What Does Winter Golf Look Like to You?

[NM Golf]

So we have the Winter Depression thread and the Best Place to Live for Year Round Golf thread. I think we should have a “what does winter golf look like to you” thread. Post about what its like to play golf in the winter months in your hometown, post pictures of your winter golf vacations, heck post pictures of you local course covered in snow. Let’s celebrate winter as we wait anxiously for spring to come.

I’ll start, In Albuquerque we can and do play year round but at 5000 feet in elevation we still have winter. Have you ever played golf hitting your approach shots into a rock hard frozen solid green? It’s a ton of fun to watch your ball land 3 feet from the pin only to bounce 12 feet in the air and end up 15 yards over the green. You have to learn to land everything short of the green and let it roll up until they thaw.  Driving the ball is great though as the fairways provide an abundance of roll not normally available in the summer. I am not complaining though on occasion its beautiful, just last Saturday I played in shorts and short sleeves. The greens weren’t even frozen!

[HJJ003]

Houston winters are pretty short lived. I play year round and managed to play 3 times both in December and January (which for me is pretty darn good). The only reason I haven't played this month is work. Its nearly 80 degrees outside lol...

The only downside is that Houston is generally wet, and if we don't get a lot of sun (just heavily overcast) in the winters it can stay that way for awhile. I don't think I have played a "dry" round of Golf in the Houston area since late September. 

Planning on playing Monday if the rain stays away!!

[jimnm]

To me, winter golf looks a lot like spring, summer and fall golf. Here is a picture from two weeks ago...

 

 

[Patch]

I just finished 9 holes in sunny, 40 degree weather, with no wind to speak of. That's kind of the norm around here. 

If I wanted to drive 90 miles south, I might have played in mid 60s degree  sunny weather. Maybe even in the low 70s. 

Essentially, as long as the wind is not strong enough , that it would bring the wind chill factor into play, we have pretty good golfing weather in the winter months. 

Also, since the area is so spread out, one part of the area might be considered non-playable, while another area, just a few miles away,  might have great winter playing conditions.

All in all, l feel safe saying that  from December 1st to February 28th (29th) 95% of those days are decent, or better to play/practice golf in. The other 5% is probably playable some where in the area. 

[bkuehn1952]

Winter golf in the Frigid Mitten involves finding an open course, dressing in layers and accepting sub-optimal conditions.

One won't get much roll in the fairway

 

 

Casual "water" can be an issue

 

And the greens will have some loose impediments

 

Digging your ball out of a bad lie can require a bit of club cleaning

 

Unless it is snowing, the courses can look very playable

 

And you run the risk of running into some crazy old guy wandering around on the course.

 

[Photos taken 2/5/2019 at Huron Hills Golf Course, Ann Arbor, MI]

Edited February 7, 2019 by bkuehn1952

[Patch]

14 minutes ago, bkuehn1952 said:

Winter golf in the Frigid Mitten involves finding an open course, dressing in layers and accepting sub-optimal conditions.

One won't get much roll in the fairway

 

 

Casual "water" can be an issue

 

And the greens will have some loose impediments

 

Digging your ball out of a bad lie can require a bit of club cleaning

 

Unless it is snowing, the courses can look very playable

 

And you run the risk of running into some crazy old guy wandering around on the course.

 

[Photos taken 2/5/2019 at Huron Hills Golf Course, Ann Arbor, MI]

Some ball manufacturer needs to make an ATGB for your type of winter golf. (All Terrain Golf Ball)

[Vinsk]

Winter golf for me:

[CaseyD]

you might want to ban the california/ arizona/ florida members for fear of getting beat up by other members.  As crappy as California is we are very lucky when it comes to sports.  yea early tee times are a little chilly but for the most part even our really cold days are still 50+ degrees.

I feel for all you guys/ girls that really deal with a true winter.

[Buckeyebowman]

I can describe what this winter's golf looks like in a single word. Nonexistent! 

