes less than 15 minutes and you only need to perform it 3 times per week.
We can all agree that 45 minutes per week is well worth it when you start out driving your golfing buddies!
Speed training is a great way to practice golf at home.
#5: Build Your Golf Improvement Plan
This quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry says it all “a goal without a plan is just a wish“.
All golfers want to improve, but how many have a plan? You don’t reach goals by wishing they happen, you must take action.
Another way to practice golf at home is to take some time to document HOW you plan to improve. What steps are you going to take to get better?
Make commitments to your game and hold yourself accountable. How often and how long will you practice each week?
Spend time working your body and improving your golf fitness. Add a goal to read one golf-related book each month.
Each golfer’s improvement plan will be unique – build it based on your lifestyle, goals, and the amount of time you currently can allocate to golf.
#6: The Internet Is Your Personal Golf Lesson
What causes you to lose strokes on the golf course?
Do you fight a hook or a slice? Struggle with the yips on the putting green? You can practice golf at home by researching swing concepts to solve your problems.
We don’t care what you struggle with on the golf course, you can find answers by “googling” it.
Not everything you find will be helpful, but if you can’t get to the course to work on your swing, there is nothing wrong with looking for resources online.
The next time you to go the driving range, you can try out what you have learned.
#7: Roll The Rock
Anytime you practice golf at home it should include some time with your putter. Putting is the perfect skill to work on in your house.
It doesn’t take much. Your putter, a ball, and a target. You can use a coffee mug or the leg of a table.
Do you want to work on speed control? Try different surfaces. Your hardwood floor will putt like a US Open course and your carpet will roll like the public course that never cuts its greens.
Do you have 5 minutes before your next Zoom meeting? Grab your putter and practice golf at home.
You can learn to become the “boss of the moss” without even changing out of your pajamas.
#8: Analyze Your Golf Game
How well do you understand your golf game? Practice golf at home by learning about how you play.
Knowledge is power. You must know your strengths and weaknesses. This allows you to properly plan your practice time.
Following each round you play, take a few moments at home to analyze your round. Pay attention to these simple metrics:
- # of Putts – how many total putts? how many times did you 3-putt or 4-putt?
- # of fairways – how often do you hit the fairway with your driver?
- # of greens in regulation (GIR) – how often do you have a birdie putt?
This analysis will tell you if you need to spend more time at the driving range or working on your short game.
Targeted practice will help you quickly improve and reduce your golf handicap!
