- Audio version at the end of this post –
One of my long time students, Dan, my life insurance agent, called to discuss my policy with me. He started by discussing the previous day’s PPGS daily article about as we get older we lose distance. Dan then went on to talk about really losing distance when he played a few days earlier. He said the temperature was in the low 50s, it was damp and chilly to the bone, and the course was playing exceptionally long after a lot of rain the week before. The course was playing CPO (cart path only) and golf was not enjoyable. He said that he would never have been playing under those conditions if it were not for an important tournament.
Dan, a solid 3 handicap, said he shot 78 and felt really good about it. It was a good score for the conditions. The cold temperature made hitting his golf balls feel like they were rocks. They flew lower and much shorter. They hit the fairway and plugged or, many times, got negative roll bouncing backwards. The course from the member tees “played longer” than playing from the championship tees on a warm day with dry fairways. Dan said that he played the last 6 holes with cold feet and freezing fingers barely able to hold the club. He remarked with enthusiasm and satisfaction that he felt his 6 over 78 was really an extra good round and one to be proud of considering the cold, wet, and no roll conditions.
I played that same day, teeing off around 11:30 a.m. with Jack. It was 39 degrees. They just opened the course with the greens thawing out from the below freezing temperature the previous night. We decided to play the member (white) tees as we knew the course would play long and tough. Even with playing forward tees, our drives were still short of where they were from the back tees on warm and dry days. The course was a sponge and giving up zero to negative roll because of torrential rains a few days earlier. The golf ball rocks were going less distance in the air and no distance on the ground so we were hitting approach shots with much longer clubs than normal when playing from the back tees. The course playing longer was not the only challenge.
The biggest challenge was the condition of the greens. The rain a few days earlier had them soft and spongy and loaded with foot prints. Add to that, they froze a little and then thawed, only compounding the foot print problem. Putting for the day was more about bounce than roll, so keeping the ball tracking on line was highly unlikely to happen. The good news was it was not windy.
The key to cold weather play is simply to keep WARM and DRY, especially your feet and hands. Jack had a cart cover and also a heater inside. Many players who play a lot in the winter have these two winter gear accessories and they are legal. As for clothes, I always wear a t-shirt, then a long sleeve thermal shirt under a long sleeve golf shirt. I wear wool or some other extra thick winter type of winter slack. For outerwear I use either a good windbreaker, either sleeveless or with sleeves, depending on the conditions and how I feel. Many players will just wear their rain suit, which is great for the wind and rain.
The last two important winter weather gear tips are you must have a warm hat, as most heat loss is through the head and gloves to keep your hands warm. I also may put on an extra pair of socks. Hand warmers are OK but they cannot be used to keep your golf balls warm. What I do is play with 3 balls alternating every hole so the other two stay warm in my pocket. Another point about having warm golf balls is to keep them in the house the night before, as staying in the trunk in a cold to freezing night takes them up a few levels on the rock hardness scale. Finally, on the point of warm gear, I always take my golf shoes out of the trunk and put them on the front floor so the heat can warm them up. Putting warm feet into freezing shoes is not good.
The last thing for playing in cold weather is the attitude and approach you take to the first tee. Sometimes under great conditions and the course was playing easy, you hear golfers comment after a round on a par 72 course saying “par for today was 69.” Conversely, on extra tough days they say “par for today was 75. This is the same as Dan’s comment. He was real happy and satisfied with his 78.
The abnormally bad conditions are obvious and you need to start with a good mindset and know that scoring will be difficult. The course is playing longer. The greens are bumpy and likely have not been mown. You are wearing more clothes than normal, which can hinder swinging freely. You need to focus on keeping warm and dry as much as playing. These are not EXCUSES but are REALITY. The reality you need to focus on is to know and accept conditions are difficult and your score will likely be higher. Be patient, grind hard and harder and stay warm and dry.
Let the conditions get the best of you and you fail. Recognize, be prepared for, accept and embrace the REALITY of the conditions and you improve your chances for staying warmer and for playing better.
The Surge!