We do have courses that will stay open year round if conditions are playable. I think I've played golf in every month of the year at one time or another. This year? Ain't hapnin'! 

[NM Golf]

4 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

Winter golf in the Frigid Mitten involves finding an open course, dressing in layers and accepting sub-optimal conditions.

One won't get much roll in the fairway

 

 

Casual "water" can be an issue

 

And the greens will have some loose impediments

 

Digging your ball out of a bad lie can require a bit of club cleaning

 

Unless it is snowing, the courses can look very playable

 

And you run the risk of running into some crazy old guy wandering around on the course.

 

[Photos taken 2/5/2019 at Huron Hills Golf Course, Ann Arbor, MI]

And to think my wife wants to move back there, great pictures!

[tehuti]

Winter golf looks the same as Spring or Fall golf here. Except for February when we seem to get most of our rain. Not as hot as the summer, usually between high 60s and low 80s.

[boogielicious]

15 hours ago, NM Golf said:

So we have the Winter Depression thread and the Best Place to Live for Year Round Golf thread. I think we should have a “what does winter golf look like to you” thread. Post about what its like to play golf in the winter months in your hometown, post pictures of your winter golf vacations, heck post pictures of you local course covered in snow. Let’s celebrate winter as we wait anxiously for spring to come.

I’ll start, In Albuquerque we can and do play year round but at 5000 feet in elevation we still have winter. Have you ever played golf hitting your approach shots into a rock hard frozen solid green? It’s a ton of fun to watch your ball land 3 feet from the pin only to bounce 12 feet in the air and end up 15 yards over the green. You have to learn to land everything short of the green and let it roll up until they thaw.  Driving the ball is great though as the fairways provide an abundance of roll not normally available in the summer. I am not complaining though on occasion its beautiful, just last Saturday I played in shorts and short sleeves. The greens weren’t even frozen!

We can play into December in Mass and there are a couple of courses that will stay open weather permitting. Hitting a rock hard green is hilarious. PONG! If you dress with loose clothing and wear gloves, it can be bearable even down to 30, but sunny days are better than cloudy with wind.

13 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Winter golf for me:

You're a mean, mean man! 

[chilepepper]

Winter golf? It’s a bit of a mixed bag here. Occasional frost delays, suffering through 40-50 deg mornings with 60-80 deg afternoons. Cart path only with the rains we’ve had at times. I really don’t know why we bother. 

[mcanadiens]

Normally my winter golf looks a lot like the pictures that @bkuehn1952 posted. Good job on that by the way.

The city courses here stay open all year depending on the weather, but they send 90% of the maintenance crews home. Things definitely get a bit rough, but at that point it's just great to be outside and whacking a few. 

Most winters we get a handful of days in the 40s or even 50s with no snow on the floor. This winter, however, has been a total bust. We keep going between bone-chilling temperatures and torrential rain. Hit 60 degrees yesterday but poured. Now it's 20 degrees and the weekend isn't going to be much better. Haven't hit a ball since Jan. 2.

 

[bkuehn1952]

13 minutes ago, chilepepper said:

Winter golf? It’s a bit of a mixed bag here. Occasional frost delays, suffering through 40-50 deg mornings with 60-80 deg afternoons. Cart path only with the rains we’ve had at times. I really don’t know why we bother. 

 

Just slightly jealous.

Edited February 8, 2019 by bkuehn1952
Add a little something

[Lihu]

Not warm like Florida...raining Sunday.

Frost in the morning 

[gbogey]

This is just my 2nd winter here so not sure what is typical, but December through February there are lots of 40's and low 50's days (and occasional 30's and 60's) with LOTS of rain.  Fairways tend to be soaked.  Most holes that require a drive play 20-30 yards longer.  Most courses go cart path only.  Everything is brown as the Bermuda goes dormant.  Greens are quite fast due to the dormant Bermuda.  But I played 6 times in January and twice last weekend.  In 9 NJ winters I think I played there in January and February a total of one round and it was quite cold.

[IowaGreg]

Looks something like this...........