Tips For Playing Golf In Cold Weather

Golf Monthly

14/12/2023

Here are our top tips for playing golf in cold weather!

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 So this is the first of five tips for playing in the winter.

00:08 And obviously what we find a lot,

00:09 you get in some wet fairways, you get muddy lies.

00:12 And a great tip is really, I think,

00:14 is to play them much like you would do

00:15 a fairway bunker shot.

00:17 So for that in mind, what I would tend to do

00:19 is I'd narrow the stance down a little bit.

00:21 I'd actually, the other thing I always encourage players

00:23 to do is to aim towards the front of the ball.

00:26 So of course in the winter, we've got pick and place.

00:28 So my ball is finished here.

00:30 So what I'd actually do here is I'd turn it round

00:33 so I can actually see the line.

00:35 So obviously I'll use that for putting,

00:36 but in this instance, I'm gonna put it down like this.

00:39 So now when I actually address the ball,

00:42 I'm actually looking at the front half of the ball.

00:44 And this will ensure that I catch the ball first

00:46 rather than the turf.

00:47 'Cause as you know, on a damp fairway,

00:49 if you hit behind the ball,

00:50 you're just gonna end up with no distance whatsoever.

00:53 So if I demonstrate, narrow the stance down.

00:58 Looking down the fairway,

01:00 I'm looking towards the front of the ball.

01:02 And I can see how the ball's come off there really nicely.

01:08 It's got turf second, and I've got a nice shallow contact

01:11 that I haven't dug down into it.

01:13 And that's really critical

01:14 when you're playing off wet fairways.

01:16 So here's a really important tip in the winter.

01:19 Ground conditions are gonna get a little bit soggy.

01:21 We need to get more stability.

01:22 So what I work on is actually narrowing the stance down.

01:25 And of course that also has an effect

01:26 of just bringing the spine a little bit steeper.

01:28 So it'll actually help lower your ball flight,

01:30 which is a good thing this time of year.

01:32 So you can see here,

01:32 I've set up for my normal three-wood shot.

01:35 So my feet, I put the balls down

01:36 to measure where I normally would be.

01:39 So I'd stand to here.

01:40 We'll just give this one a hit.

01:43 So that will be my normal setup to there.

01:49 So now what I would practice

01:51 is literally standing inside of these balls.

01:54 So I'd actually have my stance a little narrower here.

01:57 Same idea.

02:00 And I can immediately feel

02:05 I'm a lot more stable from that setup.

02:07 And that's something that we're all gonna need this winter.

02:09 So my big bugbear about golf balls is

02:12 I see a lot of golfers

02:13 with all sorts of a jumble in their bag.

02:15 And really you wanna find a ball that's best for you.

02:17 There's a lot of great ball fitting out there.

02:19 In the pro shops,

02:20 you can find out what is the best ball for you.

02:22 And once you do, definitely fill your bag with it.

02:25 Certainly in the winter,

02:26 my feeling is find something a little bit firmer

02:29 and you'll find a little bit more distance off the tee.

02:31 And certainly when you get on the greens,

02:32 they're really damp.

02:33 That firmer ball will definitely roll out a bit easier.

02:36 So major improvement I think in golf in the winter

02:39 is the clothing.

02:40 You've got these companies now offering the base layer,

02:43 mid layer and outer layer.

02:44 And you can move so much easier than with the old equipment.

02:47 So jackets are now much lighter.

02:48 So this is the first time today,

02:50 it's actually stopped raining.

02:51 So I'm gonna take this off and you can see here,

02:54 I've got this nice smart layer on underneath,

02:57 but they're really warm.

02:58 And of course the other great thing about these jackets

03:00 is they're so light,

03:01 they don't add any weight to your bag.

03:03 So I've got the mid layer that keeps you really warm.

03:06 I can move a lot easier than I could with the old equipment.

03:08 Then I've got a base layer underneath

03:10 and that really keeps me nice and warm.

03:12 But as I say, the movement is the big thing.

03:14 And I think, you know,

03:15 if you haven't shopped for golf equipment for a few years,

03:18 get into your local pro shop and have a look round

03:20 and get yourself something smart.

03:22 As the weather gets colder,

03:23 I always think it's a really good idea

03:24 to actually carry a golf bag.

03:26 There's several reasons for that.

03:27 As you know, the green keepers have to rope areas off

03:30 so you can actually walk straight to your ball

03:31 if you're walking.

03:32 And I also think, you know, with the colder weather,

03:35 you definitely work a little bit harder.

03:36 So it's better for you.

03:37 And it's better for the ground as well

03:39 because less trolleys on the golf course.

03:42 The other thing you can consider,

03:43 I've got a full set here,

03:44 but then maybe play with a three-quarter set

03:46 or even what I'm really keen on,

03:48 which I've often run competitions,

03:50 is have a seven club challenge.

03:51 So you take two long, two medium,

03:54 two short clubs and a putter.

03:55 And it's a really interesting way to find out

03:57 the differences between your clubs.

03:59 And obviously at this time of year,

04:00 the difference between say a six and a seven iron

04:03 starts to get quite little.

04:04 So I think that's quite an interesting addition

04:07 to your golf game in any case.

04:09 So definitely if you're able to, give it a try.

04:11 These bags are really light now.

04:13 They're fantastic, really well balanced.

04:15 And I definitely am a big advocate for that in the winter.

04:18 (club clatters)

04:21 So there's five simple tips

04:26 that I think will help your winter game.

04:28 So I hope you enjoyed them.

04:29 (upbeat music)

04:32 (upbeat music)

04:35 (upbeat music)

Tips For Playing Golf In Cold Weather

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