Feeding Your Golf Addiction In The Winter, Pt. 1: Play Golf

This is the first in a series of essays on things to feed your golf addiction in the off-season, when cold and snow drive those of us in the northern climes away from our beloved game.

Play Golf

The best thing a golfer can do in the golf off-season is to play golf. There’s no need to stay off the course just because the weather has turned cold. If the ground is clear of snow, there likely is at least one course open. In southeast Michigan, there will be several.

I’ve also found that even on the coldest days, when there is no snow, I will not be the only one out on the course. I suspect there are a lot of people in Michigan who play year round.

The key is not to expect much. The cold temperatures, hard ground and wind all will conspire to prevent you from scoring well. Many courses will have temporary, winter greens, so putting is less than optimal. Some courses in Michigan even reverse the tees. You start with a temporary tee near the 18th green, and play backward to the 18th tee box, which has a hole cut in it. The final hole is the first tee.

Proper clothing is essential. Keep your head covered, your core warm, and dress in layers. I wear a wool hat from Tilley (I love the built-in ear flaps), winter weight golf pants from Under Armour, a heavy fleece or sweatshirt and maybe an insulated vest. Wool socks are requried, as are waterproof shoes.

Old Boy Scout saying: There is no such thing as bad weather. There are only bad clothing choices.

Of course, all those extra clothes prevent a full turn. But maybe that’s a good thing. I tend to overswing anyway.

I generally play these winter rounds with a sunday bag loaded with a driver, a couple of hybrids, maybe a wedge and a putter.

With the hard ground, hybrids make it easier to sweep the ball off the ground, rather than dig in. Lob shots are impossible, but that just makes it a good time to practice sweeping pitches. The winter wind—at least in Michigan—is often strong, so I work need to work to keep the shots low.

Golf ball selection is important. I use balls with low compression. For tees, I use rubber winter golf tees, such as these on Amazon. The hard ground often makes it impossible to use a traditional tee.

Winter golf is fun, though. I’ve played golf in Michigan every month of the year for the last 129 straight months. As soon as the snow clears, and the skies are sunny, I’m packing my clubs for the course.