25 Reasons To Love Winter Golf

Playing golf through the winter is always something I’ve done. I can’t really understand why you wouldn’t. Golf is the sport I love the most and I’d be sad to only play it for seven months of the year. I know many people who adamantly choose to put their clubs in the loft on October 31 and then don’t dust them down again until April. I feel they’re missing a trick. There’s a huge amount to enjoy about winter golf if one is prepared to embrace the differences and the challenges. There are social, physical, mental and competitive benefits to playing golf through the winter and I can’t recommend doing it highly enough. Here are my 25 reasons to love winter golf...

The camaraderie

There’s great respect between winter golfers. Those who are hardy enough to take to the fairways through the colder months recognise and admire fellow battlers and friendships are often struck up between winter golfers; friendships that wouldn’t otherwise be forged. There’s always a wave or a nod from other groups playing through the mud and the sleet and there’s a great mutual sense of achievement back in the clubhouse after a winter Stableford. The camaraderie of winter golf is reason enough not to put the clubs under the stairs until spring.

The kit

All golfers love their kit, whether they cherish old favourites or relish new acquisitions. Winter golf provides a multitude of options for considering new items of equipment or looking out trusted favourites to aid in the battle against the elements. From bobble hats, hand warmers and buffs to castellated tees and winter trolley wheels, from double rain gloves to mitts and mats and quilted caps, there’s so much tinkering to be enjoyed. Winter golf is perfect for the equipment fiend.

The pint after

A pint (or other drink of your choice) after a round is always hugely welcome, whether it’s required for refreshment, celebration or solace. In the winter, that pint becomes even more of a feature of the day’s play. It really is a beacon of light – something to keep you going in those low moments when horizontal rain is doing its utmost to battle through your waterproof zips. The pint (or other drink of your choice) after winter golf is like manna from heaven.

Quiet fairways

Since Covid, golf has been booming in the UK and around the world. That’s great news, but it does mean courses have been rather busy. During the summer, at many clubs up and down the country, getting a suitable tee time on popular days can be something of a challenge. That challenge is greatly reduced in the winter. Getting out onto an empty course, you can feel like you’re playing billionaire’s golf. And that leads to…

Short rounds

It’s quieter, so there are fewer hold ups and groups may be more inclined to let faster players come through. And, as the weather tends to be more testing, people are more likely to just get on with it – ploughing through to the finish with heightened purpose. Courses are often shorter, too, with forward tees and perhaps even the odd hole out of play. The tiresome five-hour round can be nearly halved, allowing far more of the day for putting up Christmas trees or visiting a home depot... maybe best to go round twice!

Target golf

Through the winter, courses are generally softer (unless they’re frozen) and you can really practise ‘throwing darts’ with approach shots. Everything stops quickly, so you work out your carry yardages more effectively and put that to use. Take dead aim and fire it in! It’s very satisfying, but it’s also good for improving your accuracy and control.

Cheaper green fees

Most courses in the UK and Ireland have winter green fee rates and there are great deals to be had, even at some of the most prestigious clubs in the country. The winter is a good time to plan a little road trip and visit some different courses. If you pick a links course, you’ll often find them in fine condition through the winter, but you might end up paying half the price you would in the summer. Have a look at club websites and check out the deals on offer.

The chance to socialise

In our dark northern isles, winters can be long and lonely. Outside of work (and more people now work from home), there are fewer reasons to get out and meet people during the colder months. Golf provides an opportunity to do so. It gives you the chance to spend a few hours with people you like, or even to meet people you might grow to like. Golf is one of the great social sports.

Those perfect days

Let’s face it, there are tough golfing days through the winter, but they make those perfect winter days on the links even more special. When the air is crisp and still and the sun is shining on the greens, it feels as though you’ve been let into some incredible secret. “Those summer-only golfers are missing a trick,” you quip as you stride out onto a deserted course.

The challenge

When the conditions are testing, winter golf can be tough, but rather than avoiding the difficulty, the challenge should be embraced. Learn how to deal with the wind, find a way to keep your kit dry and cope with those muddy lies and uneven greens. If you manage to battle to a reasonable score in winter weather, the satisfaction is heightened. And, when you face perfect summer conditions again, it should seem like a piece of cake.

The practice

If you don’t play through the winter, you will be rusty at the start of the following season. You may have forgotten some of the things you had been working on. Why would you spend a whole summer season making progress, only to take two steps back again by quitting for five months?

