What do you do differently in winter?

milltown

Obviously I don't mean warmer, dryer clothes.

Taking a club or two more to compensate for the lack of run on the fairways. Being more aggressive around the greens because the ball will stop more easily. That kind of thing is what I mean.

This is the first winter I've played right through, getting out once or twice a week, but I've hit a slump. I feel like I'm getting worse this past few weeks whereas I presumed more golf = more good at golf.

Anybody got any tips for enjoying and getting the most out of playing in winter?

css

I play a lot more chip and run shots, and have been taking up to 4-5 extra clubs, depending on the wind/air temperature. The most important thing though is to make sure you take enough club on your second shot, as you said you are able to be a bit more aggressive..

TheDoc

tbh i just dont play winter, its placing in and **** high handicap golfers get the prizes so no point really.

Plus been playing recently for my clubs barton/metro cup trials, and course so sosgy i couldnt use wedges, you physically couldnt it just cut through the soil.

GreeBo

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

**** high handicap golfers get the prizes so no point really.

Tells me all I need to know about you really.:cool:

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

Plus been playing recently for my clubs barton/metro cup trials

oh wait, theres more.:rolleyes:

J.R.HARTLEY

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

tbh i just dont play winter, its placing in and **** high handicap golfers get the prizes so no point really.

Plus been playing recently for my clubs barton/metro cup trials, and course so sosgy i couldnt use wedges, you physically couldnt it just cut through the soil.

well our clubs lowest H/C member just won the winter league.
as for placing it only seems fair when your ball has plugged an inch under the surface of the fairway due to the extreme irish conditions.

and for me it's the sign of a really good golfer when he can't use the game improver clubs like wedges but rather has to rely on his talent for the game instead.

i always liked winter golf for the main reason that as you practice what the pro tells you throughout the winter you'll be well trained at whatever you were weak on in time for the good weather. plus it's great to watch that drive you worked all winter on gain a dozen or more yards during the summer months, and roll too.

TheDoc

Well take me for example. Have brought in for 12 hole comps 26 points,27 and 29 to lose out to 20+ handicappers. I jsut find I play winter golf just to get out or to practice something, cause winning in so random like, placing etc etc.

And I dont know bout anyone else but the distance range between my SWedge and PWedge is absolutly enourmous. I had to invest into a gap wedge.

I jsut find that in the horrible soggy conditions like it has been on my course the last few weeks, its a joke to play ,especially when your trying to impress managers on teams. And it wasnt jsut me it was all the players i played it, couldnt use wedges or any club that had a thin base, as it jsut sliced through the muck.

Some funny moments though, always nice to see someone fall and slide down a hill on the muck =D

And Greebo theres nothing wrong with wanting to win, or having a contention like.

But not so much when your in matchplay, guy goes ebtween a tree and can take his 12 inches and take a pop at the green.

But hey thats golf i guess =D

css

Ah GreeBo, don't mind doc, he's having a whine, he's entitled to it!!

JR: Just won it myself although we play a fourball format..

Doc: I got a gap wedge myself, really needed it.. But to be honest you strike me as relying in your wedges WAY too much.. If the ground is all soggy and sh!tty, I've a fair idea of my game, so i can readjust and play a different shot. Sure you'll get into situations where you HAVE to play a pitch, and it can be tougher, but it's not the percentage shot in a lot of cases.. You gotta remember that the conditions are the same for everyone, it's how you adjust to them is what makes your score worse/better..

J.R.HARTLEY

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

Well take me for example. Have brought in for 12 hole comps 26 points,27 and 29 to lose out to 20+ handicappers. I jsut find I play winter golf just to get out or to practice something, cause winning in so random like, placing etc etc.

if people like that are consistently winning you should query their h/c's with the secretary, he mightn't be aware of the presence of bandits.

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

guy goes ebtween a tree and can take his 12 inches and take a pop at the green.

But hey thats golf i guess =D

as far as i recall placing is no closer the hole and you must keep any obstacle between you and the ball, someone can clarify that for me cause i'm not sure, but if i'm right, call the next person you see doing it.
12 inches is a lot for placing, i've only ever encountered 6 and thats just fairway but i know some places give everywhere placing due to extreme conditions, theoretically 6 inches is not going to be enough to get them out of trouble the tree should still be in the players way if not the balls, if they are moving well away, say something, it's roughly the length of a footprint for 12 inches so don't be letting the cheats take advantage of you.

stringy

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

Well take me for example. Have brought in for 12 hole comps 26 points,27 and 29 to lose out to 20+ handicappers. I jsut find I play winter golf just to get out or to practice something, cause winning in so random like, placing etc etc.

