Winter Golf and the OGC Collection

Image courtesy of The Shire Twitter Feed

October 14, 2024
12:19 pm

This post will never grow old… (first published winter 2021)

It might be unseasonably mild at the moment, but it’s wet and as sure as night follows day, we’ll have some cold snaps as well over the next few months. Most of the OGC courses are very playable in winter conditions, however many of them will have their own restrictions in place to protect the tees, fairways and greens.

To get the best out of winter golf you have to BE PREPARED..!!

Buggies

Most courses won’t allow buggies in very wet or frosty weather. If you need a buggy please check with the course just before you leave to play. Some courses will allow the use of a buggy in most weathers with a medical exemption.

Winter Wheels

Winter Wheels

If trollies are allowed it’s not unusual for clubs to insist on winter wheels, or hedgehog wheels as they are affectionally called. They’re not necessarily cheap, but they are essential if you want to play with trollies on many of the better courses.

Motocaddy Winter Wheels | PowaKaddy Winter Wheels

Course Closed!

Check online or phone the course before you go out to play, especially if the weather is very wet, or very cold. Don’t have a wasted journey. Of course, as a member of One Golf Club you have the OGC Collection to choose from, so there could be alernative course to play!

Dress Accordingly

Playing at your best requires feeling comfortable in what you’re wearing. Here are some of the essential garments to help you brave the winter weather and keep your game at an optimum level…

Wet weather gloves – keeping your hands warm and dry is essential when playing golf. These gloves are a great purchase because the more wet they get, the firmer the grip, making holding your clubs a lot easier.
Efficient base layer – Wearing layers upon layers is likely to limit your movement, particularly your golf swing. But at the same time, you don’t want to allow your body to stiffen up in the cold. That’s why a thin base layer is the way forward.
Thermal socks – Wearing more than one pair of socks, or a thick pair of winter socks is likely to make all the difference to your body temperature.

Carrying your Clubs

Finally… If you generally trolley, but are capable of carrying, take a lightweight bag with you to the course, even if you weren’t planning on using it.

We can tell you from experience that course conditions and restrictions can change at the blink of an eye. Only yesterday we ventured out in the mizzle (mIsty drizzle) and by the time we had arrived the course had banned trollies on the course. If we had had our lightweight carry bags with us we could have played. However, faced with only heavyweight trolley bags and no straps we had to abandon.

Thankfully, as members of OGC we found another course nearby that was allowing trollies in short shrift and off we went. Next time though, we’ll have a second bag ready, just in case.

When playing golf in cold weather, there is one key thing you should remember: be realistic. It is a known fact that golfers do not play the same in the cold weather conditions as they would during the warm, summer months. For the vast majority of people, your scoring average will increase slightly for a multitude of reasons.