So, the dream came true, and your golf simulator is in. Now the fun begins, and maybe a little pressure. You probably spent some significant cheddar on your new setup, after all. Those promises of being fun for the whole family and big improvements for your game had better come true, or you may have some explaining to do. You don’t want to hear “Don’t you have a golf simulator at home?” every time you post a bad number, do you?
Just getting more reps isn’t enough. There’s a right way to use your golf simulator for practice, and a wrong way. Let’s break down some tips for getting the most out of your new golf simulator setup.
Endlessly raking balls and bashing away with 7-iron on repeat is a bad idea on the driving range, and it’s a bad idea in your golf simulator too. All you’re doing is grooving a 7-iron swing on a flat lie, with no real potential to translate to your game. You have your own private range now; nobody’s waiting for you to finish up, there’s no limit on how many balls are in your bucket, and there’s no raised eyebrows or chuckles if you shank one. You’re not on the clock, so take advantage of it. Slow down and have a deliberate and intentional practice. Step away, pick a target, check your alignment, check your grip, and hit a golf shot.
And remember, block practice and random practice both have a place. If you’re working on ingraining a new move or feel, then it’s fine to perform a drill on repeat. But you also need random practice, like the kind a simulator round provides. Change clubs, change shot shapes, and play golf not golf swing.
Playing courses on your golf simulator is excellent random practice, but it’s not the only means now available to you to diversify things and add some fun wrinkles. Foresight Fairgrounds is just one example of software designed to take you off the course and add fun light-hearted activities the whole family can enjoy.
And these games still require solid contact too, so you’re still getting in those reps. Even if you want to skip the carnival and stay on the range, there are plenty of simulator tools like Foresight’s Pinseeker that offer skills challenges to help improve your game.
I’m a picker. I can go entire rounds without taking a divot, right down to my lob wedge. I can still play functional golf (most of the time) but suffice it to say I’m pretty shallow. My Foresight GC3 has confirmed as much, often showing me an Angle of Attack of 1 to 1.5 degrees down with my wedges.
All I’ve done is diagnose the problem. My launch monitor doesn’t make me suddenly qualified to provide the fix. Sure, get steeper, but how? If I just decide to hammer down on the ball, there’s every likelihood I’ll kick the clubhead outside and come over the top in my quest to get steep.
The point is, do not make the mistake of thinking that having your own sim means you don’t need instruction. Instead, be glad that you’re going to be able to give your instructor measurable data to help them understand what’s happening in your swing. Armed with your launch monitors data, a good instructor will be thrilled to have a head start at diagnosing the problem and prescribing the fix.
Your golf simulator has every potential to unlock significant improvements in your game. Use it wisely; you can’t simply hit more balls and expect to get better. Practice with a purpose using both block and random methods, gamify your practice, and keep working with a good teaching pro.
