If you love golf, you wouldnt have a winter break? i dont get it !

[Jmdmbike]

i dont get why you have a winter break? im playing every day over here and its raining then its shining then its pouring down. but i love it so what if my waterproofs get wet?

just noticed this topic on a few threads and thought id ask why you take  a "winter break" your game will decrease everyday you dont play in my opinion.

-20 c and a foot of snow. Your waterproofs may not get wet, but your titleists will be frozen for sure.:~(

[Spyder]

Frost is detrimental to any golf course. Simply walking on a green that has frost on it will really damage it badly. I have seen greens this time of year that have brown patches all over it, resembling footprints.

Right now, in Ohio, we're still very lucky and hitting mid 60's regularly (about 20° above normal temps). I personally enjoy a little break in the winter. I'm definitely not a fan of making contact with concrete @ 100+mph with a steel club. Not being a wise guy or downing anyone who does, I'm actually saluting you guys that are diehard and actually get out there and weather it out. Hell, I'm only 27 and there's no way I'd be out in any temperatures that dip below 50.

Anyway, I spend the winter time rebuilding "the bug" and it gets me fired up to see the snow start melting away. By mid-April and early May, I've got the itch so bad that I cannot wait to get back out there. For me, the winter break is like a brain shower. Cleanses all the bad habits and mental lapses that I start to get near the end of the season. Not to say that I wouldn't love to hit the lottery and move to Hawaii or the Keys or similar weather to play year round, but growing up in the 4 seasons is kind of like being brainwashed. You learn to know when enough is enough because the weather tells you when its enough lol.

Now is the time of year to watch football, get fat, drink craft beers and bud lights when the wife screams at you for spending $10+ for a 6 pack, eat lots of food and hang out with family.

Come Spring time, I'll start my work-out routine again and polish up the clubs and shoes!

Besides, long story short, it's virtually impossible to golf outside in the winter in northern Ohio unless you catch an indian summer in January. I don't think you'd find any ball of any color in several feet of snow. Plus you'd have to chain up the tires on the golf carts or use snow mobiles.

[DaSportsGuy]

Originally Posted by alexevo91

i dont get why you have a winter break? im playing every day over here and its raining then its shining then its pouring down. but i love it so what if my waterproofs get wet?

just noticed this topic on a few threads and thought id ask why you take  a "winter break" your game will decrease everyday you dont play in my opinion.

C'mon up here this winter. We'll get a round in on January 15th. Bring at least 100 balls though, good luck finding them in the 1'-2' of snow.

[Golfs-for-Fun]

Originally Posted by alexevo91

i dont get why you have a winter break? im playing every day over here and its raining then its shining then its pouring down. but i love it so what if my waterproofs get wet?

just noticed this topic on a few threads and thought id ask why you take  a "winter break" your game will decrease everyday you dont play in my opinion.

Lots of courses around here, other than the city owned ones, are basically closed off season. I can go to the municipal courses until end of December for certain, but even those are closed during Jan and Feb as long as its ice and snow.

[MSDOGS1976]

I play year round except when the course is closed. Last January, my home course was closed 20 days due to extreme temps. Greens were covered. But, I don't enjoy playing below 50 anyway. I will if I think the sun is going to come out.

[iacas]

I remember playing one of the Newport Cups in North Carolina at Dave Koster's old course... Tanglewood (PGA won by Lee Trevino there). We were delayed an hour or two to frost and they finally let us out when there was still frost for the first few holes.

Anyway, on the first hole Matt Rudy (the Golf Digest Matt Rudy) and I are sitting on the left side of the fairway, standing there, and someone hit a ball that took a few hops and then came to a stop about three feet from us, but darn it all if the ball didn't just sit there and SPIN in place in the frosted medium length bermuda grass. It made a little "zzzzz" sound as it spun, too. Weird...

Anyway, frost kills.

[Spyder]

lol That would be crazy to see that ball spinning in place on the frost like a tire on ice or something.

My local course does their best to delay people until the greens are no longer frosted. If they have a large outing scheduled, the keeper will often use luke-warm water to "mist" the greens and help the cause. Unfortunately, the keeper was not there earlier in October and one of the new rangers made the mistake of letting around 30 people out. The greens are usually so pristine that you could easily notice how bad they looked from golfers walking on them, almost 4 hours later when we finally made it out. At that point, the sun had come out and the temp went up to 60 from 45.

The nice thing about going out later on after the frost melted though, was that you could easily read lines all over the green from previous golfers. You could see the line that the ball took and even see the footprints where they were set up. I think that contributed quite a bit to my front 9's putting. The back is in full sun though, so I was back to my usual there.

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by alexevo91

thought id ask why you take  a "winter break"

around here, it's a little tough to get a tee time with a foot and a half of snow on the course for 5 months ...

[jetsknicks1]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Our local courses closed sometime between Oct 26 and Oct 30. Late for this area. The budgets have been spent, the golf course staff have been laid off for winter and the gates are closed and locked. There are some facilities open for winter activities (skating, Xcountry skiing, etc) but golf is over. Drop the puck!

A truly sad statement.

[zipazoid]

Living in Orlando, obviously, golf can be played year-round. But I don't. Instead, my seasons can be categorized as 'Playing Season' and 'Practice Season'.

Yeah, I can play in January...if I want to plunk down $100 & struggle to find a tee time amongst the tourists on a weekend...cuz I'm not playing after work during the week with it getting dark at 530p. So instead, from Nov thru March I just hit the range. A bucket of balls is $9 in August or February. Chipping & putting is free. And during the summer, that same $100 greens fee drops to like $20. So yeah - I play Grand Cypress...in July. Don't get anywhere near it in the winter.

