plan to improve but no time for full rounds

[delboy159]

The past 12-18 months have been by far the most hectic of my life. I got married, got the wife knocked up and built a house... During that time I played no golf and even after I'm out the other side my wife and 7 month old daughter take up the majority of my free time. The remainder of my day I use to finish bits on our home and play gaelic football (I'm Irish). I'm resigned to the fact I will play virtually no golf for the next few years.

I had an idea over the weekend to take this time away from the sport as an opportunity to start from square one with my swing. I no longer have the time in my life to spend 6/7+ hours on a round of golf (travel to and from course etc.). However, I have the hour to take in a lesson on the way home from work. Also, I have more than enough room in my back garden to put up a driving net. I was thinking of devoting 10 or so hours a month (just over 2 hours a week) to working on my swing. I would see that as 1 or 2, 1 hour lessons with a pro and just working on the basics of my swing in my backgarden for the other 8 hours in the month. I would have no pressure/desire to "fix" things for the next round and it would keep me in touch with the game.

Prior to my enforced absence from the game I was an average 17/18 h/capper. My major and outstanding flaw was casting, it led to duffs, tops and a serious lack of distance. The focus would be to invest a nice bit of money in quality lessons over the next year or two and try to really get a simple, consistent swing that I can rely upon and eliminate the casting for good...

Is this a good plan?

[Shamed04]

Re: plan to improve but no time for full rounds

Good luck is all I have to say. Sounds like a good plan. If you can spend some of that time in your backyard working on your short game...chips/punch's/flops I bet you would guarantee a better score when you finally get to tee it up. Being able to get up and down seems to be the best answer for lower scores.

[GolfJunkieSr]

Re: plan to improve but no time for full rounds

Your plan is sound, and your family life seems most pleasing. I my self was lucky enough to marry a fine woman, and we were both fortunate to raise an even more terrific family of two daughters. Keep your priorities in order. One thing I would add to your golf plan, is to use your mental state of values when ever time permits. By that I mean go over your swing fundamentals in your mind when ever possible. Work on what your swing instructor presented to you. Every little detail that is important to your swing. Play a few holes of golf, while thinking about each golf shot or putt needed from the tee box to holing out. Add in the walk between shots, thinking about your pre-shot routine. Heck, throw in an errant shot every so often, so that you have to think about how to pull off the recovery shot needed to save your score. By thinking about playing golf, when you actually do get back on the course, you will find it much easier to play. Might sound corny, but there is just too much evidence to support how the mind, and one's thinking process can make things easier for an individual. There is a story about an American POW who played rounds of golf in his head while captive. I believe his name was Major Nesmith. Google his name for some more info. GJS