lynchy76
Club Champion
Do people think it is harder to play golf in winter? eg soggy rainy conditions, teeing of mats and how many shots would you expect to lower your score when the better weather comes?
playing winter golf
- Thread starter lynchy76
- Start date
Certainly harder at my place as we don't use mats and so off the whites it is a trick old test for weaklings like me who don't hit it far or get any run. Trouble is when the sun comes and summer arrives my swing usually takes an extended holiday anyway
Bone dry parched fairways and greens are much harder. Winter golf is akin to darts.
Robobum
Money List Winner
Winter golf is easier. Patchy rough that won't grow, soft fairways make them play wider, preferred lies and greens like dartboards. Make hay while the sun [doesn't] shine.
CliveW
Tour Winner
How I wish that was the case! I long for soggy, rainy conditions. Since the middle of November we have been snow/ice bound with no chance of winter golf. The forecast for today was for rain and all we got was more snow.
richart
Major Champion
Fully agree. Hard fast fairways in the summer play so tight at our course, and if you miss them you are in the heather. We don't go in for a lot of semi rough !
Macster
Journeyman Pro
What is this 'golf' that you speak of ???
Our course still closed, as it has been for weeeeeks.......
Our course still closed, as it has been for weeeeeks.......
Bobmysterkaymer
Head Pro
It's more like target golf, no run at all and tricky putting on soggy greens. Pick clean and place makes it more enjoyable but still hitting out of squelchy rough is hard. It's good to keep swinging over the winter though!
Winter golf is much easier. Shorter holes sopft greens and pins on the front edge of the greens most of the time.
If you can get a game that is, 3 games in nearly 3 months.
Oddsocks
Ryder Cup Winner
we still play our course off the whites through the winter, and whats more right at the back of them last weekend. I thought this was pointless as the yellows had been moved right farward on their tee boxes, but the whites were as far back as could be. Add that to the 36 hours of rain we had betwee friday morning and saturday after and our course was playing exceptionally long on sunday. That said with the sift greens it was nice to be able to attack the pins.
Personally for me i see the winter being about the same, both have their pro's and conns
Greens
Summer you cant stop and ball on them, winter their bobbly
Fairways
Summer ofter run into the crap as hardly any of our fairways are flat, winter you lose distance big time especially off the whites
Bunkers.
this is the only real downside i see to winter golf. in the summer sand is fluffy and allows more variety of shots, during the winter we end up playing more like a chip because the lack of sand and what is there has held so much water you cant use the sand to your advantage.
I suppose the fact is unlike to scotts and alot of northerers, im lucky enough to have a good selection of courses that are open and have been since just after christmas. the golf may not be its best, but id rather be swinging and walking enjoying the fresh air.
Personally for me i see the winter being about the same, both have their pro's and conns
Greens
Summer you cant stop and ball on them, winter their bobbly
Fairways
Summer ofter run into the crap as hardly any of our fairways are flat, winter you lose distance big time especially off the whites
Bunkers.
this is the only real downside i see to winter golf. in the summer sand is fluffy and allows more variety of shots, during the winter we end up playing more like a chip because the lack of sand and what is there has held so much water you cant use the sand to your advantage.
I suppose the fact is unlike to scotts and alot of northerers, im lucky enough to have a good selection of courses that are open and have been since just after christmas. the golf may not be its best, but id rather be swinging and walking enjoying the fresh air.
golfstick
Head Pro
You guys make it seem like u wud rather play in the winter!
Shake it off lads, everyone wants to play in the warm and dry not cold and wet!
Oddsocks
Ryder Cup Winner
but i do hate playing in rain.
HawkeyeMS
Ryder Cup Winner
Didn't we do this last year?
Winter golf isn't necessarily easier it just takes different skills. In winter you have to know how far you hit each club and have to be able to execute the shot. If you come up short, you stop short, if you top a drive, you don't get anywhere. You are generally coming into greens from further away so you have to be better with you mid\long irons.
Summer golf is in my opinion a bit of a lottery and takes away some of your options. Any old hacker can bump and run a ball onto a green, it takes more skill to hit an accurate shot to a pin tight over a bunker.
Personally I prefer knowing tge yardage I have and knowing if I execute the shot properly I'll get it close as the green is receptive. In summer you just have to guess and hope you don't get a dodgy bounce.
I'm sure if you search the forum you'll find my views on this in some detail.
As for winter golf being like tgrowing darts, you have to be able to throw them accurately in winter, in summer you just have to throw them.
Winter golf isn't necessarily easier it just takes different skills. In winter you have to know how far you hit each club and have to be able to execute the shot. If you come up short, you stop short, if you top a drive, you don't get anywhere. You are generally coming into greens from further away so you have to be better with you mid\long irons.
Summer golf is in my opinion a bit of a lottery and takes away some of your options. Any old hacker can bump and run a ball onto a green, it takes more skill to hit an accurate shot to a pin tight over a bunker.
Personally I prefer knowing tge yardage I have and knowing if I execute the shot properly I'll get it close as the green is receptive. In summer you just have to guess and hope you don't get a dodgy bounce.
I'm sure if you search the forum you'll find my views on this in some detail.
As for winter golf being like tgrowing darts, you have to be able to throw them accurately in winter, in summer you just have to throw them.
USER1999
Grand Slam Winner
Wrong way around. In the summer you need control of your golf ball to get it close. In winter, anything thrown at the pin/green will stick. Way easier, and way less skilful.
Roll on summer.
Roll on summer.
Oddsocks
Ryder Cup Winner
your opinion is very much like mine then, in the summer i was penalised good knows how many times by a bad bounce because we was having to pitch 15 - 20 yards short of our greens let them run on. now i under stand this was the same for every golfer, but it become a case of trying to asses every lump and bump for over 100 yards away to know whether you had a chance.
Our 17th is a prim example, slighly down hill with a bunker about 30 yards out from the green that covers from middle to right hand edge of the fairway, this leaves about 20-30 foot of fairway to pitch into as an approach shot. Now ideally you need to drop it level with the bunker, but there is a slight down slope of about 2-3mtrs, a flat patch of 5 metrs then a slight up slope of 2 metres, if you hit the 2-3 mtr down slope although its around 30 feet from the green you will run through to nasty stuff, if you hit the flat you have "a chance" of it stopping at the back, and if you hit the up slope is short. some boys try and bump and run a 7i from 100 yards, but with a fairway running left to right (towards the bunker) its an absolute impossible shot and a ripping drive can be punished and a double is not unknown and through no failt of your own. i think the average score on this par 4 for most is a 5. but its not a hard hole.
Robobum
Money List Winner
If your greens are so firm in the summer that you can't pitch on most of them and hold the ball then they are either poorly designed and/ or maintained or you aren't striking it very well.
If it's the latter then you will probably have shots to play with anyway.
If it's the latter then you will probably have shots to play with anyway.
Parmo
Tour Winner
Gone off winter golf, don't mind the odd knock about but not entered any comps over winter this year as ended up with 0.8 back last year when the course was soggy and the green either frosty or in bad condition.
Don't see we have to have medals/stab as qualifying rounds when only 1 or 2 people play to their handicap.
Don't see we have to have medals/stab as qualifying rounds when only 1 or 2 people play to their handicap.
USER1999
Grand Slam Winner
My previous club had a rule of cutting only during the winter, so no 0.1s back. This worked for me, and most others, as often there were only a few in the field who shot better than par. It still gave you the opportunity for a cut though.
Parmo
Tour Winner
I don't think they are allowed to do this any more so I got the impression from the comp sec a few weeks ago.
USER1999
Grand Slam Winner
Probably. It made too much sense.
