Travel broadens the game

By Kitrina Douglas BBC Sport Online golf columnist

In my last article I talked about the value of using alternative activities to enliven practice and add a spark to a player's game.

Golf's cross-training secrets

Nearly all top players use some form of 'cross-training' but the technique is equally useful for amateur golfers looking to improve their game.

Travel - or a golfing holiday - is another way of adding a bit of spice to a player's game, and usually brings benefits when the individual returns to the UK circuit.

Throughout my playing career I found that periods of time in other countries were essential for me to reach the peak of my game. And so have many others.

Parnevik backs travel's restorative qualities

Scandinavian professionals like Jesper Parnevik, who lives in Florida, Patrik Sjoland, who lives in Marbella, and Jarmo Sandelin, who lives in Monaco, feel the need to travel to maintain form.

From Biarritz to southern Spain, I have seen thousands of golfers - from top pros to 'armchair' enthusiasts - getting more from their golf through a few days "on tour".

But what is it about travel that helps players improve their game?

The short and obvious answer is the weather!

A professional golfer - or even an ambitious amateur - must spend more than a couple of hours each day on their game.

Their training has to allow for important physical conditioning requiring anything from one to ten hours per day, depending on the individual's needs.

Faldo wintered in sunny Florida

During my pro career, I used to spend at least two hours on my long game, two to three hours on my short game and a minimum of three hours on putting.

During the English winter, when there are perhaps only eight hours of daylight, this schedule is simply impossible.

Although you can keep fit in a gym and practise your long game at a driving range, the remaining aspects of the game have to be done on the course, preferably on fast greens.

That means when the weather is consistently bad, practice is often consistently poor.

In reality, about six hours of vaguely reasonable weather and daylight are needed for a player to schedule the required practice time.

On top of that, it is usually bad for a player's motivation to continually spend several hours a day on frustrating practice in the cold, rain or howling wind!

These factors are the prime reason why Nick Faldo, for example, went to Lake Nona in Florida for the winter months while totally re-engineering his swing.

These are also the reasons why any amateur can - with careful planning - make major improvements to their game through golf travel.