There was a photograph in these digital pages in our previous issue of a player hitting a shot at Rye Golf Club in England as part of a celebration of the new year in golf.
The rising sun was low in the sky and the course was covered in frost. The two players in the photograph were bundled up like skiers and a puff of steam could be seen coming from the player watching his mate hit his shot.
Too cold for me.
While there are charms to winter golf (a concept unfamiliar to those who live in Arizona and Florida), playing golf this time of year in places where fairways go dormant and greens require tarps to protect them on especially cold nights is determined largely by one thing.
The over-under temperature line.
For those of us who live in areas where winter comes but doesn’t leave the landscape snow covered for three months, there are opportunities to play and making advance tee times often are dictated by the long-range forecast on a weather app.
Any day 50 degrees or above (if you are a Celsius person feel free to find an app to translate) is generally a go provided it’s not gushing down rain. The older you get, the warmer the over-under line becomes.
The 50-degree line is like the rule with white belts – anyone whose age or waist size is above 32 should just say no. Not everyone abides by it.
A sunny 45-degree day can be OK provided the wind doesn’t blow and you’re playing in the afternoon, though it’s amazing how quickly the temperature can drop when the sun starts sinking.
Most of us have played on days when balls can bounce off frozen water hazards and there can be a tough-guy feeling (like the wranglers in Yellowstone) when you’re done, especially when the feeling returns to your fingers and toes.
New-age base layers make a huge difference and it’s worth checking out the new battery-powered hand warmer pouches if you insist on playing in the cold. Then there’s the old-school heat packets you open and shake before putting them in your pocket.
Some friends of mine have cart covers and portable heaters that warm them on cold days. For them, playing golf looks like packing for a camping trip, though I’ll admit it’s nice to be in the warm when I’ve been invited inside the cart.
If you play golf, you understand the strange pull it has on us.
But when it’s cold, the game has to pull harder to get some of us out there.
Ron Green Jr.
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