As winter settles in, chances are you’re in a place where golf is not likely to be playable for another few minutes, at least not without a wool hat and a heavy jacket. That being the case, you have a number of weeks to prepare for the spring thaw and the yearly revival of your golf game. If you can’t actually go out and play golf due to snow and cold weather, there are ways in which you can at least commune a bit with your golf clubs in order to ready them (and yourself) for spring. Here are a few suggestions.
Change Your Spikes
No one is telling you to get completely new golf shoes (unless you want to), but we do strongly suggest that you change out the spikes in the shoes you have, assuming they require spikes. Obviously, this suggestion doesn’t work if you have “spikeless” golf shoes, but chances are you have at least one pair that is probably overdue for new spikes. While you’re at it, why not give your shoes a nice polish?
Clean/Re-Grip Your Clubs
If Santa didn’t end up bringing you new golf clubs this Christmas, this is a good lower-cost option. Getting fresh grips on your golf clubs sure makes them feel new, and it inspires confidence that your hands are going to have maximum traction. Also, it’s a very good idea to get all of your clubs regripped at the same time, with the same model grip, in order to have every club feel the same in your hands. This is an easy variable to eliminate.
Clean Your Golf Bag
Chances are that unless you’re the ultimate neat-freak (if you are, we’re jealous), over the last year, your golf bag has become a bit messy. There’s no excuse for going to the first tee in your first spring round and having old receipts, broken tees and crushed, empty golf ball sleeves littering your bag. A clean bag is a happy bag, and a happy bag’s clubs perform better for their owners. It’s science.
Update Your Golf Wardrobe
Some golfers have a better sartorial sense than others, but it always helps to take a look at the major golf retailers’ catalogs around this time of year to see what colors and styles of golf clothing appear to be popular for the spring. It can be difficult to bring oneself to pay full retail for the colors and styles that are “in” for a given season, but if you can manage to get some good-quality standard items, they are likely to last a while. Plus, the feeling of wearing a crisp new golf outfit at the beginning of the year has to be good for shaving a couple shots, right?
(posted 12/26/13)