Quote:
Originally Posted by
Artimas 
I'm playing cold weather golf for the first time this year. I have switched to a softer ball that I keep warm in my pocket, but was wondering what other tips people may have.
I'm especially interested in what you wear to keep warm and still not be too restrictive so you have enough flexibility to play. It also seems like layers are a good idea...what do you wear on each layer?
Thanks in advance.
How cold? You don't have a location posted so it's hard to guess at what you call cold. People here where I live now would call 60° cold, but in Colorado I played in temps down to about 30°. Aside from dressing for the weather, I never took any other precautions. No matter how you dress, if it's cold enough your swing will be restricted, so you just adjust. A good pair of winter golf gloves are a necessity if it's really cold, say below 45°. I don't worry about keeping the ball warm. It gets cold just during the play of the hole, so by the time you get to the green any warming you did between holes was just wasted effort anyway. Just learn to adjust club choice for the weather. Winter golf is a learning experience, but it's fun, and the courses are much less busy, so that is a distinct benefit.
If the ground is frozen, then shot choices will be very different too. The ball will bounce harder, and not always in the direction you hope. I found that hitting low running shots was a benefit in winter. If the course allows it, play approach shots as run up rather than carry them all the way to the green. It's very disheartening to watch a seemingly perfect shot land on the front of a frozen green, then bounce 30 feet in the air and end up 30 yards over the green. Playing a half 6I punch instead of a full 8I is the sort if adjustment I make. Again, you just have to play a bit and learn what works and what doesn't for your conditions.