How To Practice Golf If Your Can’t Get To The Range Or Course

Whether you’re stuck at home, short on time, or just can’t make it to the golf course this week, there are still plenty of ways to work on your game without hitting a single full shot. In fact, some of the best players in the world spend more time working on the “little things” than they do pounding balls on the range. So if you’re looking to improve your golf without grass under your feet, here’s how to do it.

Get Serious About Your Short Game — Indoors You’ve heard it before: short game is where scoring happens. You don’t need a green or bunker to sharpen your touch. Indoor chipping drills: Use a few foam practice balls and chip into a laundry basket or onto a landing towel. Practice different trajectories using the same club — low runners, mid-height chips, and soft floaters. Use painter’s tape to create a “landing zone” on your floor. Try to land the ball consistently in that space from various distances. This builds distance control, trajectory awareness, and consistency — all without needing real turf.

Make Putting Practice a Daily Habit If you’re not practicing putting at home, you’re leaving strokes on the table. And you don’t need a fancy mat — a smooth carpet or hardwood floor will do.

Try these simple drills: The Gate Drill: Set up two objects (like sleeves of balls) just wider than your putter head. Work on keeping the stroke clean and centered. Start Line Drill: Lay down a ruler or yardstick and practice rolling the ball off the end without veering off. One-Ball Distance Drill: Putt to a target (like a cup or coaster) and track how close you leave it. The goal: consistent lag speed.

Use Mirrors or Video to Work on Your Swing Mechanics If you can’t hit balls, work on how your body moves. Grab a full-length mirror, a training aid, or just your phone and record yourself making slow, controlled swings. Focus areas: Posture and setup Grip and takeaway Top-of-swing position Finish and balance Use slow-motion rehearsal swings to groove better mechanics. Even shadow swings — without a ball — help train your body to repeat better motion. Bonus: it’s great for muscle memory and flexibility.

Get a Mat and Net Setup If you’ve got a little extra space — like a garage, basement, or backyard — a hitting net and mat combo is a game-changer. It’s not just about getting reps in. It’s about building a repeatable swing under consistent conditions. Here’s what to look for: The Hitting Mat Not all mats are created equal. You want something that mimics real turf — not a glorified welcome mat. Look for thickness: 3/4″ to 1″ of turf with solid backing protects both your wrists and your floor. Pay attention to feedback: Good mats will punish fat shots slightly so you don’t groove bad habits. Size matters: A 4’x5′ mat gives enough room to practice different stances and ball positions. The Hitting Net You want something durable and easy to set up/take down, especially if space is shared. Look for a wide base: At least 7’–10′ across to catch your occasional mishits. Easy assembly: Pop-up or foldable nets make practice sessions less of a hassle. Durability: If you’re using real balls, make sure it’s rated for full-swing shots.. See also Chervò Unveils Stylish Autumn/winter Apparel Collection Optional Upgrades

If you really want to level up: Drop a cheap launch monitor behind you for basic feedback on distance and ball speed. Hang a tarp or old comforter behind your net for extra safety and sound dampening.

Play “Mental” Golf at Home Visualization is a surprisingly effective way to practice when you’re stuck indoors. Here’s how: Pick your favorite course — or a course you’re preparing to play. Close your eyes and imagine playing a hole, shot by shot. Picture the fairway. The hazards. The flag location. What club you’d choose and how the shot would feel. Go through your pre-shot routine, then mentally hit the shot. Top athletes in every sport use this technique — and it’s especially powerful for golf, where mindset is everything.

Make Your Practice Routine Repeatable One of the biggest benefits of at-home practice? You control the environment. Use it to build good habits. Create a mini routine: 5 minutes of mirror work 10 minutes of putting 5 minutes of chipping 10 minutes of mobility or strength That’s 30 minutes a day that will absolutely move the needle — even if you never hit a real ball.

Final Thoughts: You don’t need a pristine range or manicured fairway to work on your game. Some of the most meaningful improvement happens at home — through consistency, intentional reps, and a bit of creativity.

MY 4 A’s OF SHOT PREPARATION

I came up with the 4 A’s for preparing for a short game shot which I thought was quite neat, here they are:

Assess- Read the lie and the situation, taking into account all the factors that influence the shot

Anticipate- Only when you have a clear plan should you move to the next A and make some practice swings trying to anticipate what type of swing and intensity you need to make the plan work

Act- When you have the right feel you should be completely ready to play. This means just play and no more thoughts, they belong in previous stages. Get over the ball and just do it.

Accept- This for me is really important for two reasons. You have an opportunity to learn from what just happened, did you get the flight and roll correct? Did the ball break as you imagined? Controlling your reactions is also so important.

Try the 4 A’s and dont move on to the next A unless you have completely finished the previous one, this is the huge key to a quiet mind and decisive action. Preparing for a shot and “thinking play not swing” is a big key for on-course development when I work with players.

Try some of these golf specific conditioning training exercises during the winter 👍💪👌

 

This first exercise helps us understand and work on winding and coiling into our trail side during the back swing motion for a right handed golfer. As our hips and shoulders turn my lead shoulder works down and around over towards my trail side, while my trail pocket goes back towards the wall behind. My weight naturally transfers to the inside of my trail heel and inside of my trail leg creating resistance from the ground up, and been now in an ideal position to transition for the downswing.

The second exercise helps work on the transition movement of the trail side. Having a band in my trail hand we can see my trail wrist is set my trail arm is folded. When I make a short back swing motion and pull down on the band, this makes my trail side drop creating some torso side bend to my trail side while my trail knee drives towards my lead leg this transfers weight from my trail side to the lead side naturally. With a certain amount of side bend and rotational lateral weight shift during the downswing helps improve swing, low point and impact position.

For this final exercise, we are training more of the motion post impact where my lead leg is extending and weight is approximately 85% to 90% through my lead side. The trail leg will push away from the ground while the arms remain extended during the follow-through.

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Golf specific dynamic exercises