Instruction
How to play your best in the cold
Here in the Northeast, the end of summer marks the close of the “recreational” golf season, but GolfWRXers are in no way “recreational golfers.” We eat, breath, sleep and dream the game, then brush our teeth in the morning thinking about the perfect putting stroke.
So, for us, the golf season never really ends whether we live in New Jersey, Illinois or South Dakota.
Our golf course here in New Jersey closes. Twice. On Christmas and New Year’s Day. I have been asked (more than once), “Will there be a frost delay two days from now,” and I have sold greens fees to 40 or 50 die-hard golfers on a Saturday morning while snow was falling. I grew up in Chicago and played college golf in the Northeast, and still love the challenge of scraping out a score in cold, wet conditions.
But, there are some things you have to accept about cold weather golf to give yourself the best chance to walk away satisfied with your score at the end of the round. Here are some thoughts and a few preparations you can make before you head to the course help you play your best.
At all costs, keep your hands warm
Cold weather players know that once cold seeps into their hands, the feel for the club and rhythm are lost. If you’re going to spend money on greens fees in the winter, a pair of cart mitts with chemical hand-warmer packets goes a long way to keeping you in the game. If you put the hand warmers in your pants pockets, the heat escapes and they quickly become worthless. It’s also hard to drive a cart with your hands in your pockets.
I’ve always thought walking is better for keeping warm (and probably for playing your best generally), but our course has lots of elevation changes and is a tough walk. So we include carts in our greens fees, and most players ride in the winter. Several of our regular off-season players own their own cart covers and use propane golf cart heaters to keep warm on the ride between shots. In New Jersey, the cold-weather golf season lasts four to five months (we even have a 52-year-old winter league here with professional and amateur divisions). A propane heater and cart cover cost about $200 together. If you’re serious about your winter golf, $200 might seem like a reasonable investment compared to the cost of the latest and greatest driver.
Play the right ball
To offset the cold, you have to play a softer compression golf ball to avoid losing lots of distance. Luckily, there are more options for the cold weather golfer now than ever. I’m a Bridgestone Golf staff professional, and the Bridgestone e6 is easily the best cold weather ball I’ve ever played. When I make a good swing in 45-degree weather and hit the middle of the club face, the e6 goes only a few yards shorter than my B330 in the summertime. If you have your hand warmers, it’ll be easier to find the middle of the club face than when your hands are frozen.
Wear the right clothes
Modern compression clothing from companies like Under Armor, Nike and Adidas make cold-weather golf a lot more fun than it used to be. Staying warm without a lot of bulky clothes that impede your swing used to be much harder. If the temps are above 40 degrees, I can play in a compression shirt, a golf shirt and a wind vest and make a pretty free move at the ball. If you keep your head and hands warm, you can also usually get away with wearing less on the rest of your body. You want to layer and make sure none of the base layers (next to your skin) are made out of cotton, because it doesn’t wick perspiration and can cause to you to feel even colder.
Make simple, rhythmic swings and club up
Because you’re wearing more clothes, your swing will be shorter and timing it properly will be harder. You have to accept that you won’t hit the ball as far with any of your clubs as you do in the middle of the summer. Remember that you’ll pick up some distance from that low compression ball you’re playing, and just focus on smooth swings and catching the ball in the middle of the club face. Warming up with a short run or on a stationary bike and stretching before a round in cold weather can help a lot too.
Cold weather golf can be a lot of fun and a great way to shake off the cabin fever in the winter. Make sure you come prepared and I’m sure you’ll have a great time.
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Some call the image on the left laid off, but if you are hitting a fade, this could be a perfect backswing for it! Same for across the line for a draw! Stop racking your brain with perceived mistakes and simply match backswing to shot shape!
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My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.
As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.
The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.
Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply. Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:
Mis-aligned hands
By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.
The position of the grip in the upper/left hand
I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean. Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.
To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.
Too much lower (right) hand on the club
It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.
Gripping too tightly
Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.
So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.
More from the Wedge Guy
- The Wedge Guy: Golf mastery begins with your wedge game
- The Wedge Guy: Why golf is 20 times harder than brain surgery
- The Wedge Guy: Musings on the golf ball rollback
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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?
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Jen NJ
Nov 26, 2014 at 12:11 am
Thanks everybody. I’m a crazy female golfer. So far I’ve gotten 25 round in October and November in New Jersey thanks to a little paid break from my company. I can’t stop playing. I got myself a mobile warming heated vest along with a Sunbeam Heat2Go back warmer. I wear a thin compression shirt, then a tight fleece type shirt with the vest and back warmer. Pants wise I wear corduroy with my under armour fleece lined tights under, footjoy wintersof gloves and my ski socks with golf shoes. So far with this ensemble I’ve stayed loose enough to swing freely and have kept my score in the 80’s. I think when the snow really tanks the season I may need to take a little extended weekend somewhere to get in a bunch of rounds.
