Cold Weather Play

By: Bruce Munch
Head Professional, White River Golf Club

Well it is that time of year again. The leaves are turning, the thermometer is plunging but the golf courses are still open. With the desire to continue to play golf we have to learn to deal with cold weather play. One solution is what I have done for the last seven years. When the mercury heads south, I head south for another winter in Florida. For those of you not heading south, here are some tips for playing in the cold for as long as the courses stay open.

If you regularly brave the Vermont winters, dressing properly is a no brainer. As with skiing, layering is the key. Try to use loose fitting layers to allow flexibility for the swing. Stay away from bulky jackets that will restrict your swing. Even with proper clothing your swing will be somewhat restricted, especially your back swing. Don’t fight it, embrace the shorter back swing and compensate by taking one or two more clubs. You might discover that the shorter back swing leads to better ball striking. Try to remember this when the warm weather returns.

You will stiffen up more quickly in cold weather, so stretching between holes or even between shots is highly advisable. Aside from shortening your swing, tight muscles are much more prone to injury. Ham string stretches, trunk rotation, shoulder rotation, half squats, ankle rotation, and practice swing stretches are all good ideas. Another thought is to walk the course in cold weather. It will keep you warm and loose and the increased concentration on your game might even lead to better scores.

Leather golf gloves will provide little defense against cold weather. Try a set of winter gloves, typically knit gloves with leather palms and yes they come two-to-a-set so both hands get protection. These will be available at your local pro shop. Hand warmers of the type you might use when skiing can also be a help, but keep in mind that the rules of golf prohibit you from putting your ball in a pocket with an artificial warmer because a warmer ball will fly farther.

A legal way to overcome the effect cold weather has on your ball would be to break out some lower compression balls. Something like the Maxfli Noodle, the Precept Laddie or Lady, the Dunlop LoCo, or if you want to compete with the season try some colored golf balls that might even outshine the foliage. Stay away from yellow, red and orange as they tend to be hard to find in the leaves. Flying Lady Golf makes low compression balls in Pink and Robins Egg Blue. Lady Classic Golf make the Classic Yellow, Classic Red, Classic Pink, Classic Orange, Classic Purple, Classic Blue and Classic Green, or Rainbeau Tour Golf that come in Tour Pastel Pink, Tour Hot Pink, Tour Pastel Yellow, Tour Neon Orange, Tour Lavender, Tour Sky Blue, Tour Neon Green and even Tour Pastel Peach. It seems apparent that golf balls come in more colors than the rainbow.

Socks and shoes are critical so don’t ignore them. Thin polypropylene sock liners will wick moisture from your feet but above all make sure you have waterproof golf shoes. Nothing is worse on a cold day than cold, wet feet. Ski caps instead of baseball caps are advisable because a very high percentage of body heat is lost through the head.

After the leaves fall you will invariably find that good shots might come to rest in fields of leaves making them hard if not impossible to find. Although the USGA does not recognize “The Leaf Rule”, if this happens to someone in your group, offer a free drop rather than wasting lots of time trying to find it or forcing a declared “lost ball” after the allotted five minutes have elapsed. In fact fall golf might be a great time to try playing by the original precepts of golf used before there were formal rules. They are: 1) Play the ball as it lies. 2) Play the course as you find it. 3) If you cannot do either of the above, do what is fair. Try it, you might like it.