Having moved here from northeast Ohio, I can tell you that it's just nice to know that i "could" play golf year-round if I wanted to. But it doesn't mean that I do. It's too expensive & too crowded.

We let the Canadians have the courses in the winter.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by zipazoid

Living in Orlando, obviously, golf can be played year-round. But I don't. Instead, my seasons can be categorized as 'Playing Season' and 'Practice Season'.

Yeah, I can play in January...if I want to plunk down $100 & struggle to find a tee time amongst the tourists on a weekend...cuz I'm not playing after work during the week with it getting dark at 530p. So instead, from Nov thru March I just hit the range. A bucket of balls is $9 in August or February. Chipping & putting is free. And during the summer, that same $100 greens fee drops to like $20. So yeah - I play Grand Cypress...in July. Don't get anywhere near it in the winter.

Having moved here from northeast Ohio, I can tell you that it's just nice to know that i "could" play golf year-round if I wanted to. But it doesn't mean that I do. It's too expensive & too crowded.

We let the Canadians have the courses in the winter.

Being from Northeast Ohio, have you ever played Pine Hills, St. Bernards, Blue Heron or Ridgetop? Just curious. You're also a lucky bastard being in Orlando, from a fellow, jealous, Northeast Ohio golfer lol.

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by zipazoid

Living in Orlando, obviously, golf can be played year-round. But I don't. Instead, my seasons can be categorized as 'Playing Season' and 'Practice Season'.

Yeah, I can play in January...if I want to plunk down $100 & struggle to find a tee time amongst the tourists on a weekend...cuz I'm not playing after work during the week with it getting dark at 530p. So instead, from Nov thru March I just hit the range. A bucket of balls is $9 in August or February. Chipping & putting is free. And during the summer, that same $100 greens fee drops to like $20. So yeah - I play Grand Cypress...in July. Don't get anywhere near it in the winter.

Having moved here from northeast Ohio, I can tell you that it's just nice to know that i "could" play golf year-round if I wanted to. But it doesn't mean that I do. It's too expensive & too crowded.

We let the Canadians have the courses in the winter.

Almost same exact situation here, but for me in Southern California.  I play a lot over the summer because it's cheap, but in the winter it gets expensive here and with it getting dark earlier there is less time to play.  I still play a little over the winter but its a lot more practice.

[zipazoid]

Quote:

Being from Northeast Ohio, have you ever played Pine Hills, St. Bernards, Blue Heron or Ridgetop? Just curious. You're also a lucky bastard being in Orlando, from a fellow, jealous, Northeast Ohio golfer lol.

I grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, just outside of Akron. I played Good Park, Sleepy Hollow, Windmill Lakes, Brookledge, Valley View mostly. Sounds like you're from the Medina area. Of the courses you mentioned the only one I played is Blue Heron. Fantastic track. Have also played Weymouth & Rawiga in that area. A dear friend of mine, who I played with on my high school golf team is (or was) pro at Sharon CC - Dwight Axtell. Now THERE'S a great golf course! NE Ohio is very underrated re its golf courses. Lots of great tracks up there.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by zipazoid

I grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, just outside of Akron. I played Good Park, Sleepy Hollow, Windmill Lakes, Brookledge, Valley View mostly. Sounds like you're from the Medina area. Of the courses you mentioned the only one I played is Blue Heron. Fantastic track. Have also played Weymouth & Rawiga in that area. A dear friend of mine, who I played with on my high school golf team is (or was) pro at Sharon CC - Dwight Axtell. Now THERE'S a great golf course! NE Ohio is very underrated re its golf courses. Lots of great tracks up there.

Yep, Sharon CC and Rawiga, as well as Weymouth, are all nice courses. Blue Heron is really tough and pricey, but it is really nice and very well maintained. My buddy was a "co" resident Pro at Sharon and now heads Rustic Hills (Brad Hotchkiss).

[Jmdmbike]

Canadians who go south to Orlando in winter don't mind paying $100 for a round. It's a holiday. Besides, if you plan ahead, you can get deals. Around here, most decent courses are $80 - $100+ anyway. The only $20 golf experience you could get around here is mini putt.

[keb]

Golfing in November in North Dakota is a plus, provided you have lots of layers of warm clothes and good winter gloves.  Today was the last weeken before the course shuts down.  Even with the 42 degrees and 25 mph winds, I am hate to see the season come to and end.

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by Jmdmbike

Canadians who go south to Orlando in winter don't mind paying $100 for a round. It's a holiday. Besides, if you plan ahead, you can get deals. Around here, most decent courses are $80 - $100+ anyway. The only $20 golf experience you could get around here is mini putt.

That's why we love you.

[Topper]

Originally Posted by luu5

Actually on our course here in Finland it is forbidden to enter the course if it is in frost. So about now it is the last days of season until May. Tomorrow might be my last round for some time.

I'm a relatively new golfer (2nd year) and just learned this weekend during a frost-delay why frost was an issue.  I didn't realize that when the greens are frozen, the grass can be killed or at least damaged just by walking on it.  We skipped a couple of greens during our round for that reason.

To the OP, I live in an area that had 179" of snow last year.  How much golf was I supposed to get in?  I swing poorly in golf shoes so I can't imagine what would happen in snow shoes or cross country skis.  I would love to move to an area with a more moderate climate but my wife won't even consider it.