I have lost quite a few of my yellow Lady Bridgeston Precepts but with these darn leaves thats to be expected when I miss a fairway.
Pingback: Winter Golf | Hacker to Single Figures
Ponjo
Nov 14, 2013 at 4:43 pm
Use Zippo hand warmers. Keep hands very very warm. Plus when the hail is lashing down on a 20mph wind wear a balaclava
Paul Kaster
Nov 25, 2013 at 11:36 am
Thanks for the tip, Ponjo. Hail and 20 mph winds…that’s dedication!
pablo
Nov 6, 2013 at 7:52 pm
If i lived anywhere cooler than phoenix (where we live) i would take Mick’s advice. I don’t know how you guys do it. I hate the cold, and I know i’m blessed by being able to wear shorts all year, so when it’s too windy and cold here to golf i just play ‘golf star’ on my phone or ‘golden tee’ at the bar.
Paul Kaster
Nov 8, 2013 at 6:59 pm
It’s mostly about where you grow up, what weather you’re used to, and what you’re willing to do to play the game you love. I was raised in Chicago so if I only chose to play golf in perfect conditions, I would’ve played about three times a year…Playing in bad weather is just part of the fun for those of us who are passionate about the game and live in temperate climates.
Abu Dhabi Golfer
Nov 4, 2013 at 10:45 am
Fleece pants under storm/rain pants.
Your torso will feel like it is in an oven.
It is so effective that you body heat needs to escape. This has the effect of warming the hands and other extremeties very effectively.
As long as their is no wind or rain, golf while where this combo is still very comfortablt at about 3 deg C or about 38 deg F.
Paul Kaster
Nov 5, 2013 at 9:11 am
Great tip! For those interested, here is a link for an affordable pair of microfleece pants: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/white-sierra-baz-az-ii-pants-microfleece-for-men~p~2399f/?filterString=mens-fleece-pants~d~345%2F&colorFamily=01
PhA
Nov 3, 2013 at 4:06 am
Hi gentlemen!
Lucky enough to live in Paris (France), our coldest weather conditions are not so extreme than that in Northern America or canada.
Still, we are very often below 0 Celsius in Winter.
For the last two years, I have used ODLO X-Warm serie underclothes (www.odlo.com). These clothes are very warm and very comfortable. I think that the brand is Swedish, so they know what they are talking about regarding cold weather.
Great article and great web site!
PhA
Regis
Oct 30, 2013 at 6:21 pm
Bridgestone (formerly Precept) Lady in yellow $20 a dozen. Perfect
Paul Kaster
Oct 31, 2013 at 2:00 pm
The Lady is a GREAT ball! Can’t find a better value out there for winter golf.
KCCO
Oct 29, 2013 at 11:40 am
Just saw this heater, I’m a walker, but on weekends we are forced to ride…..wasn’t nearly as expensive as I though
http://www.buggiesunlimited.com/golf-cart/coleman-golfcat-temperature-controlled-catalytic-propane-heater/HTR%20UNV%205036
Elson
Oct 28, 2013 at 10:24 am
Paul,
Thanks for great tips.
One thing I do here in Sweden when I play in the fall/winter. Instead of golf shoes I use a good pair of hiking boots, they are still lightweight, they keep you warm, gives good traction plus you don’t have to ruin you golf shoes that otherwise gets covered with mud and God knows what?
Paul Kaster
Oct 28, 2013 at 12:06 pm
Elson, great suggestion! I usually play in a pair of old shoes, but a light pair of waterproof boots make a lot of sense.
Ronald Montesano
Nov 15, 2013 at 6:35 pm
Hey,Elson…I’m told by Nike that these are sold in Europe. I’m a big fan of version 1 and the Lunar Bandon, version 2:
http://www.golfwrx.com/147746/review-nike-lunar-bandon-golf-shoes/
KCCO
Oct 27, 2013 at 2:14 pm
Just a point I would like to add, during fall/early winter switching to a z-star yellow, or playing cheaper balls will help save $$$/speed up play as you will lose a lot of balls under leaves, and spend a lot of time searching. So unless playing in a official event, I prefer my playing group watches/spots ball, if lost drop in nearest spot to speed up play. (our winter rules) Learned my lesson today, donated half a dozen pro-v1x to my course. Not to the woods, to the first cut which is now at that point in north where it is covered with leaves. If you don’t mind wasting good balls or hit fairways every drive, more power to ya, unfortunately we don’t;)
TL
Oct 27, 2013 at 11:28 am
oh yeah, I forgot: ALWAYS walk and carry!
Nick
Nov 12, 2013 at 11:03 am
A wind whipped cart in the winter is pure torture. I second the advice to walk. Fortunately I live in Miami so I get the 365 shorts weather but when I see my folks in Atlanta for Thanksgiving and Christmas there’s usually a winter round to be had. I’ve got thin blood these days for the cold, walking is the only way it stays manageable. Cover the head and hands at all costs too.
