We all know that winter usually marks the death of a golf swing for amateurs and average weekend players because of the dense air. They pack the clubs and wait for the spring, but in between, the muscles forget all the moves they learned throughout the grind. Then April arrives, and you cannot even break 90. You can replicate the consistency, but you need a plan. Golf professional Andy Proudman calls this the “Winter Protocol,” suggesting five drills to master your range sessions.

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Drill 1: Calibrate Your Setup (Alignment and Posture)

We often blame our swing path when the ball curves wildly into the woods. But 90% of our errors likely happen before we even take the club bag. We adjust our stance based on comfort rather than geometry and aim our feet at the target, ignoring the optical illusion of the ball’s position. This forces our brain to make mid-swing compensations just to make contact.

Proudman insists we must consider our setup as an architectural blueprint every single time and check our feet, hips, and shoulders constantly. “If you don’t practice it here, it won’t transfer onto the golf course,” he says. We have to calibrate our posture to ensure our weight is split 50-50. And even if we take a bad shot after that, it will be because of a swing error, not a setup error.

Jack Nicklaus‘s miraculous run at the 1986 Masters proves the importance of the setup. The 46-year-old legend simply fixed his static posture and achieved success. “The single most important maneuver in golf is the setup. Set up correctly, and there’s a good chance you’ll hit a reasonable shot, even if you make a mediocre swing,” Nicklaus said.

Drill 2: Develop a Proper Pivot in the Backswing

Now that our setup is sound, we must fix the engine that powers the swing. Many of us destroy our power by “swaying” our hips laterally away from the target. We must be thinking like we’re loading up power, but we are actually leaking torque. This lateral slide moves our center of gravity and destroys our consistency. It is the primary cause of inconsistent contact and lost power for amateurs.

Proudman suggests we must rotate our rib cage and belt buckle towards the target without sliding, and even suggests placing a club across our shoulders to feel the proper pivot. Proudman explains, “I always want you to focus on rotating… the belt buckle to the buttons.” This drill keeps the left shoulder down and prevents that sway.

Drill 3: Improve Iron Ball Striking Through Low Point Control

A solid pivot means nothing if you cannot control where the club strikes the ground. Most of us hit the “big ball” (the Earth) before the small ball. This happens because we try to scoop the ball into the air. And while doing so, our low point moves behind the ball and results in fat chunks.

To avoid this, Proudman uses a simple chalk line on the mat to diagnose this fatal flaw. We need to draw a line and practice hitting the mat on the target side only. He quotes Dr. Carl Morris: “The body will organize movement when given a clear intention.” We have to focus on the external task of hitting the mat past the chalk. This forces our weight forward and ensures that we strike the ball before the turf.

Drill 4: Control the Club Face for Better Ball Flight

Our path might be perfect, but the clubface dictates the ball’s starting direction, and the face angle accounts for 75-85% of where the ball launches. Most amateurs arrive at impact with an open face, causing the dreaded slice. Then they swing “over the top” to compensate, and it creates a weak and high wipe.

To resolve this, we need to learn to square the face early in the downswing. Proudman noted that hitting an impact bag feels like the “toe of the club” arrives first. This feeling bows the wrist and shuts the face through the hitting zone and converts that weak slice into a powerful drive. So Proudman notes, “If you can train this, I guarantee the rest of your golf swing improves.”

Drill 5: Incorporate Random Practice

Even with perfect mechanics, you will fail if you do not simulate the game’s chaos. Most of us love “Block Practice,” hitting twenty 7-irons in a row to the same flag and feeling like a legend by the tenth shot, but it is an illusion. Proudman argues you must devote at least half your session to “Random Practice,” where we remove the alignment sticks and change your club and target for every single shot. So he said, “Go through your full routine, visualize the shot, and execute.” This forces your brain to retrieve the correct movement from scratch every time.