Indoor Golf Practice Ideas for Rainy Days and Winter

Simple, safe indoor drills that keep junior golfers' skills sharp when the weather rules out a trip to the course or range.

Australian winters and the odd washed-out weekend don't have to mean weeks without golf practice. Plenty of the fundamentals - putting stroke, grip, tempo, even basic chipping - can be practised safely indoors with a bit of care about space and what's nearby. Here are some ideas that work well for junior golfers stuck inside.

Putting on the carpet or a mat

A hallway or lounge room carpet is one of the best indoor putting surfaces going, and it's genuinely useful practice rather than just a way to pass time - putting accounts for a large share of strokes in any round. A short indoor putting mat is a worthwhile investment if there's room, but even rolling balls towards a cup, a shoe, or a piece of tape on the floor works for building a consistent stroke and reading short, straight putts.

Chipping into soft targets

For chipping practice indoors, safety is the priority - use a soft foam practice ball rather than a real golf ball, and aim into something forgiving like a laundry basket, a cardboard box on its side, or a net if you have one. Keep swings short and slow; the goal indoors is repetition of a clean, controlled technique rather than distance or power.

Grip and setup drills without a ball at all

Some of the most valuable indoor practice doesn't involve hitting anything. Standing in front of a mirror to check grip, posture and alignment is a simple habit that helps a young golfer notice and fix small technical issues before they become ingrained. Slow-motion practice swings, focusing on tempo and balance, are also easy to do indoors with plenty of space around the child and nothing breakable nearby.

Simple games to keep it fun

Junior golfers, especially younger ones, practise best when it feels like a game rather than a chore. Simple challenges - how many putts in a row from a metre, or a scoring system for chips landing in different sized targets - keep motivation up during a stretch of bad weather. Rotating between putting, chipping targets and swing drills every ten minutes or so also helps keep a young golfer's attention through a longer indoor session.

Getting back outside when the weather clears

Indoor practice is a great top-up, but it isn't a full replacement for time on the course or range, particularly for building genuine clubhead speed and shot-shaping skills. If a run of bad weather has your junior itching for the right gear to make the most of drier days, our Equipment and

Buying Guides sections cover the basics worth having on hand.

How much indoor practice is enough?

There's no fixed rule, but short, frequent sessions - ten to fifteen minutes a few times a week - tend to work better for junior attention spans than one long session. The aim during winter or wet stretches is simply to keep the putting stroke and grip fundamentals ticking over until regular course time is back on the schedule.