As every golfer knows, playing golf in the winter is challenging. Before we continue with the hacks, I want to clear up a slight misunderstanding regarding what winter golf actually means. Where I live, winter golf is actually fall golf because hitting the ball in snow is virtually impossible. Thus, when we use the word winter golf, it means cold, wet, and windy conditions. Okay, now that the definition of winter golf is cleared up, lets get back to how best to play golf in the winter.
In my younger days, I would play golf until the snow flies. I had limited time to play because of work and life things, but now that I am retired I am more discerning on when I hit the links. I have all the kit (in one form or another) in the following video and recommend you (if you can) invest (or find a cheaper work around to accomplish the same result) in some of the things Kit Alexander recommends:
After watching the video, I have three points I want to emphasize regarding playing golf in the winter. First is keeping my hands warm. I learned a long time ago that a good pair of warm mitts is critical for my game. Not only do I keep my hands warm, but I put my ball in the mitt as I walk to the next tee. This at least will help warm the ball a bit and be more responsive during my tee shot.
Second is to club up on all my shots. As the temperature drops, I club up routinely. I have pushed my ego to the sidelines a long time ago and now I do not care what number is on the clubs as long as I can hit the ball to the distance that I intend. We club up and down all the time during our rounds, but it is very important to do so when playing winter golf.
Lastly, adjusting my clubs to add more loft. I can honestly say that I have never tried this hack when playing winter golf. It actually never occurred to me, but I can see what Kit is saying about trying to add a bit more carry to each shot. Unfortunately, I have no experience, so if anyone does, please drop us a line to let us know how this hack works for you.
There are many other golf hacks for playing winter golf, but Kit Alexander has covered many of the basic ones. For players that like to extend their season or play all year around, then adopting these hacks mentioned in the video is a great place to start.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Winter golf can be great. Thank you for the tips. Yes, don’t forget the sunblock and theGolf Cart Rental
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As the video suggests, playing golf almost year round is possible and enjoyable if you know what you are doing.
Here in Southern Ontario, it is possible to play at least a couple rounds every month of the year. You need to know which courses that cater to us fanatics and their policies.
First of all, you need to know how to dress. Know which layers you need. A good pair of mitts keep your hands warm between shots. Below 6C and windy, using your rain pants as a windbreaker for your legs works well. It is not uncommon for us to play when it is 2C, and in those conditions, I have a good base layer (long shirt), warm vest, and a good outer layer. The rain pants and toque keep all body parts warm.
Walking keeps you warm and once you find the right equipment for each temperature range, you are set. Note that it usually takes a couple holes to warm up and adjust.
Given the conditions, move up to whatever tees make the game enjoyable. Club up as required and just enjoy yourself. A group of us put away our modern clubs and play our classic era clubs for the fun. Again play as forward as you need to.
Embrace the challenge for all aspects of the game. If you have to, play maximum two putt greens and of course play preferred lies.
For our hearty group of fanatics, playing in the winter months is great for the psyche. A warm drink after the round with fellow golf nuts is highly satisfying.
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Well Lorne, I am notnsure fanatics is a strong enough word for your group. 😉🤣 I am glad tonhear you are able to play all year around. Helps with the mental doldrums of winter.
Cheers Jim
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Many of those tips are relevant to summer golf down here. Not the layers or mittens of course, but wet conditions in general make them worth noting. As for cold weather, I don’t deal with it well. My hands and torso need warmth to play this game so I use layers when the weather gets cooler here too.
Our temp changes aren’t as drastic here though. For my hands, I’ll choose between wearing two regular gloves or wearing my wet weather gloves if normal golf gloves won’t do the job. I used to have a pair of cold weather golf gloves but I guess I misplaced them in the last move I had my son wearing them to protect his hands while we moved the heavier stuff. They’ve been quite handy over the years. I picked them up while visiting a girlfriends parents and playing a course in the early winter in northern Kentucky. I was the only one on the course. lol
Anyway, lightweight layers for the torso is what I concentrate on around here where cold is a relative term. Water freezes at 32 degrees. Floridians freeze at 50. lol Those of us who have been here long enough at least. You can easily tell between long term Floridians and newbies when the weather gets chilly. Those who just got here are still in shorts when it’s in the 60’s and those of us who have been here a long time are already all bundled up. lol That’s if the lack of tans don’t give the newbies away.
There’s another weather tip all golfers need. The sun is not necessarily your friend weather the weather is cool or hot. Too much exposure isn’t good for us. As a long time tanner I have to keep an eye out today. Skin cancer is something I’ve seen a lot of down here and I’m not wanting to allow it a foothold. I’ve had spots on my ears zapped twice now. I wear a hat with a brim today anytime I’m going to be outdoors for extended periods. And I keep SPF 50 sunscreen in my bag. A spray on solution so I don’t have to get my hands greasy. This time of year it’s still too hot for long sleeves and slacks so my arms and legs get doused with the stuff before every round.
I’m actually kind of looking forward to cooler weather just to stop smelling like coconuts. lol A cold front is heading south. It won’t make it all the way here, but we’ll get the benefits of the edges of it for a couple days this week. The temp on Tuesday when we tee off is predicted to be 73 degrees. That’s what, 22, 23 C?
Had some good luck and bad tonight on the course. Hit a wire with my very first swing and it was dead on the flag. I recovered ok though. Course rule is hit one and you have to rehit, no penalty. So I reteed and just missed the green right but I was flag high so looking at eagle with a great chip. But that wasn’t to be. Tied the hole though. Missed some putts I though should have fallen along the way tonight. Putts that would have won me the holes and the outright win. But that wasn’t to be either. I did manage to tie the lead on the last hole though after missing an eagle putt again on 17 to do it. That was an easy putt too. I just hit it a little too hard and through the break. Ouch. But a tie for the win is still not a loss on the books. Bad luck wasn’t through though. I packed up and when putting the pull cart back up to walk it up to my condo the knob that tightens the handle gave up on me. I think the threads are done in it so I’ll need a trip to the hardware store for something to rig it back to working condition or I’ll have to pull it until I replace it or fix it.
An electric, remote controlled cart is something I’m looking at. Not sure though whether I want all that. Still, some have GPS and everything all built in. That’s not a bad thing for a daily golfer to have.
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Kevin,
You are correct about he sun! I wear sunscreen and a hat all the time when playing golf. Additionally, hydration is something many players forget about when the temperatures get cooler. I try to drink lots of water when playing. 73 degrees is 22° C and is a wonderful temperature to play golf in….at least for us northerners. 😉
I have not thought to transition to an electric push cart….yet. For now, I enjoy pushing my clubs. Regardless, Buying a nut and inserting it into the handle is a fix I have see before. Takes a bit of work, but does the job. Good luck on your repair.
Cheers Jim
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