How to improve your golf game during the winter months

Editor's note: Steve Charters is in his 14th year as a pro at Twin Pines Golf Course. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Charters competed at Central College in Pella and has been a pro for 21 years in Dubuque and Cedar Rapids.

Winter is one of the realities of our area of the world, but don't let winter become a time to regress.

There are plenty of things you can do to stay active and improve your golf game in the winter.

First, vow to get in better golf shape. Physically, hit the weights to help build or at least maintain your strength levels. Learn to like yoga. Flexibility also can be lost during an inactive period, so try a yoga class or some other type of flexibility exercises to not just maintain but increase the important aspect of flexibility in your golf swing.

You also can find a personal trainer who can build a custom workout, targeting important areas that will help your golf swing.

Use technology with golf simulators and hitting nets. These can help you maintain playing the game and keep you swinging, as well as give you different information, such as club head speed, smash factor, spin rates, etc. This will help you to fine-tune your game.

Some places also have hitting nets with launch monitors that can accomplish similar results. Working with a PGA professional with video lessons in a net or simulator can help with improvements to your swing before the courses open.

Don't be afraid to roll some putts on the carpet to keep the timing and solid contact in your putting stroke rolling.

Instead of spending a month finding your swing this spring, you can hit the ground running the first day courses open.

Finally increase your 'Golf IQ.' Read some good golf books about instruction, the mental side of the game or just entertainment. There are some great books out there on The Masters and other topics in golf. Watch the Golf Channel to get some new ideas, differences in club designs or ball designs and what they're designed to do. Learn what swing weights and smash factors really are.

What's happening on the professional tours? Keeping up on the game helps you stay in a golfing frame of mind and keeps the juices flowing when the water outside is frozen.

So while winter's blanket will hopefully disappear soon, there are plenty of things you can do to stay involved and prepare for the upcoming golf season and not let it be wasted time.