Staying Sharp During Winter ?

FixdePitchmark

SO the long evenings are gone - the range is looking more attractive. The quick nine in the evening is gone, the hour on the putting green is harder to fit in, the short game area is abandoned and wind swept.

I plan to reshape the swing a bit in November.

But , do people think you can keep your game in the winter months.

Is it possible to keep the short game and putting as sharp ?
Does your game generally drift ?
Is it impossible to judge ?

I'm thinking the answer to above is, it is not possible to keep your game. But I'm newish to winter golf (2 years).

I'd be interested to hear hardened winter lads ?

ForeRight

In my case I pretty much stay the same. I shoot a few sub handicap rounds during the winter with placing but then when the real golf is back I generally float around my handicap plus or minus a stroke.

FixdePitchmark

ForeRight wrote: »

In my case I pretty much stay the same. I shoot a few sub handicap rounds during the winter with placing but then when the real golf is back I generally float around my handicap plus or minus a stroke.

ForeRight - take this as a compliment - But the stuff you have done since taking up golf seriously, is a bit freaky.

I wouldn't be using you as the norm

Stay the same, fair enough.

ForeRight

My handicap shot down very quickly alright but now I'm just frozen at the same spot the last year. I don't get to practice or play often these days and that's what I need to do to take the next step I feel.

However I'm more than happy where I'm at and don't have any real desire to get super low.

If I get a day free during the winter I'll get out and play hail, rain or snow. Won't work on anything to stay sharp as you say but rather just try play freely and enjoy without worrying about cuts etc.

ssbob

Winter 2012 was my first year of winter golf and I reckon I stayed the same or maybe went back a little playing once a fortnight or so, however was easier to kick on this year, hopefully can do a little more this winter to crack on a bit more this winter.

slingerz

I really enjoy playing in the winter! Dont know if its the laziness of 14 holes instead of 18 or the ability to place but I actually dont mind winter golf!

That said I'd imagine as a high handicapper that if i did get to the range i should mostly focus on the wedge side of things but it feels so wrong to just be hitting little 50 yard shots!

spacecoyote

I still play away when I can. This year I'm planning a more concerted effort around getting lessons though.

I generally find that my performance relative to the golfing field in my club competitions can improve in the winter (outside of the benefit of ball placement). I've quite a high ball flight, and tend to get all my distance from carry with pretty much all clubs, so the softer fairways & greens can almost suit my game relative to a lot of guys who hit the ball lower and look for a lot of run.

Its a good time to be able to practice a more aggressive approach with your short game. You can pitch the ball higher & closer & the ball shouldn't run out so much

stringy

Keep playing!

Usually my golf stays as is, and in fact it's good for the ego. Forward tees and placing usually means a few good scores. Plus the balls doesn't travel on the greens so you can attack pins with aggressive pitching and chipping. Your standard of putting should be ignored as the bumps and bounces are inevitable.

Just enjoy it if you're lucky to get out and the weather is bearable.

hades

Winter doesn't make much difference to my golf, as bad as th weather was last year, i only missed 2 Saturday morning games.

With winter rules however, it'll give you a great chance to work on things like reshaping your swing as you mentioned, as you won't be worrying about getting those pesky .1's back. Hence you are more than likely to preserver with your changes rather than giving them up mid round.

Last winter i started taking lessons and made a concerted effort to go back to basics and work on everything. It was an uphill battle, but with hard work and lonely nights at the range in the pissing rain, i ended up playing my best golf last year. I was able to go from 19 to 13 over the course of the year. So winter golf definitely helped me.

slave1

Winter = cold
Cold = layers, cold hands, cold feet
Cold = take a break for a month/two
Break = give back time to recover and come back hungry

PARlance

Gearing up for my first "winter rules" break and am frustrated at the thought of having to play without the opportunity to get cut.
Maybe I'll welcome the break in future years as I get more and more miles under my belt but for the time being it's a pain.