But hey thats golf i guess =D

Tell me about it!! 30 points for 12, 35pts and 37pts for 15. In fourball 40pts and 41 pts for 15 and still no prizes!!! Just means I'll clean up over the coming months when the real golf starts

Anywhere I've played it 6" drop not 12. I've also be playing in the barton and other inter club comp trials so maybe they took note of my good performance

GreeBo

ball must hit the ground withing 6 inches, though it can roll up to a club length (not closer to the hole obviously)

I have no problems with competition, what I do have a problem with is you slagging someone because they have a higher (golf) handicap than you have.

Placing/Dropping actually removes a lot of the luck element as everyone can give themselves a "perfect" lie.

Everyone has a great round in the winter, temp/soft greens means that you can have a perfect day.
How many people are in your club?
Winners wont get cut during winter rules, though they may get temp reductions if they actually get a prize. There are only so many who get prizes yet there are many playing below their handicap.
Deal with it and dont begrudge them, after all, you get to play on all your clubs super douper teams...

TheDoc

the ball can be moved abck 12 inches, or to the side as long as it is not deemed nearer the hole. so they can gain massive advantage

One player in my club has won 13 times since january in winter comps and hes still off 23.

I'm not powerfully reliant on my wedges. WEll i am and i amnt. I usually find myself hitting short wedges into green, and alot of the time my gap wedge, its just like my sand wedge and a half =D

I'm just saying i dont like the way my course, my course, gets power soggy and even irons like 7 and 8 take massive chunks and go nowhere. Its annoying. For me personally cause i hit a fade i come more steep on impact causing steep divots, in winter i lose so much distance.

but im jsut used to using my wedges round the green, likew e can al talk bout technology and lack of skill like, i can still use my other clubs jsut i like using my wedge to stitch it close.

Dman_15

The only way to get cut when not playing 18 hole comps is under the general play rule. Its entirely at the handicap secretary's discression. If you take exception to someone winning that many comps, without being cut, write a letter to the hc secretary.
Under our club constitution, the very least he or she has to do is reply to your concerns. It got to the point in our club where enough people got p1ssed off with bandits and began boycotting club competitions.

Placing and lift clean drop has a huge impact on SS. Its been 38 - 39 points all winter here with us. in summer its never higher than 35.

milltown

I have to disagree with Greebo's point that everybody can have a perfect lie thanks to placing. I've played a few courses this winter, most notably Rathcore this week, where the fairways are so heavily sanded that you can't find two blades of grass close enough together to try balance a ball on!

I'd sooner be in the first cut of rough in those cases!

DIEGO WORST

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

One player in my club has won 13 times since january in winter comps and hes still off 23.

Really annoying, isn't it!?! Thankfully my club admins winter handicaps, anyone who picks up a prize, automatically gets cut two shots. Gives everyone a chance to win - very few people have won two comps, don't think any one individual has won more than two. Winter Handicaps are dispensed with, once summer rules begin.

The placing within 6 inches rule is suspect - Most are genuine 6" placements - but some placements I've seen would be closer to 6 feet. Then there's guys who can place the ball so nicely, they can hit it with a 460cc driver. But when the ball picks up so much muck, you can't really expect players to play as it lies......

J.R.HARTLEY

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

the ball can be moved abck 12 inches, or to the side as long as it is not deemed nearer the hole. so they can gain massive advantage

sounds to me like firstly you should chat to the H/C secratery about the bandit, then enquire as to why you're placing is 12 inches and not 6 like most other clubs are, there is no rule in golf that states what length it has to be so someone at your club has decided 12 inches, maybe ask for clarification of the clubs local ruling as again preffered winter lies are under the local rules. and thirdly if you are watching someone place their ball make sure they mark it, it's a one stroke penalty for not marking a ball beforing lifting it,
man if there's one universal truth it's that moaning about something won't get it done, go and start investigating or talking to people cause otherwise you'll be stuck in that nightmare forever

css

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

One player in my club has won 13 times since january in winter comps and hes still off 23.