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Hi do you any info on a good gps for golf? Thanks Bill
In the great NW along the I-5 corridor, there are a lot of winter golfers. I used to play at 35 degrees or higher. After spending stays in the ER overnight two consecutive years, I have since went to a minimal temp of 50 degrees. There are a lot of 40 degree golfers. They follow your tips but also add one additional – club up. As they know the heavy winter air is going to hamper distance they move up a club for each shot. I am reminded of my Korean golf friends back in South Korea. They play true winter golf. They love to play snow golf. It is interesting to watch them. But the one thing the do immediately afterward is get into a new set of warm clothes and have a hot bowl of oxtail (beef tail) soup after the round. It is a great way to cap off a great round of golf with your buddies.
DON
I am a high handicap golfer and i was fascinated to watch the videos of yours and D.J.’s swings.
What struck me in the DJ video which was slo mo was how at the take away from the ball he cocked his wrists… I am sure you do too but at full speed it is very difficult to see. I’ve watched many slo mo videos before but somehow seeing every club in the bag hit in sequence made it jump out at me.
For years I have been careful not to cock my wrists at the take away just to be sure I started my upper body turning. The result I suspect is never cocking them and therefore never releasing them and therefore much less club head speed. I am 75 but very strong and for years i have been perplexed by my inability to hit the ball more than 200 yards even with good contact.
Could this be it? I cannot wait to get to the range and see!
NED
I just hung up my clubs for the winter. Living in southern Ontario I was lucky the be able to play until Dec 2nd this year.I call it quits when the temp goes below freezing at night. I found my drives were approximately 20 yards shorter in the cold weather between 32 and 38 degrees F. I was wondering if these temperatures might be detrimental to my woods.
Is it legal to alternate golf balls as you suggest?
I looked at the swings of you and DJ and it seems to me that both of you cock your wrists in the back swing.If you lowered your arms from the top of the back swing to the set up position without moving the wrists the club would be pointing up in the air instead of touching the ground.
Don, you need to pick up some duofold long underwear. It is fabulous for cold weather golf. We play in Minnesota and anything above freezing is fair game. Many times we have to wait for the frost of light snow to melt off the greens. We don’t have enclosures or heaters and see no reason to have them. Get out and enjoy the game.
THANK YOU DON FOR THE HOGAN CLIP YESTERDAY
http://www.instantgolflesson.com/Ben-Hogan-Golf-Swing-Video.ph
Yes, the clip of the great Ben Hogan on the old Ed Sullivan Show was humorous but more importantly it showed the swing of the great Hogan. That swing became the model of most of the pros who followed. Most people do not realize that Hogan was only 5′7″ and weighed 140 pounds and yet was a very long hitter. The Scots fondly called Hogan “the great wee mon.” But despite his being somewhat diminuative he generated enormous clubhead speed and was always in perfect balance, as shown in the clip.
Hogan was in a horrendous auto accident and told that he would never walk again. But one year later, walking the course with a pronounced limp and in great pain he won the U.S. Open. He then continued to win many more of the :majors.” Nobody ever loved the game more or worked harder at developing his golfing skills. You may not choose to use the Hogan swing but this does not in anyway diminish what this great man did for the sport.
Good golfing!
In the 2 videos of you and DJ, you mentioned in yours that the ball is moved forward as the clubs get longer and I understand that point, my question is do I need to readjust my grip on the club(let’s use the driver for example, with the ball lined up close to my left ankle) and reset the face of the driver back SQUARE to the aiming line and ball since the bottom of my swing is normally centered between my feet, or do I keep the face square to the line at that point between my feet. I hope this is not a stupid question because when I use the PPGS with ANY of my irons, I can pretty much put the ball where every I am aiming(I have to thank you for that ability).
One swing off the tee goes straight, the next a hook, then the next one slices- one word, help.
I live in northern Wisconsin. We regularly get inclement weather starting in September. My course closes near the end of October, but luckily there is a small 9 hole course near here that stays open as long as is humanly possible. This year I played until November 17th, which is unheard of around here. I intentionally try to play in the cold, windy, bad conditions so that when I am confronted with the same conditions in competition, I know how the ball and clubs react, and what clothing to wear to stay warm. I like to wear a Mizuno long sleeve Breath Thermo polyester shirt under a waterproof short sleeved wind shirt, with a stocking cap over my regular billed golf cap. I try to ignore the conditions as much as possible, keep a positive attitude, and never worry about a bad score. This has helped me greatly to play my best when the weather gets bad.