Gus
Oct 27, 2013 at 11:28 am
I just played 36-hole today in Toronto (Canada) in sub 10C degrees…. It was windy, cold, even hailed a bit an then sunshine broke through and was pretty crazy weather.
I wore: Underlayer long sleeves, golf Polo, then a Solomon X-country ski top (it was thin, flexible, and very warm). I wore traditional golf pants but ski socks underneath, and FJ weather gloves. On top of my golf cap I wore an oversize toque over it, covering my ears. I was warm all day and had no issues playing
In terms of golf equipment, I have adjustable shafts in my driver, 3W, and 3 hybrid, so I swapped in softer, but heavier and shorter shafts with slightly undersized grips. In the cold I won’t be making as good a shoulder turn so I won’t generate enough club head speed, and the shorter shaft is easier to swing Rymthically with more heft. Since I got 2 gloves on the smaller grip on my winter wood shafts makes sense.
As for ball I just buy the cheapest Yellow ball available, since I have lost balls in the fairways that were plugged or hidden under leaves so no point buying yellow tour balls!
And most importantly, play for position off the tee – you will lose 1 to 2 club length and it is nearly impossible to play out of the rough (if you can find the ball) so hitting fairways is imperative!
And most importantly, play it forward from the shorter tees and keep the round enjoyable!
Paul Kaster
Oct 27, 2013 at 8:19 pm
Gus, great ideas here! I especially like the heavier and softer shafts in your adjustable clubs. It’s amazing how technological change in the last few years allows you to adapt clubs to cold weather play. Great enthusiasm for the game. Thanks!
TL
Oct 27, 2013 at 11:27 am
Having lived and played in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Cleveland, I know how to optimize my game and lengthen the season:
1) electrically heated vest with compression heatgear shirt underneath (you don’t want any more layers preventing the heat from the vest from getting through). Available at TGW.com or multiple others on-line. I cannot stand having bulky jackets with long sleeves in my way, this option gets around all that! If your core is warm, you are warm!
2) If cloudy, very windy, or below 45 farenheit, add thin cashmere sweater or Mizuno Windlite sweater over heated vest.
3) Polar-Fleece mittens (Titleist)with slit in palm so you can stick your hand through, pull mitts up onto wrists, hit your shot, then cover your hands immediately again. Roomy enough to wear golf glove and add hand warmers if you must, but you can just stick your hands in your pockets with the heated vest. Haven’t seen these mitts for sale anywhere lately though.
4) Finally-low compression 2 piece ball. Be ready to lose a few in the uncut rough or leaves especially in the fall. Yellow balls are a lot easier to follow and find in grey weather (unless they land in a pile of yellow leaves)….and highly illegal, consider keeping your balls in a pocket in your bag with ball-warmers and rotate balls each hole–will add 5-10 yards off the tee and helps banish the winter loss of distance blues!
Paul Kaster
Oct 27, 2013 at 2:42 pm
The electric warming vest is a great idea! I think I may buy one this week…
TL
Nov 14, 2013 at 4:02 pm
you can have mine, I’m moving to Arizona!
Paul Kaster
Nov 16, 2013 at 6:15 pm
Good one, TL, very funny!
Richard
Oct 27, 2013 at 12:05 am
Great article and better timing. I will be playing in the morning here in michigan and doing all of what you suggested. I have cut the sleeves off a compression shirt and wear it under a lined mizuno sweater. That and a stocking cap with mittens and heaters in the pockets. Cover with heater in hand. All good!!! Soon the snow will fly and 12 weeks off for the winter so I want to get every round in.
Paul Kaster
Oct 27, 2013 at 2:37 pm
Thanks, Richard! Hope you had a great round today. You should be able to get several more rounds in before winter arrives in Michigan and I hope you enjoy them all!
paul
Oct 26, 2013 at 9:26 am
Where i live we have golf on a frozen lake every year. its a par 3 course. haven’t played it my self so.i don’t know how they find the ball… i think its a hollow rubber ball that won’t sink in the snow. once you get on a green you put out on a fake grass green. i would love to try it this year.
Paul Kaster
Oct 26, 2013 at 7:08 pm
That sounds like a blast, Paul! You should definitely give it a try. I’m sure the camaraderie is a lot of fun.
cce
Oct 25, 2013 at 3:12 pm
I’ve played in 3 Celsius temperature, that’s 37.4 F to you Americans, and something that really helps is walking the course if you are not in a hurry. It sure feels cold but once the sun starts shining it is good to go. Some days are more miserable than others but I still sweat just by walking. I wear a thermal under shirt, a sweater, a beanie and the sweater comes off after the 4th hole.
