winter golf

[golfEnthusiast]

how does the winter affect your personal golf game. I have heard some people say that they think they play better in the winter.

Me personally; i can not swing the ball with anything more than a polo, and underarmor, so if it's less than 45-50 degrees out, i can not swing very well at all. I notice that i lose distance on alot of my shots; but on very cold days i get much more roll.

how does winter affect your game?

[gogolfing]

Played yesterday, and it was a few degrees above freezing. I wear Underarmour stuff and a fleece toque (this is what we call a ski cap in Canada) and stayed pretty warm. Because of the cold temperatures, we were on temp greens, so it is really only the full shots that can be worked on. The temps are so small and just cut from the fairway that the short game isn't worth worrying about. The ground was frozen pretty solid, so it was tough to get a tee in the ground. My playing partner had a brush tee, so that made it easier. Playing on the hard ground is good for the ego; when the ball hit the ground it ran forever

I try to get out and play once on weekends and to the range a couple of other times throughout the winter just to stay into things come spring. Here on Vancouver Island, we usually have to contend with rain in the winter more so than cold and snow, but this winter we've had a lot of small snowfalls, and it's been colder than usual, so it has been a bit different.

I've also been taking lessons with one of our pros since the middle of October; one every 2 weeks or so. I figure it is a good way to work on things in the off-season.

[marpr]

  golfEnthusiast said:

how does the winter affect your personal golf game. I have heard some people say that they think they play better in the winter.

I live in Sydney. It never really gets too cold here in the winter.In fact, i seem to play more golf in the winter as i have more free time.

[golf_junkie27]

Personal experience is that I tend to play smarter golf in colder weather. One, you know that you are going to be a club shorter. The result is better course management. Two, the courses will play shorter, so you carry less clubs and play smarter golf. Three, the ball rolls, forever. The game becomes shotmaking from 125 yards and in. You use your scoring irons more and develop more feel.

I'm a huge fan of playing in the winter because of the above. That, plus the reduced fees and NO ONE ON THE COURSE, makes it enjoyable.

[sirshanksalot]

Playing in freezing temperatures definitely makes the greens rock hard. One example of this was this past Saturday. I was about 145 yards away and took out my 9 iron. The ball hit the front of the green bounced about 15 feet in the air and kept bouncing until it rolled off of the green and onto the back of the hill into the rough. What would've stuck after a bounce or 2, left me with a pretty bad save shot.

[Shindig]

  golfEnthusiast said:

how does the winter affect your personal golf game. I have heard some people say that they think they play better in the winter.

I'm less inclined to make a tee time on my own in the winter for fear of being rained out. Silly, I know. And I've lost distance, but haven't really measured much of the impact, so I'm guessing on irons, which is probably pretty bad. OK, resolution: go re-measure my distances with irons. Then go play with those distances. Re-measure every so often since it's going to be off with the weather changing.

[boothyuk123]

I come from England and get to play quite a lot of golf during the winter - obviously its cold and wet but its manageable for the most part. However, right now I am at college in Kansas, USA playing golf and I have pretty much not picked up a club for almost three months (November 07). This is something that is really hard to get used to and in many ways I believed could be detrimental to my game, however I played for the first time on Sunday, 9 holes and actually hit the ball solidly enough. In reality sometimes you just cannot help the conditions, but if you are in an area which has decent enough weather, you get out of winter golf exactly what you want to get out of it! Put in the hours of practice and you will see the benefits at the start of the summer season!

[Fourputt]

  sirshanksalot said:

Playing in freezing temperatures definitely makes the greens rock hard. One example of this was this past Saturday. I was about 145 yards away and took out my 9 iron. The ball hit the front of the green bounced about 15 feet in the air and kept bouncing until it rolled off of the green and onto the back of the hill into the rough. What would've stuck after a bounce or 2, left me with a pretty bad save shot.

I quickly learned to play a different game in the winter. I play a lot of low runners, and I've gotten pretty good at hitting 1/2 shots with like 5I or 5H and just hope that the bounces keep it headed for the green. Playing 50 yard chips with a 7 or 8 iron. More like what I think of as British links style golf.

I really do enjoy winter golf, but the last 2 years there has been little chance for it here in Colorado. On a "normal" year we get a snowfall and it melts in a few days, the course reopen, and play resumes. The last 2 years, we have had early snows that just built on each other, shutting down the courses for long periods. Last year from late November to early March, and this year from early December to the present... but there is hope at the moment that we could have golf again in the next week. Some of the courses on the north side of Denver have already been open, but that's a longer drive and a higher price than I want to pay for winter conditions.

[tm22721]

On the rare occasion of snow here in central VA I just get out my snow wedge. Can't hit a divot from frozen ground, but that's not a problem for somebody who usually skulls the shot into the next county.