What was he originally off? Surely general play cuts come into effect after 2 wins... Sounds like the GUI should get a little anonymous phonecall... Carlow GC had a GUI audit recently, and a few lads i know were cut because of 'past performances'... go figure..

TheDoc

he is off 23 still hasnt been cut. I brought it up today with a few guys i know who are on the like handicapp comitee and they gave a honest answer. " Hes not a good golfer, he jsut hits a long ball and since its placing, hes jsut teeing everything up. " I still think it takes a bit more then jsut teeing it up, anyways he played some guy recently in matchplay for a club team and got hammered. But still 11 wins deserves a cut.

Plus i think most clubs ahs that in rough you get 12 inches while fairway 6 inches. Today i took advantage of the rule, afew times in spinneys with some approaches to par 5's, simply jsut moved the ball to the right, called over partners andw e all agreed no nearer the whole, and bang chances to hit the pin= / to easy imo. =(

Tomorow have my Barton cup trial hopefully the course dries out a bit, todya ahad another horrible time with approaching the greens with my pw/sw/ and wedges.

J.R.HARTLEY

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

Plus i think most clubs ahs that in rough you get 12 inches while fairway 6 inches. Today i took advantage of the rule, afew times in spinneys with some approaches to par 5's, simply jsut moved the ball to the right, called over partners andw e all agreed no nearer the whole, and bang chances to hit the pin= / to easy imo. =(

are you takin the mickey, most clubs play 6 inch placing on fairways only,some give no placing in the rough at all, as the ball shouldn't pick up that much dirt or plug due to the amount of grass.
any place that gives 12 inch placing is doing there members a disservice, man i have never come across 12 inch placing ever! you're the first person to mention it to me. the only point is to move you away from any bare patches or take you out of your plug marks

pwee

I have encountered the 12 inch in rough and 6 on fairway that the doc is on about, but i play on a very wet parkland in the west of ireland. When there is placing everywhere it's an advantage to higher handicaps i suppose, the higher handicap can hit it anywhere in the rough and not be penalised. It doesn't bother me and i enjoy playing with all ranges of handicaps, golf is a great social game and that is something that should never be forgotten.

Attention Doc

I was just thinking how i had a vokey that i could only use properly when the ground was very soft due to it having a lot of bounce so maybe you could use a wedge like dat in wet conditions.

GreeBo

milltown wrote:

I have to disagree with Greebo's point that everybody can have a perfect lie thanks to placing. I've played a few courses this winter, most notably Rathcore this week, where the fairways are so heavily sanded that you can't find two blades of grass close enough together to try balance a ball on!

I'd sooner be in the first cut of rough in those cases!

Well then you should aim for the rough!
The point I was trying to make is that everyone gets to place, its not just the high handicaps. Placing is an advantage to everyone, not just high handicappers, as it seems DOC is trying to make out.

GreeBo

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

todya ahad another horrible time with approaching the greens with my pw/sw/ and wedges.

Why not leave yourself more club to the green?
7,8,9 for example?

milltown

GreeBo wrote:

Well then you should aim for the rough!
The point I was trying to make is that everyone gets to place, its not just the high handicaps. Placing is an advantage to everyone, not just high handicappers, as it seems DOC is trying to make out.

Yeah, aiming a golf ball is on my list of things to learn this year

TheDoc

yup we use 12 inches.

I find it a bit more advantageous to high handicappers because they can drop out from high trees and when they hit rough, which on my course is a disadvantage really, they can jsut tee it up and hit green or go for the green, the penalty for hitting rough is eliminated and the low handicappers who hit long and straight, there advantage is gone.

Its realy frustrating me cause the abd conditions are costing me big time, and this is the time when tam managers are out looking at me and my cards. I'm finding it very difficult to chip. My chipping was always por but i had it sorted, last few weeks with soft ground etc its gone pear shaped, had to leave the wedges alone and use my sand wedge.

To whoever mentioned soft round, i prefer thehard ground, i find soft ground the club cuts too much into it and flops the ball, it doesnt strike the actual ball, my bottom of my vokeys are very thin to generate more spin for me.

And yea again we have 12 inches =D but my course gets very very very soggy and wet,

TabulaRasa22

[DM]-TheDOC- wrote:

To whoever mentioned soft round, i prefer thehard ground, i find soft ground the club cuts too much into it and flops the ball, it doesnt strike the actual ball, my bottom of my vokeys are very thin to generate more spin for me.

You can compensate for that I think, but you shouldn't have to...