Hi Carl,

Living in New England, I know all about winter lay offs.  Right now our grass is under about 4 feet of snow, and it probably won't show itself until after St. Paddy's day.  

To combat this problem, I have an indoor putting mat, and I love to chip onto it.  I'll pull it into the living room to give me more distance to cover, or I'll chip from right off the mat.  Carpet lies are tighter than most lies on the course, so if you can get good at making clean contact there, taking it to the grass is easy.  I also use a variety of clubs.  Everything from a 7iron bump to a 62* spinner.  To make things more fun, I'll chip over dog toys or slippers to give me something to clear.  You'd be surprised what you can do indoors if you just put your mind to it.

I think the key to staying sharp is staying with it.  If you don't practice at least weekly, you can't really expect to come back at the same level you had when you were in season.

Josh,  this is the secret to your amazing short game?   Carl T., i've played with Josh a few times and his short game is no joke..  If i was in a short game contest, he would be my first call, no question....  

Gotta ask though, do you use a hard ball or a soft practice one?

Thanks for the tips though!  May have to try this at home..  When the wife is not around of course...

You think carpet lies are tight, you should try the hardwood floor lies!  Unfortunately I had to stop leaving my golf balls and clubs around the house.  The little ones want to play with them.  And there is nothing more dangerous than a one year old swinging a Vokey!

Carl,

I've heard, and always thought, that the short game is the first to go and takes the longest to get back.  Like Gosh talked about, you just need to keep practicing all the time.  You're pretty lucky that you live in an area with reasonably mild winters (as compared to the guys in the northeast) so you should be able to continue practicing even when the weather gets chilly.  When the weather gets to cold for outside practice, figure out a way to practice inside.  I live a few hours hours north of you and I try to continue practicing outside through the winter as long as there is no snow on the ground or it isn't to cold.  For the times that it is to cold or snowy to practice outside, I head to my basement where I have a putting/chipping area set-up.  To chip onto my putting mat I use a piece of remnant carpet with some rubber pad under it for cushioning and position it anywhere from a foot to five feet from the putting mat.  With snow on the ground or when it's just to cold to practice outside, I'm in the basement practicing for about an hour or so every day.  In addition to chipping, I can practice half and quarter wedge swings by hitting foam balls off the carpet without worrying about breaking anything.

Barry

My bad - Not Gosh, but Josh.  Sometimes the fingers and brain don't work together.

I've got a carpeted run of about 25' from my living room down a fairly narrow hallways that I use to stay sharp when I can't get out in the winter.  I chip off an AstroTurf mat to a practice putting cup. Besides holing the shot, the trick is to get it there without bashing into the baseboard less than a foot behind it.  Fortunately, my wife doesn't seem to know where the hallway light switch is....

If you're having a hard time and you need to pick it clean and just can't, try (both practice and in play) just playing the shot standing only on your right foot. 

I've got a strong short game, but on bad days this helps. Been warming up this way lately as well. Works wonders for me. 

I had a rough lie yesterday when I overshot the green. Was sitting in bark with a low hanging tree blocking my desired shot. I needed to hit the shot perfectly or it was going to be way short, or in the lake on the other side. So, I used my right foot method for the shot with a soft 8i and hit it 2 ft from the cup for an easy tap in. 

One thing i found helpful was purchasing the floppy, an indoor golf ball. I am able to swing in on the carpet and not worry about breaking anything.