3 Reasons Why Winter Is The Best Time For High-Handicappers To Shoot Lower Scores
Many amateur golfers dread the arrival of winter golf, but not me. I would argue that the colder, wetter season is best time for high-handicappers to score well
Winter golf gets a bad reputation because the common perception is that it’s the ‘hardest’ time to play the game.
I’m inclined to challenge that narrative and propose a counterargument. For some golfers, including high-handicappers like me, winter golf can be fruitful.
This is the arena in which we can thrive. Many will refute that claim and suggest that if ‘less competent’ golfers struggle when the sun is shining, they have little chance of performing when the elements fight back.
So, in order to make my case, I’m going to lay out three reasons why winter is the best time for high-handicappers to shoot lower scores, which I hope will provide a little inspiration for our community to attack the season…
The Golfer Who Broke 90 In The Absence Of Sun
Before I get into the finer details of my argument, I’ll start by telling a brief story of a 20-handicapper who recently broke 90 for the first time ever (spoiler - it was me).
This achievement did not materialise in the sun-soaked domain of spring or summer, it was forged on the wind-battered, rain-doused battlefield of late autumn.
Now, you might be thinking… that’s not winter. But, let me tell you, the conditions were reflective of that time.
Hollow tined greens, whipping winds and greens so soft that it was like throwing darts (albeit, not very accurately).
This success was possible due to three factors that allowed me to play my best golf, all of which I believe apply to high-handicap golfers everywhere and should serve as motivation to make hay while the… winter chill stings your face.
1. A Lack Of Roll Can Be An Advantage
Most golfers feel penalised by the lack of roll on the fairways in winter. The moisture on the ground saps distance and the yardages they are hitting into the greens is inflated compared to a few months ago.
We know that negatively impacts an amateur's ability to hit greens in regulation, but what if that lack of roll forces high-handicappers to play more strategically?
Rather than putting the pedal to the ground on a 4-hybrid into the green, which might have been the option I’d gone for in summer, I’m now forced to lay up to within 50 yards of the green and get up and down for par, or two putt for an acceptable bogey.
No danger of this ending up in the trees on the right thanks to a nice soft bounce in the fairway
The avoidance of bunkers and other hazards around the green provides a better opportunity to take a score of seven or eight out of the equation, while adding weight to the skill of a consistent short game - which you can practice, by the way.
There is also the added benefit of the ball stopping quickly on the fairway. For a slicer of the ball who often hits the fairway but fails to hold it, the soft bounce is actually advantageous.
No more chopping out from the trees, which further helps in the preservation of shots and my newly adopted bogey-golf strategy.
2. Hold The Green More Often
On the occasion where the green is reachable in two, despite the seasonal distance tax off the tee, I am now far more likely to hold the green.
Whether I am hitting a long iron that travels in with a lower flighted trajectory or a scoring club that gives me the chance to be more creative, I love the fact that the ball tends to stop almost exactly where it lands.
Playing strategically is an easier decision when you are forced to by the distance into the green. Taking an iron (right) over a fairway wood (left) takes the big number out of play through a simple lay up
I won’t pretend to be calculating yardages with misguided notions of being able to land it on a 50-pence piece, but the putting surfaces on most courses are fairly reasonable and landing it somewhere on the short stuff is an achievable task.
Playing your third or fourth shot with a putter is a great way to shoot lower scores and cut your handicap, so any help the ground can give me in avoiding the spin-less interactions I often see in summer is much appreciated.
Oh, and don’t forget to repair your pitch marks. It’s just common decency when you are firing darts in like a pro.
3. Slow Greens, Yes Please!
Perhaps this is the reason why some of my best rounds have come on links golf courses, but I am not ashamed to admit that I love slow greens.
As an unapologetic AimPoint user, I back myself to read the greens fairly well whatever the weather - but pace control is often a different matter.
Lightning fast greens are my kryptonite, often leading a number of swipes with the flat stick and ruining the hard work I have done to avoid common high-handicap pitfalls on the way to the green.
Slow greens are kinder and more forgiving, at least for the high-handicap community. As evidenced by my first sub-90 score last week, I prefer to be able to take aim and be aggressive with my stroke.
If I can leave the ball within 3ft of the hole, I’ve avoided something that has consistently killed my pursuit of a score in the 80s - costly 3-putts.
Some of the flatter putts, with less break, are significantly more hole-able too. At least to my eye, anyway. I can be positive without worrying about de-greening it, which is a formula that I have found produces some of my better performances on the green.