Contrary to popular belief, golf is more than just an outdoor sport. It can be played outside on a golf course, indoors on a simulator, or even at places like Top Golf or Great Shots. But indoor golf is the perfect alternative if you only have access to golf for a few months out of the year or don't have the financial means to join the same club as your peers. It doesn't have to break the bank, and you can get just as much practice time indoors as you can outdoors. You can get better at practicing golf indoors, and to prove it, we're here to provide you with some of the best indoor practice golf tips and go-to indoor training aids on the market.
Most golfers spend too much time trying to emulate top-ranked PGA Tour players. But that isn't the best way to shoot lower scores. To get better at golf, you have to make your practice sessions fit your own game. As much as we all want to be the next Tiger Woods or Justin Thomas, the only way to get there is to have block practice time tailored to your individual needs. These practice sessions can be spent outdoors on a driving range or indoors on a simulator, working on your golf swing.
The Bottom Line:
- Can Indoor Practice Help You Get Better? Practicing indoors gives you the unique ability to become less results-oriented in your golf game and more process-oriented. Being able to focus on each step is going to have you on your way to better golf.
- Top 5 Golf Tips When Practicing Indoors: Develop a solid practice plan, work on stroke and swing maintenance, become infatuated with your pre-shot routine, compete with friends, and reflect after you finish.
- Best Indoor Training Aids: PrimePutt’s indoor putting mat, impact bags, and IZZO balance disks are some of the many top-notch indoor training aids.
Can Indoor Practice Make You a Better Golfer?
Your best chance of getting rid of those last few strokes from your handicap is to practice regularly, no matter where you are. But if you don't have access to outdoor practice games, driving ranges, or practice facilities and indoor golf is your only option, you can undoubtedly become a better golfer by practicing indoors.
When you practice golf indoors, you can focus less on the end result and more on the steps you need to take to get there. Whether it's more distance you're looking for or you're on a quest to construct the perfect golf swing with a balanced finish, being able to focus on each individual step is going to have you on your way to better golf. Sometimes, not being able to see the actual flight of your golf ball can allow your brain to let go of trying to force a specific result. Instead, it'll allow you to focus on the process that has to happen to achieve those results.
Watch the Golf Channel or surf the web; you'll find swing tips around every corner. But the best golf tips to pay attention to are the ones that are not gimmicky but instead focus on the process. So what is the process? Everything you do to prepare to hit a golf shot, collecting all the necessary information that can affect the execution of a shot, like what club to hit, what the wind is doing, any elevation changes, the temperature outside, etc., is all part of the process. Drilling down on your approach, however it might look, can be done while practicing indoors. In fact, aside from playing a competitive round of golf, it's one of the best places to work on it.
Top 5 Golf Tips When Practicing Indoors
Develop a Solid Practice Plan
The best golf tip anyone could give you when it comes to practicing indoors is to develop a bulletproof practice plan. Few golfers at the beginner level know how to practice effectively. They are taught on a driving range about swing path, shot shapes, ball flight, and swing change, but they need to learn how to practice in a way that will teach them to play golf rather than swing a club.
Find ways to add variety to your practices. You don't have to work on all aspects of your game every single time you practice. Try to put together a well-thought-out practice plan before you start. Write down the things you want to work on and what you will do to accomplish each. For example, if you're going to work on distance control with your wedges, select a wedge combination on a simulator and learn how to hit your pitching wedge from various distances. This drill will teach you how to use the club in different situations and from different distances, giving you more options for how to play the course.
Work on Stroke and Swing Maintenance
Whether it's your full swing or iron shots, we all have strategies we tend toward with every shot. As a right-handed golfer, you might have trouble putting putts that break from left to right with an open club face. Using a putting mirror on your indoor putting mat is a great way to work on your stroke maintenance while indoors because it provides accurate feedback.
Most of us miss a few (or more, let's be honest) fairways per round. A great tip to work on your consistency off the tee when practicing indoors is to use your phone or a mirror on the wall to rehearse and review your golf swing. What you feel and what is actually happening while you are swinging the club rarely matches. It's essential to see your swing and compare it to what you feel.
Become Infatuated With Your Pre-Shot Routine
Turn on any professional golf tournament, and you'll see LPGA and PGA Tour Pros alike going through their pre-shot routine before hitting a shot. Take Tiger Woods or Justin Thomas, for example. Watch either of them and pay attention to their actions when preparing to hit a shot. You'll notice that their pre-shot ritual remains the same whether it is on the first tee, the putting green, or in the trees. It is a part of their process and something they can count on regularly because they practice it constantly. It's innate.
