By Jeff Jackson

By following a few simple steps, you can get yourself and golf game ready for the 2007 season. So you’re a little skeptical?  Read on and learn about some simple methods through which to improve your game this year.

Do a Playing Evaluation

Before you head out to the golf course, think about how you played last season.  Review your scoring records and if you kept any statistics on your overall game, evaluate how many fairways and greens you hit in regulation, how many putts you took and how far you really hit each club. Decide what you need to work on the most and focus on these items so you can get off to a successful start to the new season.

Find a Practice Facility & Good Teacher  

You can’t get better if you don’t practice.  All too often, when the clubs go in the closet for the winter they gather dust until they come out again in the spring.  Start working on your game now and enlist the aid of a good instructor if you don’t already have one.  There is no better way toward lower scores this year than through a practice/lesson regimen and the sooner the better.  Your playing partners won’t know what hit them when you come out firing successfully at the pins this season.

Take Stock of Your Equipment

Is your equipment up to date?  Technology has changed a great deal over just the past few years.  This is especially true in driver technology.  If you’re still playing a stainless steel (or worse, a wooden) driver and muscle back irons, your equipment could be costing you strokes. 

Don’t have a hybrid in you bag - or maybe don’t know what a hybrid is?  You’re potentially making the game more difficult than it has to be.  If your equipment is “current” it still can be improved.  Have your clubs re-gripped if needed - many shops can re-grip clubs at very affordable prices.  Make sure you have the grips sized to your hands to ensure consistent grip pressure while you’re at it.  Have the loft and lies of your irons checked.  Proper lies promote accuracy, while properly gapped lofts provide consistent distance from club to club. 

Now might be a good time to experience a launch monitor.  This piece of equipment can tell you if your driver (and its shaft) is best suited to your game.  Better fitting professionals have launch monitors; a typical session takes about an hour.  In that hour, you will learn what loft, face angle and shaft are best for your swing.  Often a new shaft will add yards to your game.  It is not uncommon for a player to experience 20-plus yard distance gains from the driver when it has been properly fitted using launch monitor technology.  Imagine hitting the ball longer than you ever have the first time you play this spring - all because the club is properly fitted to you.

While at the launch fitting session, ask about putter fitting.  Putter fitting is rapidly becoming a way for even mediocre putters to improve dramatically.  The putter is probably the single most used club in your bag.  Think about it...how did you choose your putter?  If it wasn’t through some type of custom fitting session, the putter might not fit you as well as possible and you could be missing putts as a result.  Don’t just think of drivers and irons when you evaluate your equipment this winter.  Make the putter a priority as well.

Stretch, Stretch, Stretch   

We all tend to get a bit lazy during the winter when the sky is overcast and the snow is flying.  We often neglect things - like our bodies - that we shouldn’t during the winter.  Now that the temperature is starting to rise a little and the sun is re-appearing, start making it a point to do some type of physical activity every day.

Make stretching a priority - limber muscles make for good golf swings.  You might also pick up a book on golf-related exercises.  The stronger and more flexible you are, the longer you can potentially hit the ball - and we all want more distance.  Plus, any regular exercise helps lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, etc., so by exercising you are helping not only your golf swing, but your overall health as well.