Playing golf in cold weather: 5 expert tips

The best days of golf in the winter often begin by breaking your tee against the frozen ground covering the first tee box. In that moment, you’re in a world that few would dare enter.

Playing golf in the cold is not for the faint of heart. Any mis-hits reverberate through your fingers, sending stinging shots of pain into your hands and shanking golf shots sideways into a winter woodland. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to be prepared for how to play golf in cold weather.

How to play golf in cold weather

Always. Keep. Moving. Once you’re out there, no matter how warm your cold-weather golf gear is, we’ve got to keep the blood flowing. Even the warmest bodies eventually turn blue when they get exposed to cold temperatures. That’s why we recommend walking instead of taking a cart. We’re not saying you have to take up speed golf, but anything to keep your legs moving will help when playing golf in the cold.

Another part of playing golf in the winter that people tend to overlook is the need to club up. You can’t trust your 7-iron to fly as far as it does in the middle of summer. No one’s going to think less of you if you need to grab an extra club or two, (we won’t even mention it).

And while some might suggest the need to tee it forward, we don’t think that’s a necessity to enjoy cold weather golf. Tips may not be the way to go either though. Best to find a middle ground.

The other thing that might help when thinking about how to play golf in cold weather is to realign your expectations. No one is going to shoot their personal best score in the middle of January. With that in mind, your winter golf might be a great time to experiment with playing golf with a whiskey blanket. Just a thought.

Ultimately, while these cold-weather golf tips might help get you started, your success is going to come down to what to wear. For cold weather golf, it’s all about the layers.

In fact, when it comes to cold weather golf tips, everything boils down to one important truth: if you don’t break a sweat while getting dressed, you haven’t dressed warmly enough.

What to wear for cold weather golf

While you’re bundling up, remember layers, layers, layers. Start with a base layer guaranteed to keep you warm, something thermal or maybe something soft. After that, a jacket or two should do the trick. The rules on what to wear may tend to break against the typical golf dress code.

And that’s alright. Your cold-weather gear is prepared for playing golf in the winter, and the warmth of your home is the perfect gauge to make sure you’ve bundled properly. When you feel too hot while getting dressed, you know you’re ready for playing golf in the cold.

Sure, you should always wear a golf polo when playing golf. In the cold, however, you have a chance to mix it up. While a quarter-zip is always safe and appropriate golf attire, if you want to have an extra level of warmth, consider trying a cold-weather hoodie (or even throw a quarter-zip over a hoodie).

With layers, you run the risk of limiting your own mobility, so make sure everything you wear has a bit of flexibility. This is going to be crucial no matter what your golf swing looks like. Because if we’re thinking about the best way to play golf in the winter, we still want to play relatively good golf. A combination of the following tips will make for a great round, no matter the temperature.

5 cold weather golf tips

1. How to play golf in cold weather comes down to attitude. You aren’t here to break the course record. Loosen up and let it rip.
2. Swing as hard as you can. Kidding… kind of. Playing golf in the cold is one of the few times when a few extra practice swings won’t hurt.
3. Don’t forget how to play. Golf in the wintertime is still golf. It’s the same game so don’t psych yourself out and blow up on the first hole (or, if you do, be ready to bounce back).
4. Trust yourself and that you know what to wear. For cold weather golf, your wardrobe is key. But you already know what you’re doing.
5. Have fun. Playing golf in the winter is only worth it if you have a good time. If you’re doing the first four things in this list, you’re already there.

At Mizzen+Main, we think every season is golf season. We want you to know how to play golf in cold weather because we want you to always have a chance to enjoy time outside the office, where work fades away and where all that matters is getting a tiny white ball into a tiny white cup.

Whether or not your cold weather golf outfit is full of Mizzen+Main (and we sincerely hope it is), the top priority is that you find time to enjoy the game we all love. At the end of the day, playing golf in the cold isn’t all that different from, well…playing golf. This game is as fun as you make it. Don’t worry about playing golf when the temperature is dropping. You already know exactly how to do it—and hopefully now you have a couple of other ideas to help.