How to get your game in shape for 2023

PGA Professional Eddie Hammond offers some pointers to sharpen up your golf ahead of the new season.

1. A ball fitting

This remains an area of the game which is still overlooked. In 2023 let's get away from using a different collection of balls, many of which won't do you many favours. Whether you are a beginner or a scratch golfer we should all know what ball works best.

I've lost count of the number of putting lessons that I have done with mid to higher handicappers and they will grab some balls and there is a mix of hard and soft balls. You will then ask where they struggle and they will say distance putting!

Money is tight at the moment for a lot of people but Titleist have a soft and a firm family of balls and you will fall into one or the other – and you then base your purchase on what you can afford. So if you are looking at the cheaper end of the spectrum you will know that they have the right characteristics to suit your game.

I would say that 50 per cent of the people who we fit are using a ball that really isn’t helping them. One noticeable change is how people are now moving to the Pro V1x from the Pro V1. Two years ago we got the whole scratch team down for a ball fitting and they were all using the Pro V1, after the fitting 90 per cent switched to the Pro V1x. Our sales now reflect that with maybe more Pro V1xs being sold than the Pro V1.

2. A refresher lesson

Now is a great time of year to have a refresher lesson to see where your game is at and, if you have been making any changes, to see if they have bedded in. If I have a new client I will ask them how they would rate their own game into driving-irons-short game-bunkers-putting in terms of a handicap. Then you will see where their strengths and weaknesses lie and this is a good starting point to start making some quick improvements.

And don’t overlook your short game and putting when it comes to golf lessons – we all want to hit longer drives and hit better iron shots but an easy gain is to sharpen up what you’re doing on and around the greens.

3. A club MOT

We have an offer where we will check the members' lofts and lies free of charge to make sure. Lots of clubs now have studios where you can check if there is a gap in your bag where an addition to the bag will improve your scores. Most of us play the majority of our golf at our home course so is there a hole where you don't feel like you've got the right club or do you struggle on a certain par 3 off the back tees?
Also, a lot of golfers like to change their clubs every season or two and a more cost-effective way is to simply have your clubs re-gripped and get another year’s play out of them. By getting your clubs re-gripped it can make them feel like a new golf club and that is a very easy way to feel better over a shot.

4. Improve your flexibility

This doesn't have to be just something that the tour pros do. The golf swing is a complex move and I have referred some of our members to a physio as I will have tried to get someone into a certain position and they just can’t do it. I had someone who was unable to rotate his head one way as he’d spent the past 12 years on the phone with his head tilted one way. So he has now been given some exercises and he has such a better rotation - I could have given him half a dozen drills but they wouldn’t have been able to help.
Over lockdown we teamed up with a local studio and they did an online course for eight weeks and the members logged in on a Monday night. It was fantastic and members of all ages took part and have now started yoga or pilates. This is a no-brainer and could really help you say goodbye to those long-standing aches and pains.

Check out these useful articles by strength and conditioning coach Jamie Greaves outlining simple exercises to improve you game:

How to warm up before playing golf - READ MORE

Golf warm-up with a band - READ MORE

Warming up for golf in just 10 minutes - READ MORE

5. The easy wins

I really like people to have a pre-shot routine. People will say that they don’t want to slow the group up but you’re giving yourself a better chance of hitting a better shot so you will be speeding things up. I will challenge golfers to do it on every shot and on every hole but nobody has managed it yet. There is a video of Tiger Woods over the years and his pre-shot routine is identical over the space of 15 years.

In terms of planning your year most clubs will have issued their fixture lists and you can pick out your favourite competitions. And now is a good time to book a trip away somewhere so you have something to aim towards and to try and peak at.

Finally, while the weather isn't the best, do some reading. Many of us will have enjoyed the Dr Bob Rotella books and now is a good time to revisit them. The mental side of the game is still so underrated and, at the back of each book, there are some handy bullet points to focus your mind.

There have been some recent rules changes that have come in this year and now’s a good time to become familiar with these. There would be nothing worse than to have the round of your life and to make a mess of a ruling.

About Eddie Hammond

Eddie is the Head Assistant Professional at Moortown in Yorkshire. He is originally from Sheffield and he moved to Moortown in 2005, qualifying as a PGA Professional in 2010. Eddie is a Titleist ambassador.