For golfers living in warmer climates, golfing in the fall is not a problem. Some might talk about having morning delays due to frost or some may have to play in some breezier conditions than usual. The greens can often play firmer in drier climates. I have heard of people even complaining about not being able to wear shorts and a short sleeve polo. To me, having lived in the northwest for almost my entire life, here are some drawbacks that make you think, “alright is this really worth it?”

For starters one of the hardest parts of golfing can be simply finding your ball. Now as I have progressed as a golfer, I have noticed that my ability to find stray golf balls has improved. Regardless of whether it is my buddies golf ball he sliced twenty yards to the right of the fairway we were playing, or if it is my own shot on the 18th tee after the sun went down 2 holes ago. There are two major culprits during the colder months that can quickly make an easy task, such as finding your ball very difficult to do. The first one I’m sure happens to all of us who play courses with deciduous trees outlining the course, dealing with all the fallen leaves. Prime example of this was last Thursday on the first tee (which is a short par 4, only 389 yards and a slight dog leg to the right) and I hit a pretty well struck ball that just barely ran through the fairway straight. Now take into consideration I have played this particular course about 50+ times, so trust me this isn’t the first time I have managed to hit this same shot off the first tee. So since I know I have played out of there before I didn’t think for a minute that it would take more then a minute trying to find my tee shot, as it ends up I was thinking very optimistically. I did end up finding my ball but lets just say it was a good thing nobody was teeing up behind us.

The second thing that would anger any golfer is hitting a great tee shot in the middle of the fairway only to walk out there and not see your golf ball, anywhere! This is the result of a plugged golf ball. Any course that doesn’t drain well and/or gets hit hard with some rainy weather can do this. Fortunately this only happened once to me on my last golf outing, and the better news was I did actually find the golf ball. It just took me practically standing on the ball to find it, as if the ball was hidden under ten inches of rough. Although I did find that drive, there have been numerous times where this has happened to me and I haven’t found my golf ball. As any golfer knows sometimes the ball just doesn’t roll your way, but losing a ball you know hit the middle of the fairway… now that’s what I call getting the short end of the stick.

Now without a doubt the worst part about golfing in the cold, windy, and wet conditions of the fall and winter, has to be the cold, windy, and wet part. Now, unlike trying to find your ball in the middle of hundreds of leaves, or having to dig up your plugged ball as if you were playing in middle of a swamp, the one thing we can control is how we prepare for the battle with nature. Some gear that can help you enjoy a round of golf even if the weather isn’t working in your favor is definitely a good pair of waterproof golf shoes and some solid rain gear. The hardest I laughed recently while golfing had to be when my friend was trying to use his ball retriever. He was standing at the edge of a pond and he somehow managed to loose his footing and slip into the water at about knee level. Granted his feet got wet due to wading in water and not just walking the course, but his feet were wet for the remainder of the round and he was miserable. The part of this story that relates to a good pair of dry shoes is at the end of that same round my feet were about as wet as his due to the fact my shoes let more water in then kept water out. Needless to say before I went golfing again I picked myself up the most comfortable golf shoes I have ever worn, and most importantly they keep my feet perfectly dry. The other must have for winter golfers is some good rain gear. A couple of weeks ago I bought the Sun Mountain long sleeve pullover and also the matching rain pants. Both are completely water proof to keep you dry, they are also stretchable and breathable. I have not come across anything else that compares the same. The fact that it’s all water proof but yet it can breathe makes the clothing much more practical to wear on days when you’re not completely sure what the weather might do. I mentioned earlier that it was also stretchable, which is perfect because you need to be able to move freely while taking a golf swing.

I have played my first round of fall golf this year and although I did have to endure some less than desirable conditions, to answer whether or not it was worth it, my answer is… always.

Equipment Equipment, Outerwear