The warmer temperatures are here. The snow is quickly receding. It is time to break out the clubs and start swinging with earnest. The challenge most players who live in warmer climes have is starting too fast and injuring themselves. This exact scenario has happened to me in the past, but not this year. I am starting a few weeks earlier, indoors, in preparation of when the courses open (hopefully within the next three weeks). Yesterday, I took an hour to clean up my garage, set up my DIY net, swing 20 easy times, and hit 25 golf balls. As in years past, I only used my seven iron while focusing on turn and swing movements. It was a great day and I am excited to get ready for my 2023 golf season.

After hitting about 10 golf balls, I put the club down, walked around, and stoked the fire before heading back to hit another 5 balls. After hitting 5 more balls, I grabbed a drink of water and adjusted the radio. After hitting the last 5 balls, I leaned my clubs up against a cabinet, retrieved the 4 balls I was using, and looked around satisfied that that was enough for one day. I plan on doing the same thing tomorrow and each day after; adding balls to my hitting routine until I reach 50 golf balls.

I expect that my routine will take about 2 weeks to reach 50 golf balls. Additionally, I will add different clubs to include my driver and fairway woods. I bought a small hitting mat (pictures to follow) that will help with my ball striking. Hitting my ball off of the DIY mat I built was okay, however I found that I was banging the club hard onto the rug surface causing injuries to my wrists and elbows. Not this year, I am taking a smarter approach to my preparation and so far, all is good.

In about 2 weeks I will be able to hit the ball outside. This is where my chipping and wedge play will get a workout. In my back yard (full of snow right now), I have a 100 yard distance hitting area. It is all cleared of brush and I only need to wait until it is dry enough to hit balls off of my new hitting mat. I feel blessed that I have the ability to hit to a scoring distance in my own yard because this will allow me to hang about enjoying the fruits of my brush clearing labour. Again, pictures to follow.

Well, I am ready for my 2023 golf season to start. Of course, I am still a few weeks away, however preparations have begun. I am going slow to ensure I avoid any injuries from over exertion caused by the excitement of hitting golf balls. As I continue to prepare for hitting the links, I will chronicle my successes. Stay tuned, there is much more to follow.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links.