Well, I played Sunday in Missouri and it got up to about 35′. The problem I had was the greens were pretty much frozen. It was very difficult to stop a ball on the greens. Any divots were impossible to fix because the divot tool would not go more than a quarter inch into the ground, about the depth of the divot.
Since I am a poor golfer it wasn’t much of a problem. My biggest issue the glove thing. I normally do not play with a glove on. The front nine I wore a glove and it was terrible, the back nine I took it off and played pretty well.
When ever my course is CPO, I walk. Matter of fact I prefer walking. This past Sunday I walked and it was great. Played 18 holes in under four hours. Looks like it will be several weeks now before I will be able to get back out.
RE: alternating balls — yes, the rule is that unless lost or damaged, the same ball must be played from tee to hole. You can do whatever you want on the next tee.
I WORRY THE THE COLD TEMPS WILL CAUSE A DRIVER OR A WOOD SHAFT TO SNAP IN HALF THE SAME WITH IRONS THE COLD SHAFT COULD SNAP .tHE DRIVING RANGE BY MY HOUSE DOES HAVE HEATERS BUT THE FACT IS YOUR HITTING A STONE COLD GOLF BALL 200 YARDS IT AINT GOINNA HAPPEN I REFUSE TO LEAVE MY CLUBS IN THE GARAGE DURING THE WINTER THEY STAY IN THE HOUSE . I WILL WAIT TILL SPRING NO POLAR GOLF FOR ME ************BURR***BURR******
Haha, don’t know what it’s like! Here in Tucson today it’s about as cold as it gets, if you consider 50’s cold. That’s the day time temp and next week we are forecasted for mid 60’s. Sorry all you cold weather golfers, maybe consider a golf vacation here with friends and family and you wont be disappointed. With coarses like Dove Mountain (Accenture Match World of Golf Coarse) which gives the pros trouble to Starr Pass, Arizona National, Ventanna Canyon, etc… We offer some of the best and most challenging coarses in Arizona. I’ll be thinking of you all when I tee it up tomorrow! Stay warm and cozy and don’t loose those swing thoughts.
From Don’s email oiver the weekend…
“Also, one more thing…
I told you I had a big surprise for you today.
Something that, I believe, will change not only your golf game, but also impact the entire golf swing instruction industry. But, due to the server crash above, I am going to hold off on telling you about it until tomorrow.
I want to make sure everyone has seen the above videos first.
They are a small (very small) “taste” of what The Surge has cooking up for you.”
Well what is it? I am assuming that hitting rocks in the cold weather short and being uncormfortably cold is not the groundbreaking revelation.
Related question, Don. Can you provide some tips on playing out of bunkers which are wet either from weather or from sprinklers? This is one that always gets me ~ trying to determine if the sand is evenly wet and just how to approach the ball when the traps are inconsistent.
Oh and Phoenix don’t have mountains………those are hills not even 4000 ft. in elevation
Tucson has MOUNTAINS, 5 to be exact with three over the 9400 ft. mark. Just thought you should know since your not from Arizona. Just thought your readers should know that Tucson coarses have the best elevation changes and real mountains compaired to Pheonix. Play on!
Check out Tucson Golf.com
well I live in Puerto Rico..so the cold is not an issue,,,
Yesterday, Jim D. was mentioning that he helped a fellow golfer by noticing that he was aligning the grooves on his club a little left of his target.
I would like some more viewpoints on this matter as I sometimes find difficulty in knowing whether or not my clubface is properly aimed, I have had some people teach me what appears to me to be a very closed positioned and produces more yardage and a better launch angle but seems harder to keep the ball on line and when it does get off line it is a worse miss than compared to an open or neutrally positioned clubface which I have had others teach me.
Happy Golfing
Ken
Playing in Dallas this time of year, 35-50 degrees. Switch to a low compression ladies golf ball. Keep ALL your golf gear (clubs, shoes, etc) inside a warm house at night. Kangol wool (Ben Hogan style) caps are great for cold windy days– more warmth and wont blow off.