A chance to work on your game

There are fewer competitions, so you can go on the course with a plan to make the odd change or two that you wouldn’t have risked experimenting on during the main season. The practice grounds will be quiet, so you can spend time developing new shots or honing your skills. The best option of all is to take a course of lessons to come out all guns blazing in the new season.

The half set

There’s something more relaxed about winter golf. It’s not as serious – people nip out for a few holes or pop down to the club for a couple of hours before dark. Get yourself a pencil bag, sling in six or seven clubs and stroll off for a quick knock. There’s something liberating and refreshing about a half set and it helps you with shot-making to boot. You’ll have to adapt for certain distances and you’ll realise you can do it. Maybe a half set is all you need! 

The winter league

Many clubs will hold a winter-long event to keep your competitive juices flowing. It could be an eclectic, or best six scores perhaps, or maybe just a weekly event with points counting to an order of merit. It’s great fun to stay competitive through the winter and it keeps you sharp as a new season approaches. It’s also good for a bit of rivalry and banter with your clubmates. As is…

The winter knockout

At many places, this can be foursomes, which is a great format and one that’s really good for a bit of banter and the chance for bragging rights through the winter. You meet new people, forge a relationship with your partner and play some shots from some interesting spots. If you have a good run in the winter knockout, you’ll be the talk of the club and you’ll have something to focus on through the cold months. 

Winter golf holidays

You don’t need to be a masochist for the whole winter… why not jet off to play some golf for a week with the sun on your back? There’s nothing that offers hope in the bleak midwinter more than the prospect of a golfing trip to sunnier climes. Whether in southern Europe or more distant destinations, a winter golf holiday offers something to look forward to when the nights draw in. 

Indoor golf

There are other ways to avoid the cold, wind and rain and still play golf through the winter. Indoor golf simulators are now of such good quality that you can really feel you are playing some of the great courses in virtual reality. When there’s six inches of snow outside, what better than to spend an hour knocking it round Pebble Beach?

Waterproofs

Golf waterproofs are really cool, and really expensive! We all have them, but how often do we properly put them through their paces? These amazing garments have been constructed to withstand the most challenging conditions the elements can throw at us and they deserve us to take them out. What’s the point of buying stylish, £400 waterproofs and stowing them in your golf bag, never for them to see the light of day?

Peace and quiet

The fairways in the winter are lovely and quiet. There are fewer people out and about in general; fewer dog walkers, fewer barbecues in neighbouring gardens and fewer boy racers showing off the hole in their exhaust. On a clear winter’s day, all you’ll hear on the golf course is the sound of your breath and the strike of your club on the ball. It can be invigorating.

A chat in the pro shop

There’s no pressure on the tee sheet, so you’ve got time to spare. Pull into an empty car park and go for a chinwag with the pro or assistant. You might talk equipment, you might talk technique, you might just talk about what you had for dinner last night. It’s simply a pleasant way to spend 15 minutes.

The Sunday carvery

Winter weekends are greatly improved by a good Sunday roast and many golf clubs provide an excellent, hearty example of one. The Sunday carvery will not only fill you and warm you up, but it will also provide another opportunity to meet up with family and friends you might not otherwise see too often through the winter. 

Watching sport

After your game on the weekend, you might well find there’s some good sport to watch as you enjoy that post-round pint. It’s good socialising when you can go in to find a Six Nations game, an FA Cup match or a golf tournament from somewhere warmer.

Hot drinks on the course

What a joy it is on a chilly winter’s morning when your playing partner produces a Thermos from his bag on the 9th tee. It’s a welcome break, a chance to have a little chat with your playing partners and a great way to warm yourself up. Even better, they might produce a wee hip flask to turn the hot drink into something a little more interesting! 

The exercise

It’s all too easy to become sedentary in the winter. You’re either at your desk, driving to your desk or on your sofa looking out at dreich weathers. It’s hard to find motivation to get out and exercise. Golf will keep the engine room ticking and your muscles loose. It offers a five-mile walk while making athletic movements. Golf is good for you.

The alternatives

I guess you could go to church instead… or, really, what else will you do in the winter when you would otherwise be playing golf in the summer? Would you prefer to be deep cleaning the bathroom or re-painting the spare bedroom? Would you rather be visiting the in-laws or going ten-pin bowling? If you’re not playing golf, you’re putting yourself in a position where you have no excuses. Risky...