One of my long time students, Dan, my life insurance agent, called to discuss my policy with me. He started by discussing the previous day's PPGS daily article about as we get older we lose distance. Dan then went on to talk about really losing distance when he played a few days earlier. He said the temperature was in the low 50s, it was damp and chilly to the bone, and the course was playing exceptionally long after a lot of rain the week before. The course was playing CPO (cart path only) and golf was not enjoyable. He said that he would never have been playing under those conditions if it were not for an important tournament.
Dan, a solid 3 handicap, said he shot 78 and felt really good about it. It was a good score for the conditions. The cold temperature made hitting his golf balls feel like they were rocks. They flew lower and much shorter. They hit the fairway and plugged or, many times, got negative roll bouncing backwards. The course from the member tees 'played longer' than playing from the championship tees on a warm day with dry fairways. Dan said that he played the last 6 holes with cold feet and freezing fingers barely able to hold the club. He remarked with enthusiasm and satisfaction that he felt his 6 over 78 was really an extra good round and one to be proud of considering the cold, wet, and no roll conditions.
I played that same day, teeing off around 11:30 a.m. with Jack. It was 39 degrees. They just opened the course with the greens thawing out from the below freezing temperature the previous night. We decided to play the member (white) tees as we knew the course would play long and tough. Even with playing forward tees, our drives were still short of where they were from the back tees on warm and dry days. The course was a sponge and giving up zero to negative roll because of torrential rains a few days earlier. The golf ball rocks were going less distance in the air and no distance on the ground so we were hitting approach shots with much longer clubs than normal when playing from the back tees. The course playing longer was not the only challenge.
The biggest challenge was the condition of the greens. The rain a few days earlier had them soft and spongy and loaded with foot prints. Add to that, they froze a little and then thawed, only compounding the foot print problem. Putting for the day was more about bounce than roll, so keeping the ball tracking on line was highly unlikely to happen. The good news was it was not windy.
The key to cold weather play is simply to keep WARM and DRY, especially your feet and hands. Jack had a cart cover and also a heater inside. Many players who play a lot in the winter have these two winter gear accessories and they are legal. As for clothes, I always wear a t-shirt, then a long sleeve thermal shirt under a long sleeve golf shirt. I wear wool or some other extra thick winter type of winter slack. For outerwear I use either a good windbreaker, either sleeveless or with sleeves, depending on the conditions and how I feel. Many players will just wear their rain suit, which is great for the wind and rain.
The last two important winter weather gear tips are you must have a warm hat, as most heat loss is through the head and gloves to keep your hands warm. I also may put on an extra pair of socks. Hand warmers are OK but they cannot be used to keep your golf balls warm. What I do is play with 3 balls alternating every hole so the other two stay warm in my pocket. Another point about having warm golf balls is to keep them in the house the night before, as staying in the trunk in a cold to freezing night takes them up a few levels on the rock hardness scale. Finally, on the point of warm gear, I always take my golf shoes out of the trunk and put them on the front floor so the heat can warm them up. Putting warm feet into freezing shoes is not good.
The last thing for playing in cold weather is the attitude and approach you take to the first tee. Sometimes under great conditions and the course was playing easy, you hear golfers comment after a round on a par 72 course saying 'par for today was 69.' Conversely, on extra tough days they say 'par for today was 75. This is the same as Dan's comment. He was real happy and satisfied with his 78.
The abnormally bad conditions are obvious and you need to start with a good mindset and know that scoring will be difficult. The course is playing longer. The greens are bumpy and likely have not been mown. You are wearing more clothes than normal, which can hinder swinging freely. You need to focus on keeping warm and dry as much as playing. These are not EXCUSES but are REALITY. The reality you need to focus on is to know and accept conditions are difficult and your score will likely be higher. Be patient, grind hard and harder and stay warm and dry.
Let the conditions get the best of you and you fail. Recognize, be prepared for, accept and embrace the REALITY of the conditions and you improve your chances for staying warmer and for playing better.
The Surge!