As someone who typically packs the clubs away into a corner of the shed over winter, I always seem to head into the new golf season with a sense of regret over a clear missed opportunity to improve my golf game.
This year, however, I decided enough was enough – it’s time to get serious about brush up on my ball striking, sharpen up my short game and pursue putting improvement.
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Track Your Winter Golf Improvement With These Baseline Tests
As I eluded to earlier, I couldn’t possibly be trusted to make any significant progress on my own, so I opted to recruit a couple of experts for some serious supervision.
Alex James, head pro at Sand Moor Golf Club, will be taking on the mammoth task of picking apart my fault-laden golf swing and putting it back together in a way that helps to cure my slice and prevent me fatting and thinning my way around the course.
Mark Wilson, owner of Apex Rehab and Performance, has taken on the equally challenging role of turning this unfit, gym-shy desk dweller and making me into a well-oiled, power-packing, efficiency machine – using the best golf exercises and a healthy amount of much needed tough love.
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Through one lesson per week with Alex in the swing studio, and three sessions per week with Mark in the gym, I am hoping to supercharge my progress in time for the first competition of the 2026 golf season.
Before rushing into the much-needed changes, however, both Alex and Mark explained that I needed to complete some simple baseline tests to ensure we all understood my starting point (and just how much help I actually needed).
I’m fed up of consistently finding positions like this on the golf course… it’s time to get serious about improving my game
(Image credit: Mark Newcombe)
Golf Baseline Tests
The golf-specific baseline tests were carried out across the various practice areas at my home course, Sand Moor Golf Club, and if you have just one hour to spare I am confident you could carry these out yourself to gained some extremely valuable data on your game.
Below, before sharing my results, I have outlined the series of tests and how to complete them so that you can give these a go during your next range session this winter.
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Test
How To Conduct
Measurement
Ball Striking: Driver
5x tee shot with driver
Score yourself out of 10 based on strike, swing, flight and distance
Safety Shot: Driver
5x tee shot with driver to pre-determined zone
Accuracy – How many times did the ball land in the zone you outlined?
Ball Striking: Irons
3x shots with 9-iron, 7-iron and 5-iron
Score yourself out of 10 based on strike, swing, flight and distance
Pitching To Distance
5x 40-yard pitch, 5x 60-yard pitch, 5x 80-yard pitch
Score yourself out of 10 based on strike, swing, flight and distance or use a scoring system to measure based on distance from target (5 points inside 5-feet, 3 points between 6-feet and 15-feet etc.)
Chipping
2x chip and run, 2x high-flighted chip, 2x bunker shot, 2x high/low mid shot
Change the lie and pin for each category, and use a scoring system. (5 points inside 10-feet, 3 points inside 15-feet, 1 point inside 30-feet for example).
Putting
Clock drill (hit one putt from eight different points on a clock face around the same hole, from 4-feet and 8-feet) and box games (hit five putts into a box from a fixed location, move distance of box to 15-feet and 30-feet)
Count how many putts you make and how many you miss. For box game, ball must be completely inside box to count.
My performance in the baseline tests demonstrated some clear strengths and areas for development.
I thought I understood my game pretty well, but it turns out I was wrong about quite a few things. I had always considering long range putting to be a strength of mine, relatively speaking, but this was an area that I really struggled in testing.
From 30-feet, when carrying out the box game, I missed the target with all five balls – whereas I made seven out of eight from 4-feet on the clock face drill.
Chipping had its highlights, specifically the high-flighted shot where I scored eight out of ten possible points, but I only scored half as many out of the bunker which, to be fair, wasn’t hugely unexpected.
Pitching was the biggest strength of my game, scoring 39 out of 50 for pitch shots to a target 80 yards away and 35 out of 50 from 40 yards, which gave me a little confidence booster after some disheartening performances in the earlier tests.
The ball striking element was one that I was apprehensive about, as this area of my game tends to deteriorate as the loft on the club decreases, but I went in with an open mind.
While I surprised myself with a driver in hand, my fears were realised when I tried to hit a few five-iron shots… including the first ugly shank of the series.
You can see that particular shot in all its glory, plus a wider recap of my performance in all of the tests, in the golf baseline test video above.
The results, as Alex explained, gave us a clear entry point and plenty to think about. With my first lesson in the swing studio coming next week, I was assured that Alex had a plan to tidy up some, as he describes it, ‘wild’ aspects of my swing – and I can’t wait.
Long range putting is one area of my game that I thought I was strong, but the baseline tests revealed otherwise
(Image credit: Mark Newcombe)
Physical Baseline Tests
I arrived at Apex Rehab and Performance to meet Mark knowing that there was a long road ahead. I had been out of a regular gym habit for a while and I knew my fitness, flexibility and power could certainly be improved.
Mark explained that he also wanted to put me through a series of baselines tests called a TPI screening, so that he can understand the physical limitations that might currently be holding me back in the golf swing and put together a plan to improve those areas.
Mark set his stall out straight away, explaining that he would be harsh and honest with me, which I completely welcomed as sugar coating anything would not help me to make maximum progress on this journey.
The TPI screening process involved me performing a number of movements or demonstrating a series of positions that are all closely linked to an efficient golf swing, and to my surprise there were some real positives.
In a traffic light scoring system, I achieved a green in things like lower back/hamstring mobility and the range of flexion in my shoulders.
However, the test did also highlight some areas that needed urgent attention. These included a lack of balance on my right hand side and a limited ability to disassociate my hips from my shoulders.
Something I was concerned about before I started the tests was my ability to effectively turn into my trail hip in the backswing, as this had been raised to me in lessons previously, and Mark also picked up on this in the testing process.
You can see more about how this process was carried out and the types of exercises and activities involved by watching my TPI screening part 1 video above (part 2 available on my social media channels).
Take it from me, as someone who felt a bit lost with their golf game, this is a great investment in your game this winter as it will teach you plenty that you can use to pursue progress on the course.
Despite receiving a golf fitness handicap of 24, which is actually higher than my actual handicap index, I left feeling empowered and enlightened.
I know knew the physical limitations that were causing difficulties for me in the golf swing, and while they aren’t excuses they are something Mark and I can work on to help me to become faster, stronger and more powerful.
Off the back of this TPI screening, Mark designed me a full training programme that consisted of three one-hour sessions per week. Each exercise or activity has been specifically designed to target on of my physical limitations and help to improve this along with my general strength and fitness.
My first session in the gym is just around the corner, so be sure to check back (and follow on my social media channels) in two weeks time for an update on my lessons, sessions and general musings – as I look to utilise expert advice and reach my goal of not being the worst golfer on the Golf Monthly team.