Here in Central Oregon, we can play into November, but when the temperature dips below 45, we use low compression balls designed specifically for the ladies. As an added bonus, those colored balls are easier to find in the snow!
They both cock their wrists, when their arms are parallel to the ground their clubs are perpendicular. This is confusing because Don preaches no wrist cock.
Spending the winters in Bahia , Brasil . Heat can get 2 U 2.
At least 4 the cold 1 can dress.
Frank
Did you answer Bill question on a good GPS for golf?
TO Mark Dukes,
I know the same ball must be played every hole. That is what I said. I play 3 balls alternating every hole so the other 2 stay warm in my pocket. That is using the same ball the entire hole and switching on the next tee.
The Surge!
I thought the rules of golf didn’t allow ball changes other than at the end of play on any individual hole as well as the “same” type of ball per 18 holes? That is, playing a fly-high ball downwind and then a different compression or dimple pattern ball coming into the wind. This might be a PGA only rule perhaps but usually players pick what ball they will play per 18 like a Pro-v1 for the entire day.
As for all this wrist-break stuff the most important thing a golfer can do is maintain an on-plane swing with a square club face. Once you master that you can then learn to swing harder. The problem with visualizations is having too many running through your head at the same time. First learn to hit it straight, then hard. And by hard I mean gaining swing speed. Palmer used to preach swinging hard as you learn but for most amateurs the patience required to chase lost balls leads to a high drop-out rate. I like Don’s approach to a simplified swing but it still needs to be made simpler so the average player can focus more on aim and swing speed. I don’t mean to demean but believe technology is coming that will replace swing path visualization. This will be huge for the majority of golfers.
Don, In 2007 I was playing to a 7 handicap and in fact won the Player of the Year award for the Golf Channel Amateur Tour (New York Metro). Also came in 7th place in the National Tournament at Palm Springs in my flight at the end of 2006. I won multiple events in 2007 and in fact had the type of swing you are teaching. Unfortunately I have develop the Driver Yips. I now have had this problem for the last 2 years and is getting worse. It initially started out where I would have it one week and not the next but now have it all the time. Also many of my rounds I even have problems with my irons. Basically I’m at the point of quitting the game. I will buy anything you sell if I know it can cure me. Hank Haney couldn’t fix Charles Barkley. I averaged more then 100 rounds per year from 2003 to 2007 but have played a lot less the last 2 years because of this issue. Should I give the game up??? Can you help?
I enjoy reading about all you guys playing in all the different states throughout America, and all the various weather conditions you encounter.
I envy the lucky ones that get to play in Florida all year round which I have been fortunate enough to do myself on a couple of visits. It was a real pleasure to play ‘Hawks Landing’ in Orlando in fantastic surroundings and warm, sunny conditions.
Reality for myself is usually playing in very windy and wet conditions as I come from Scotland. We only get a couple of months decent weather and the rest of the year the weather can be poor. I just wanted to let you all know that we play all year round, and, in all conditions. Our golf club only closes if we have had so much rain that the course has been flooded.
I had relations over from Detroit a few years ago and I took them round my course. They said before we went out that they would never play at home in these conditions but when we had finished our round, they both agreed that they had enjoyed the challenge that the foul weather had given them. They both said that they had learned more in one round of golf about thinking ‘how to play’ the shot, and the course due to the conditions, than they ever had in the past 20 odd years.
To conclude, do what Don says and get the correct clothing and forget about scores, play and adjust to the conditions and just keep enjoying this wonderful game that we all love so much. I will be playing this Saturday 12th December and the forecast is 33 degrees, but as Don says when you hit a bad shot……………WHO CARES!
HOW FOR DO A 73 YEAR OLD MAN HIT A GOLF BALL OFF THE TEE CHARLES KIGHT
I spent many winters working outside with UPS. If you put a tee shirt under your thermal shirt, you defeat the function of the thermal shirt. The pockets in the material of a thermal shirt, trap the body heat, which keeps you warm. Also, wearing two pairs of socks can make your feet sweat, which will make them colder.
to BIll Anttila:
There are many good GPS units on the market. I prefer and use the Sky Caddy SG.5 — easy to use, much information, long battery life between charges and a convenient “pocket size” too.