Pay attention to how you prepare to hit your shot when you are putting or working on your full swing during your next indoor practice session. Does your routine differ each time, or is it consistent and something you can count on? Many golfers need to learn the importance of the pre-shot routine, as the more parts of your game that offer consistency and dependability, the better your golf game will be. Studies have shown that regardless of how complex pre-game and pre-shot rituals are, these routines before hitting the putting mats do improve athletic performance.
Competition is Necessary
Find ways to create competition in your practice. Have your favorite playing partners over for an indoor putting competition. Bring up the range option on the simulator and have a straight or long drive competition.
When you play in a tournament, nerves inevitably creep in. Research shows that while competition jitters can increase attention, they can also have harmful effects on performance. Being able to mimic those nerves during practice is your best chance of becoming more comfortable with them. After all, confidence comes from preparation and repetition. So start playing competitive games with yourself when you are practicing indoors. Ask a few of your friends to come over, grab five golf balls and a few different clubs, and get going!
Reflect After You Finish
After you've gone through your planned practice, reflect on it. Whether it's in a notebook you keep in your golf bag or the notes section on your phone, keep track of what worked and what didn't. Write it down if you had difficulty getting your body weight through impact and finishing on your front foot.
You never know when you might experience the same issue later on. Being able to sort back through prior practice sessions to see how you tackled it is way more enjoyable than suffering through frustration. Too many players think that when they fix something, it's permanently fixed. We call them bad habits for a reason. Habits happen repeatedly. So do yourself a favor and reflect on your practice sessions.
Best Indoor Training Aids
Practicing indoors requires some creativity. Working on putting is easy with indoor putting mats or indoor putting greens. Playing virtual rounds of golf, working on distance control by completing a wedge combination, or even a virtual range session can be accomplished indoors on a golf simulator. However, there are some great training aids to incorporate into your indoor training sessions.
PrimePutt Indoor Putting Mat
Every indoor practice putting session should be done on tour-grade turf made of high-quality materials. The PrimePutt indoor putting mat is one of the only indoor putting mat products on the market that offers the "real feel" of a putting green.
Impact Bag
An impact bag is an excellent tool for beginners and scratch golfers alike. Without the need to hit a ball, this training aid is the perfect pairing for indoor practice. Making practice swings into it will help you fortify a more solid impact position, as well as teach you how to transition your body weight through impact.
IZZO Balance Disc
Want to increase your swing speed? Learn how to control your balance throughout your golf swing. There really isn't a better place to work on that than indoors. You can focus solely on what it takes to have good balance, the correct footwork, and control of your weight transfer through impact. The IZZO Balance Discs are a great training aid to help you do just that. One of the best golf tips is to use the ground underneath your feet to create more power. You can only achieve this if you've got great balance. After a few training sessions with these balance discs, you will feel like your feet are cemented to the ground and be able to create more power as a result.
Putting Alignment Mirror
The average golfer doesn't spend nearly enough time working on their putting stroke. The Putting Alignment Mirror is a great tool to use indoors, especially when working on stroke technique. With the ability to see where your eyes are over the ball, you can ensure your setup is consistent. The lines on the mirror running down your target line will help you ensure you are hitting the center of your putter head.
Wall Mirror
Having a mirror to practice your swing in is one of the most underutilized training aids on the market. That's because it isn't necessarily advertised or marketed as a What we feel in our swing and what actually happens are frequently vastly different.
After reviewing in the mirror, you might feel like your golf club is parallel at the top of your swing and realize it is actually quite "John Daly-esque." Having not seen your swing in the mirror, you might never have realized it.
Final Thoughts
Improving your golf game doesn't have to be as far-fetched as you think. Not having access to an outdoor practice facility or driving range doesn't mean you can't get better. There are plenty of things you can work on and training aids to use while practicing indoors to help you shave those last few strokes off your handicap. Hopefully, a few of our golf tips will have you getting to the next level of your game sooner rather than later.
If you don't have access to an indoor golf simulator, investing in an indoor putting mat is a great way to practice while staying indoors. PrimePutt putting mats offer tour-grade turf with customization that makes you feel like you are putting on an actual green.
FAQs
Can I get better practice indoors?
Yes! Regular, consistent practice is what you need to play better golf. That can be done indoors or outdoors.
Are all golf tips worth listening to?
Not necessarily. Do your best to avoid gimmicky advice or statements that it's the only way to get better. Plenty of golf tips may work for you but won't necessarily work for others.
Is it worth it to have an indoor putting mat?
Yes! Access to work on your putting that isn't restricted by weather or accessibility will do wonders for your short game.
