Lessons for January Golf in Wisconsin

It started innocently enough; with an email news bulletin from one of the several golf course mailing lists I subscribe to. A 9-hole course just south of town, Sherwood Forest Golf Club, was letting their faithful know they were re-opening the course in light of recent unseasonably warm and snow-less weather and offering $10 unlimited golf for those brave (or crazy) enough to hit the links. The thought intrigued me. The thermometer was to nudge 34 degrees by mid-day, and with a blustery 15 mph wind, that would put wind chills in the mid 20's or so. OK, not the most comfortable weather I've played golf in, but as long as I was dressed for it, I should be fine. Besides, the sun would feel nice anyway.

So I pulled the clubs out of the basement and readied everything for the golf course. Even in the driveway as I was loading up, the breeze against my face had me second guessing my decision, but I continued undeterred. I learned many years ago, layering is the secret to outdoors comfort in winter, and for this outing I layered up just right; A heavy long-sleeved tee and insulated sweat pants, an insulated vest, and a heavy wind-shirt. A light weight stocking cap and a pair of light gloves (to wear when not swinging the club), warm socks, my water-proof Footjoys and I was set.

As I pulled into the course parking lot, I was relieved to see there was at least one other truck in the lot - proving I was not the only idiot out to play golf today. The club house was closed for the season, but there was a drop-box at the door, so I dropped in my ten-spot, loaded my golf bag onto my push cart and headed for the first tee box.

Even though I had not swung a club since Thanksgiving weekend, the first couple holes went really well and I was pleasantly surprised with how I was hitting the ball, especially with the driver. I ended up playing a round and a half and overall the afternoon went great. My first experience at playing winter golf was a fun one; I even ended the day with a Birdie!! It did however come with some very important lessons that I would like to pass along here.

Things to consider when playing winter golf in Wisconsin (or other cold climate locales):

• Consider adding a small portable drill to your list of golf accessories, with a drill bit the same size as your tees. Wooden tees are VERY difficult to push into Frozen Tundra!! Pre-drilling a hole could prove helpful.
  
• Frozen fairways are GREAT for improving your "distance off the tee" stats!! Hit the ball with a low-driving trajectory and the ball with run forever!!
• Skipping the ball across frozen water hazards is considered a good play!
  
• When hitting approach shots to frozen greens, take a club less than usual and play the ball to bounce and run up on the green. It doesn't matter how high you hit it or how much spin you put on a shot, the ball will not stop on the green the way it does in summer, but rather will react as if you are trying to land it on an ice rink ...
• While approach shots roll forever across the frozen greens, putts are very slow by comparison. The grass on the greens is much longer than normal and they tend to play like you are putting on frozen shag carpet.
• Don't worry about pulling the pin out before putting. You'll find most of them are frozen in place anyway.
• And the biggest lesson I learned .... Winter golf will do nothing for you if you're looking to improve your game, but it can work wonders on a case of "Cabin Fever"!! Fun is the name-of-the-game here ... period!

This winter has been an unseasonably warm one here in NE Wisconsin, and we are WAY behind in our yearly snowfall totals. I'm absolutely sure Mother Nature will get it in gear pretty soon and dump on us Big-Time, but as long as they keep the course open, I think I will keep trudging around out there chasing that damn little white ball .... at least until I loose it in a snow bank anyway.