Good Luck
Amos
Yo Matt
You ran away from my challenge. Are you being inauthentic — or just plain honest?
I DON”T KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE SEEING WHEN YOU SAY DJ COCKS HIS WRIST.
LOOK AGAIN, he rolls his entire forarms in the first few inches or foot of the backswing, then if you watch his left hand (especially( you’ll see it stays in the same position all the way up and back. There is no cocking of the wrist in this swing.
I have ordered your full course just a few days ago and am loking forward to getting the DVDs especially so I can start working to increasing the the length of my drives. I notice in your email proceding this one you advertise a new DVD designed to greatly improve ones drives. Is this material not included in the main course? If not please explain.
You dang right it is cold down here in East Texas. I know you snow birds think you have the right to make excuses for you high scoring. Just kidding, I have spent many a cold day or night traveling across the upper part of the US in the winter time and it is not a picnic. I have left New Jersey headed to California and stop only for food and fuel in order to make my delivery times. Cold is not the best word to describe the conditions many drivers face and I am not talking about a Taylor made driver. We have not had two back to back days of golf here in a month. Sure will be glad when it is 110° in the shade and there is a 10 mph of wind blowing. Happy Holidays to all of you from the piny woods of East Texas.
To BIll Anttila:
I use the golflogix which I downloaded to my smartphone, it cost $40 a year for almost every course in the world and you can download your rounds to their website to help keep track of stats, I really like it and recommend giving it a try, if you dont like it, you are only out $40 unlike the skycaddie’s which cost much more and I have used my friends skycaddie on multiple occassions and I dont see that it offers that much more than what I have. http://www.golflogix.com
Happy Golfing
Ken
Frank D., I am 70 years old and carry a 7 handicap in the local golf associations I play in. For many years, I hit the ball long but not consistent. Short game was a mess. I could hit wedges but with no consistency. I was not a serious golfer until about 10 years ago.
My brother, who has taught golf for about 40 years now told me things long ago that I ignored. I finally decided to either quit golf or start listening to him. I decided to start listening to him. He only made gradual changes in my golf game and I went from a 20 handicap to a 10 in about a year.
There were two things he taught me. Number one was the natural body rythm and practice, practice, practice. The natural body rythm, when you understand it, slows the swing down and instills accuracy in your shots. I found out that a ball 220 yards in play was worth more than two 300 yarders out of play. I also taught me that I didn’t have to hit those 280 to 300 yard drives to shoot a good score. I quit worring about all the long stuff and started with the body rythm for accuracy. I love to be on greens in regulation but so what if I am only close in three on a par five. With the honing of my short game, I can usually par the hole anyway. Not that I am not on in regulation on most greens.
Body rythm, smooth swings, less distance (at my age) and a lot of practice. I’ll bet you your game is still there.
To Al Phillips:
The driver secrets that just came out today are not part of the package you are purchasing.
I suppose like everyone else, the surge needs a little more Christmas money! I was a little shocked to see that the video had a sticker price but I am going to buy the video/s. I want to improve and I know that DJ will shed some light on a subject that is dark for many golfers, I just started PPGS a little over 2 months ago and it has already given me more confidence in that time than I was able to get in working directly under a pro for almost 2 years, furthermore, its a money back guarantee so what have you got to lose. I do have to give credit to my pro for being a decent driver of the golf ball because he recommended the club that he thought would work best for me and it has changed my game but since I consider it to be one of the two most important clubs in the bag and there is room for improvement
PS: Can I please get graded for my Etymology?! (Inside joke!)
Happy Golfing Al
Ken
To Danny says: Please contact me Ken Trahan PPGS Customer Service at 888-847-9464 and I will get your problem straightened out, by the way I cleared up SurfMike problem today. Call me and I can resolve your issues, thanks Ken.
Well I think you are great and die hard fan of Golf.
