58 - Is Winter Golf Worth All The Effort?

There was an article in Golf Whine Monthly a while ago about winter golf with some guy singing its praises. It wasn’t me. I’m not a fan of winter golf. Actually that is a lie; I’m not a fan of wet winter golf. I don’t mind the cold, never have done, but I do mind hail and sleet as they are pure evil when you are out in the middle of a field supposedly enjoying yourself.

The other week I had a free lesson from Jason the pro at Widnes Golf Club and while on the third tee, and suitably away from any real shelter, we got hammered by a hail shower. After the downpour had subsided we squelched our way around the rest of the course. It wasn’t pretty. The hail, combined with the rain that morning, had turned parts of the course into something reminiscent of the World War 1 trenches which made walking, let alone playing golf, a chore.

Alan has told me that he doesn’t like winter golf either because whether it is wet or dry the game is always ruined. If it is wet you get soaked and have to dig your ball out of the mud that used to resemble a fairway. If it is cold the final position of the ball could be anywhere as a solid golf ball hitting a rock hard fairway reacts in the same way a football does when kicked against iron railings, namely flying off at all angles but the one you want.

The one advantage to playing in the winter is that the courses, when open, are relatively quiet so you can take your time, enjoy the crisp winter air and rejoice in the four hours of quality ‘man time’ you have – as long as it isn’t raining that is. If the heavens open you can pretend you are Hitler’s mob in the Second World War trying to invade Russia but without the death and general nastiness (there is a lot of war in this post for no obvious reason).

A ready made alternative to the course would be the driving range where there is no mud to wade through, no traipsing around with the bitter wind blowing in your grid whichever direction you’re facing and no miserable auld bastard tutting and sighing behind you because you had the audacity to spend fully 30 seconds looking for a ball in the rough. The problem with the driving range is that everyone has the same idea though.

So what is the solution? Wait for that day when the stars are in alignment, the human sacrifices have been made and the ITV Weather report (sponsored by BMI Baby) isn’t as miserable as Andy Murray at a funeral before venturing to the local municipal? Or visit the driving range an hour before it shuts when there isn’t a queue and aren’t gangs of scally rats arsing around across four bays using three clubs?

For now those questions are academic as my ankle is still sore. Hopefully it will be back in full working order after Christmas which will coincide with the arrival of my new bats. After a break from golf because of injury, the weather and the credit crunch (all though £4’s add up you know) I will be desperate to play but when and where still remains to be seen.