I really can't figure out how the GUI et al haven't come up with a system to play winter rules whilst also making them counting competitions.
I completely get that winter rules give the higher handicapper an advantage over the lower guy, but surely a system could be brought in that takes this into account.
CSS is a mathematical equation, adjust this equation to "discount" the scores of Cat 2 by X% and Cat 3 by X+Y%, then maybe reduce the Cat 3 reduction from 0.3 -> 0.2 etc for winter rules. Allow Cat 1 players 2 rounds before the get a 0.1 back...
That's just off the top of my head, I'm sure a few minds could come up with a solution.

Is it just me or do people welcome the winter rules break?

Feel free to tear my idea to pieces

slingerz

i think most people welcome the break from 'competitive' golf where the handicap is under threat of increase/derease.

that said i played with a 23 handicapper at the weekend who was upset that his handicap couldnt increase over the winter!

FixdePitchmark

I know when it gets below 5 deg.c on the coast with a wind - it is not much fun. Come home with the face burnt.
But above that on a still day when it hits 8 or 9 at midday, can be lovely. Not as much rain as well. The most pain I had last year , was when I spilt boiling hot soup onto my glove and burnt it - finished the round but

Only thing about links course is the fairways going out of service - that is a bit of a head wrecker for me.

The courses are nice and quiet too. Corballis is great in winter - everything stays the same on the course.

I think if you take the whole winter off it will be July , august before your game is right - it is nice to play well in April - May . But not the same for everybody - some lose or gain their game much quicker than others.

But, like the idea of a small break this year - say 3 to 4 weeks. Will when it hits sub 5 deg/c.

hades

While we don't have cuts and pluses over the winter break, our club brought in temporary cuts of 0.5 for every €50 GUI voucher you won.

That gave some of the high handicappers a roasting over the winter as they made money towards their subs.

Unfortunate thing is, they didn't enforce a cut in general play when the winter rules ended.

ForeRight

hades wrote: »

While we don't have cuts and pluses over the winter break, our club brought in temporary cuts of 0.5 for every €50 GUI voucher you won.

That gave some of the high handicappers a roasting over the winter as they made money towards their subs.

Unfortunate thing is, they didn't enforce a cut in general play when the winter rules ended.

That's a brilliant rule

sydneybound

Generally November is a mild enough month so I think Winter golf really starts in December and lasts till mid/late March. Temperature increases in April.

Until the end of the year I aim to play every weekend and will play a few rounds over Christmas when I bored at home, weather permitting.

I have a break of three weeks in January when greens are frosted over/snowed on as it's pointless even attempting to play on those day. By then I'm normally really hungry for a game and longing for the longer evening when the clocks go forward the hour in late march.

dan_ep82

I only started playing the the 10th of September so my plan is to play as much golf as possible

Ben1977

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

SO the long evenings are gone - the range is looking more attractive. The quick nine in the evening is gone, the hour on the putting green is harder to fit in, the short game area is abandoned and wind swept.

I plan to reshape the swing a bit in November.

But , do people think you can keep your game in the winter months.

Is it possible to keep the short game and putting as sharp ?
Does your game generally drift ?
Is it impossible to judge ?

I'm thinking the answer to above is, it is not possible to keep your game. But I'm newish to winter golf (2 years).

I'd be interested to hear hardened winter lads ?

I've found that I can keep it going during the winter.
Quicker rounds as less play.
Doesn't effect the putting, greens are always good, yes the moisture and damp may slow the ball down, and reduce the break. But putting is all about feel.
Harder to get to practice on course, but a great time for lessons and to hit the range.

Pacly

I try and and give myself an advantage over everyone else in the winter, by being better prepared than them for the cold/wet/windy conditions. At least in my mind its an advantage!

Btw, anyone know where to get a good pair of those big gloves to keep your hands warm?

alxmorgan

Pacly wrote: »

I try and and give myself an advantage over everyone else in the winter, by being better prepared than them for the cold/wet/windy conditions. At least in my mind its an advantage!

Btw, anyone know where to get a good pair of those big gloves to keep your hands warm?

Various kinds here:

http://www.sportsdirect.com/golf/golf-gloves?src=sd-golf&mppp=true