Another good ball for the winter is the Srixon Soft Feel.
W
Oct 25, 2013 at 2:08 pm
Not to be a smarta$$ but here in California the last 2 weeks, the weather has been in the low 80’s. Move to a more golf friendly region year around.
Ed
Oct 25, 2013 at 3:35 pm
That would be reasonable if they started paying me to golf..
naflack
Oct 26, 2013 at 2:17 am
ill take my october golf in minnesota over that everyday, true story.
Ed
Oct 25, 2013 at 12:06 pm
5. Staying hydrated
This isn’t anything new to the hardcore golfer but it plays an even more important role in the cooler weather. Keeping a flask full of your favorite brown liquor will keep your bones warm and your inhibitions low. Modern science tells us that drinking in the cold weather actually makes you colder because it thins your blood.. Well, they’re wrong and we all know it. Having a few swigs of Johnny Walker Blue while you’re waiting for the frost delay to end will have you ready to take on even the toughest of holes. But it doesn’t stop there.. have a 205 par 3 into a the wind on a 40 degree day? Have a few nips of some brandy and you’ll be doing the cha cha all the way to the bank. Sure, you might take a triple bogey on the hole but you’ll have the joy and youthful exuberance displayed on tour by the likes of Miguel Angel Jimenez. After your round you’ll struggle to remember what you shot but that doesn’t matter because now you’ve got a belly full of scotch and are ready to take on the nastiest ditch pig there is at the 19th hole.
Andrew
Oct 26, 2013 at 1:25 pm
Love it!!
Johnny
Oct 26, 2013 at 2:05 pm
Hahaha!!! I couldn’t agree more!
Ken
Nov 11, 2013 at 6:19 pm
The brown juice also lowers expectations. I like it. Kentucky is right up the road from Nashville … Brown juice paradise.
Allen
Oct 25, 2013 at 11:40 am
Paul,
As a former high school golfer in Michigan who had the state finals at the end of October each year, I completely agree with everything you said. When you have to play competitive golf at the end of October and you are trying to win a state title, you have no choice but to get a little crafty.
One thing we would do is wear sweatpants instead of khakis. We primarily did this because it was so cold and windy that our rain pants would never come off. The combination of tights, sweatpants and rain pants are unbelievably comforatble when it’s borderline snowing out.
We also all used football hand warmers that clip around your waste. We would load them with hand warmers and you could wear it in front of you while you were walking and flip it behind you to get it out of your way when you are swinging or putting. Using a football hand warmer is so much better than having a hand warmer in each of your pockets. It’s easier to walk with, you can rub your hands together inside of it and you can put as many warmers inside of it as you want. I highly suggest buying one if you play a lot of winter golf.
If you’re not sure what I mean by a football hand warmer, here is a link: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12180098&cp=4406646.4413887.4414035.4414019.4414474
Paul Kaster
Oct 25, 2013 at 8:06 pm
Thanks, Allen! I forgot to include the football hand warmers…They are definitely indispensable when you walk the course in cold weather. Thanks for the comments and the link!
Jim
Oct 25, 2013 at 7:59 am
I would agree that golf this time of year in New England is pretty good, with less people and green fees cut in half at times. Using a yellow E6 ball really helps when you’re dealing with leaves and even snow. Hand warmers really do help – put them in your pockets and rotate your golf ball to keep them warm as well as your hands too. Using winter golf gloves really helps too, but I usually still use the regular glove with the winter glove on the opposite hand. Compression (cold) shirts work great and allow near normal movement. I’d add that on really cold days you’ll need an ice pick to put your tee in the ground though (not kidding). Enjoy the round!!
naflack
Oct 25, 2013 at 12:47 am
Strangely enough I still hit my pro v1 farther in the cold…?
Soul
Oct 25, 2013 at 12:21 am
don’t forget those fannypack hand warmers that NFL QBs wear if you’re walking, put your hand in them in bt shots and flip it around when you swing!!!
Nick
Oct 25, 2013 at 12:21 am
I play at least once a month from December-March here in Rochester NY. I typically switch to a regular prov1 vs the x – and usually a good base layer does the trick.
ironically i think ive played some of my best rounds after august.
[email protected]
Oct 25, 2013 at 9:54 am
I too have had some of my better rounds in poorer weather. Hard to over swing when it’s cold or the ground is wet I suppose.
mick
Oct 24, 2013 at 7:28 pm
A leather chair, TV and glass of scotch are also essentials for cold weather. See you in April
Reyes
Oct 24, 2013 at 7:09 pm
Golf this time of year in NYC is perfect. Very few people out there, the courses are in surprisingly good condition and you can play for almost half the cost of a round in the summer.
As for clothing, could not agree, more. A pair of cords, cold weather Under Armour with a comfortable pull over and I’m good to go. A warm hat is a must as is anything that has been aged 15 years. 🙂