Who Plays Golf in the Bitter Cold? I guess I do…or at least I have. That photo above proves it. That was last November and I remember it well: The course (Fenwick in Connecticut) is right on the water (Long Island Sound) and it was pretty damn cold – low 40’s (4 to 6 degrees Celsius) with fairly gusty winds (which made it feel at or below freezing).
You can easily spot me because I’m wearing shorts. SHORTS! What was I thinking? I was freezing! But in the coziness of my bedroom that morning, wearing shorts seems like a good idea. After all, I was trying to layer: I had a thermal long-sleeve base-layer on, with a quarter-zip sweater over that. I even had a winter hat on. OK, so I knew my legs would be cold but what I underestimated was that my upper body would be pretty cold too.
Anyway, now that the cold weather has returned to much of the U.S., I’m considering how I could do things differently this year (aside from not playing in the cold at all). The trick to golfing in cold weather has always been the balance between keeping relatively warm while not sacrificing the mobility needed for a normal swing. For my round at Fenwick last fall, I failed. I was too cold to effectively produce a fluid swing!
For starters, long pants would have helped (and I purchased a pair of long johns to wear under my pants this year too). But I really think I needed a heavier thermal base-layer shirt (and still wore the quarter-zip sweater). I could have tired a fleece (like Tom did) but most fleece pullovers don’t stop wind and the bulkiness could hinder your swing.
I should also invest in a pair of winter golf gloves since your hands are among the first to be affected by the cold. I remember years ago we were playing in the late fall somewhere and the proshop guy gave us Hot Hands hand warmers. While those are good in theory (and they did stat warm for most of our round), it wasn’t very practical to hold them in your hands all the time (in golf, you’ve always got either your club, ball or the wheel of the cart in your hands).
Now that I’m thinking this through, I guess the hat is the only thing I got right from last year. So for this year, the hat stays and I will add long johns and long pants; winter golf gloves; and a heavier thermal base-layer shirt. Of course, after it’s all said and done, how many rounds can I expect to get in before the first major snowfall ends golf till spring?
In any event, if you do decide to venture out in the bitter cold to play golf this season, remember to dress warm, but avoid bulkiness that could affect your swing (and take comfort in knowing that you probably won’t be the only nut out there)!
And just to give you an example of the windy conditions at Fenwick from that day last November, below is a video of Stinky Golfer Tom teeing-off on a par 3. What’s great about this clip though is if you listen closely at the end, you can hear his ball knock-off one of the million-dollar waterfront homes on the course!
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