When did golf become an all year sport?

[Deleted member 18588]

A couple of other threads started me wondering about this and I appreciate that in my dotage my memory may be playing tricks but I certainly cannot recollect playing, or expecting to play, regularly in the winter months.

I started back in the early '70s and in those days at a clifftop course in Somerset we seemed to play pretty regularly up to November and then the clubs would be put away until end of February. One exception would be a game on Boxing Day, weather permitting.

When I moved back to the Midlands in the '80s this remained the pattern .

My question is when (and, I suppose why) did it change? Would not our courses benefit from say a three month "close season"?

 

[Robster59]

When has it not been? I've always played over the winter. As long as the weather is halfway reasonable then I'll be out there, whatever the season.
Our club operates a Course Protection Policy from November to March and it's fine come April.

 

[6inchcup]

Having played golf for 50 years ( i started as a baby !!) i remember people putting their clubs away over winter,this was when clubs were private and most members doctors,lawyers etc,golf was more of a social thing with the club being the hub of their social circles,it was somewere the wife could go on special occasions or somewere to take a client for lunch,the snooker room would be enjoyed more and bridge, canasta could be played in the lounge, a more civilised time i think, is it more to do with revenue and people wanting more for their money we seem to whant to play 52 weeks in the year now.

 

[Hobbit]

I've played a similar length of time, and never known it not be all year round at the clubs I've been a member at. However, there are some clubs that don't run comps through the winter, leaving it to members to arrange swindles or leagues. Some clubs do very little in the summer too. Other clubs have increased the number of comps they run to increase footfall and revenue.

 

[Khamelion]

The Weather has changed significantly, no longer do we seem to get the quantity of snow we once used to get, these days its a shed load of rain and wind. Granted a lot of places have been flooded, but similarly a lot of place have remained open.

Now I tend to agree that maybe the courses should be closed for a couple of months through winter to let them recover and be in good nick for the season start, but there are members of course who would whinge the course isn't open and then the same members would whinge the course is in a poor condition for season start.

The saying "You can't please all of the people....." comes to mind.

Some would argue that, that's what winter greens are for, keep the course open, but it's not just the greens, it the transitional areas between holes that suffer, tee boxes, again some will argue clubs use winter tee boxes. But overall playing your course through the winter, especially when its more sodden than usual tends to only churn the course up.

Perhaps inland courses could arrange some kind of reciprocal membership with links course that can handle the winter weather.

But all the above written, I think the main reason many clubs remain open all year round is to generate income, a lot of clubs are not doing well, so any money they can bring in, course be damned, is what they will do.

 

[Maninblack4612]

I've been a member of my club since 1956 & my father was a member earlier than that. The course has always been heavily used all year round. I can't think of a course locally which isn't like that, unless it's closed because of the weather.

 

[6inchcup]

I didnt say the course closed,i was saying the majority of members didnt play in the winter because they chose not to because their idea of the club was not just the golf but the club as a whole,plus the equipment has improved so you can play in the rain without getting wet,whats wrong in not playing golf over winter,lets face it the pro's didnt in this country untill recently.

 

[Oddsocks]

For me the winter is a slog, everything covered in mud, course not much better. Freezing cold and pi55ing down isn't much fun but due to not driving (health reasons ) my golf for the last 14 months has revolved around my playing partners.

I have how ever decided that for next years winter I probably won't play as much during the real wet period which seems to be mid December through to the end of Jan. This will now be range time.

 

[Deleted member 18588]

I didnt say the course closed,i was saying the majority of members didnt play in the winter because they chose not to because their idea of the club was not just the golf but the club as a whole,plus the equipment has improved so you can play in the rain without getting wet,whats wrong in not playing golf over winter,lets face it the pro's didnt in this country untill recently.

Yes that tallies with my experience.

Club (and course) were still open but hardly anyone played unless there were truly exceptional weather conditions.

Social side kept the Club going. Snooker leagues, functions at Christmas, New Year, Burns Night etc; but with today's costs I accept that these would probably not be enough.

Anyway I suppose this explains why I remain a fair weather golfer having played only three times since November.

 

[delc]

I thought that golf always had been an all year sport. All the clubs I have been a member of in the English Midlands and South-East have run competitions throughout the year, weather permitting. You can get spells of quite nice weather in the Winter, so why not? It's only the Scots who seem to go into hibernation for 6 months, although with their awful climate I can understand that!

 

[CliveW]

It's only the Scots who seem to go into hibernation for 6 months, although with their awful climate I can understand that!

Bo#ocks! We are a hardy breed up here and most folk I know play all year round. You never see us posting on "What do you wear to keep warm in winter?" threads in September as most of our southern softie forum members seem to do. We just put on a vest or perhaps a wooly jumper if it's really cold and head to the course. If it is really cold and perhaps snowy we head to the coast and play links golf. No trolly bans or having to use hedgehog wheels either, we just get on with it!

 

[patricks148]

Bo#ocks! We are a hardy breed up here and most folk I know play all year round. You never see us posting on "What do you wear to keep warm in winter?" threads in September as most of our southern softie forum members seem to do. We just put on a vest or perhaps a wooly jumper if it's really cold and head to the course. If it is really cold and perhaps snowy we head to the coast and play links golf. No trolly bans or having to use hedgehog wheels either, we just get on with it!

lol

 

[delc]

Bo#ocks! We are a hardy breed up here and most folk I know play all year round. You never see us posting on "What do you wear to keep warm in winter?" threads in September as most of our southern softie forum members seem to do. We just put on a vest or perhaps a wooly jumper if it's really cold and head to the course. If it is really cold and perhaps snowy we head to the coast and play links golf. No trolly bans or having to use hedgehog wheels either, we just get on with it!

So why do most Scottish golf clubs not run qualifiers during the Winter?

 

[Deleted member 15344]

So why do most Scottish golf clubs not run qualifiers during the Winter?

Most English clubs don't run qualifiers also.

Running qualifiers or not doesn't mean the course is unplayable through the winter

 

[upsidedown]

So far as I know always had been all year round. Incidentally in NZ it was viewed as a Winter game where we were as Summer was for playing cricket and beach bbbq's

 

[delc]

Most English clubs don't run qualifiers also.

Running qualifiers or not doesn't mean the course is unplayable through the winter

As I said before, all the English clubs I have been a member of do play qualifiers during the Winter, as long as the weather and course conditions allow!

 

[upsidedown]

As I said before, all the English clubs I have been a member of do play qualifiers during the Winter, as long as the weather and course conditions allow!

Conversely none of mine have !!

 

[Deleted member 15344]

As I said before, all the English clubs I have been a member of do play qualifiers during the Winter, as long as the weather and course conditions allow!

And yet many more English clubs don't have qualifiers

 

[Norrin Radd]

my club has 12 qualifiers a year ,or i should say my current club as im hoping to move onto better things later in the year.
we have the monthly medal and thats it ,apart from the usual singles and pairs comps that you play when you can arrange them .so its one a month throughout the year depending on the course being open .
oh hang on ,its only 11 as the december one is used as a texas scramble .
we dont even have a roll up sweep.

 

[Robster59]

Bo#ocks! We are a hardy breed up here and most folk I know play all year round. You never see us posting on "What do you wear to keep warm in winter?" threads in September as most of our southern softie forum members seem to do. We just put on a vest or perhaps a wooly jumper if it's really cold and head to the course. If it is really cold and perhaps snowy we head to the coast and play links golf. No trolly bans or having to use hedgehog wheels either, we just get on with it!

Hear hear to that. I live in play in Glasgow And our course has members playing on it every day during the winter.