Woops, I didn’t mean to have my frustrations posted here, Don, my apologies, I’m a fan. MH
In fact, let me say this. After just a few of the free tips you gave me Don, I played golf with my kid, who just got out of the USAF and served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. I have moved to the Tampa area for the winter but we played down in a place called Sebring, Florida, where my Dad lives. He is a much better golfer then I, breaking 80 lots. He couldn’t believe how long and straight I was hitting the ball. Mark H
I cannot stop slicing with my driver So I play left of the target to bring the ball round, this works out alright but when the course has a doglegto the left i cannot draw the ball that way
To Frank who wrote at 5.53 on the 8th… You’re not a kid….Write like an adult.
Bud I am alot younger then you, but you have hit on something everyone should understand. Body rythm or not you need to swing within yourself, when I over swing I get in trouble, PPGS is a perfect example, the techneque and set up is fantastic, only if you swing within yourself. Surge is trying to have us understand what is the most important first to last. Course management is just as important which I had found out this summer, this year I was trying to be successful in our course championship, I was struggling a bit and a good friend of mine wanted to get together before the weekend and talk about my course managment. Our club is a par 71 and he told me about the scoring, he told me that he did not think I thought this through, which was, if I pared all the par 5’s and par 3’s and bogey’d the par 4’s I would shoot a 79 and in the two round totall I shot a 79 and 80 to win the B flight at our home course. On the par 5’s I have a tendancy to go for it and I have the ability to get on in two, but if I miss it puts me at a disadvantage, which leeds to bogey’s. He told me after a good drive try to stick it at a comfortable distance, for me it is around 140 yard marker and I did get on in three and putted constantly for birdy if I missed I got my par. on the rest I scrambled but I was thinking the whole time and it made me golf better.
Well Don it looks like the season is over here in Northern Nevada untill the snow melts and temp’s rise a bit. Played last Thursday temps were in the high 30’s and was switching balls every hole like you reccomend. Didn’t notice any diffrence in distance, drives or irons, but had to play the approach shots diffrently to land at the front of the green on the fringe and let the ball release and roll up to the hole. Found that out after the first 3 holes when hitting great approach shots that would bounce and roll off the back of the greens leaving a normal divot indicating good backspin but just wouldnt hold. This morning it was -13 in Carson City with a high of 22 degrees. 2′ of snow the past couple of days still on the ground. Looking forward to purchasing all the videos as I just started back to work this last Monday after being off since April 3 this year due to the extended recovery time from the broken neck. Thanks again for providing us struggling or recovering from injury golfers with a swing that will allow us to play golf, actually better than before as I finally broke 80 for the first time with a 78 a few weeks ago. Looking forward to establishing a handicap and playing some golf channel tournaments this next year. Already paid for my 2010 NNGA card and really looking forward to playing golf as a competative release for the normal stress life brings. I’m one of the types of people that once you compete at something, you will always have the drive. Raced Motocross for the past 26 years, won 3 state championships and finished 2nd in an International World Championship Last year for us Old Timers. Since the crash that ended my racing career golf has given me the desire and drive to work out and get past this injury and play some serious golf. It’s now my game and passion and the boys here in Northern Nevada and Northern California will have a new person they will have to deal with next year. I know my weaknesses and will work on them untill I master them. Wish you and DJ Happy Holidays and many thanks again!!! George Haas
In my 45 years of playing golf I have come to discover that one of the most important things that effect how you play is your attitude. You must have a positive attitude. Always try to focus on where you want the ball to go–NOT where you don’t want the ball to go. During competitions, you need to keep in mind that if conditions are wet, or if rain is falling, or the wind is blowing, or if it’s cold, then these conditions probably exist all over the course. Therefore, the golfer who accepts these conditions best, and just tries to play the best golf possible will do better than those golfers who are worried about or complaining about these conditions. By focusing on playing your best golf, you will have already beat half of tour competitors before you hit the ball on your 1st tee. However, I will admit I much prefer playing in 75-degree weather with the wind blowing at 10 mph that 45-degree weather with the wind blowing at 25 mph. Keep it in the short grass.
Don,
Think warm – and you will be !
Talking about conditions of a different kind – the new rule change that is imminent on 01 Jan 2010 – Terry Koehler the boss of Eidelon has just released a very authorative ebook available free on his site groovesurvey.
At last – a clear concise explanation how the new golf groove changes will affect us all.