Golf can be a fleeting game. At one point your swing might feel great and you're posting some great rounds, and then life gets in the way for a few weeks and the brief hiatus inflicts havoc on your scores when you return to the course.

Everything that felt good a few weeks prior seemed to go away. It’s incredibly frustrating to deal with these drops in performance after layoffs.

For those of us who are constantly trying to improve our game this creates a somewhat difficult cycle that’s hard to break.

I believe if you truly want to keep your game fresh you have to get creative and think differently about how you practice. Most golfers believe that they are going to get the most out of marathon range sessions once a week. We’ve explored why that isn’t the best idea for a number of reasons in prior articles.

I think it’s far more valuable to do something golf related for 5-10 minutes a day every day (or as many as you can) versus doing one big range session a week. Not all of us have access to practice facilities that are close by, and many players assume you can’t do anything at your home that’s meaningful.

That's just not true!

30 Day Challenge

I recently saw someone on social media who had taken a 30-day challenge with the Orange Whip. You’ve probably seen some articles on the site before about how I use this product myself, and why I think it’s a great tool for any golfer to warm up and improve the balance and tempo of their swing.

Mark’s challenge was simple. He had to swing the Orange Whip for 5 minutes a day for 30 days in a row. It wasn’t terribly complicated or difficult, but sometimes we need to force ourselves to do something like this. He chronicled his progress on Twitter with a series of posts.

His results were pretty incredible. He lowered his handicap from a 8.9 to a 7.3 and shot some of the best scores of his golfing life.

As someone who uses the Orange Whip almost daily, this isn’t a complete surprise to me.

What’s your Challenge?

Whether it’s working on your full swing, chipping, or putting I think this is a great idea for any golfer who is looking to improve their game. Pick an area of the game that you feel you struggle with the most, and get creative.
Do you miss a lot of 5-7 foot putts? Are you very uncomfortable with a wedge in your hands around the green? Well commit to practicing your chipping or putting every day in your home. I have a few tools that I recommend in my products section that can be used anywhere.

5-10 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot, but you will be shocked how it adds up over time.

I think this is a more realistic training regimen for most golfers due to the time constraints most of us have in our lives. It’s not to say you shouldn’t try to do a 30-40 minute session at the driving range at all, those are important too. My main point is to try to reduce the gaps in time that you are practicing.

Personally I’ve had to resort to this kind of practice this year because things are busier than ever at our house with a second child. There’s not as much time for me to go to the course to practice, so when I get some free time I’m chipping balls in the back yard, putting in the basement, and hitting some balls into a net.

Many of you reading this are in a similar situation, and I hope reading this article gets you thinking differently about what a meaningful practice regimen can be for golf.