Golf is a great activity, but is also restricted by the weather. If you live in a place where the leaves are already off the trees and the sun sets by 5pm, we know your struggle. We also know you’re going to need our 10 things to keep a golfer busy during the winter soon.
“Let Her Go” by Passenger isn’t actually about a girl, it’s about golf season ending. It’s also about my feelings when the days get so short you can only fit 9 holes in and then it becomes so cold you can’t play golf at all. So maybe I’m making this up, but not many songs give as good of insight into the struggle of a Northern golfer as this one.
This isn’t one of those “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” situations. Putting the clubs away for the final time in a golf season is painful. In some places you can play golf year-round. In a lot of other places, you’re lucky to get seven good (and a couple not as good) months in per year.
While your clubs are collecting dust in the colder months, you’ll need at least these 10 things to keep a golfer busy during the winter. Well, what are you waiting for? Scroll down and check out the list years in the making on how to keep yourself from going crazy without golf.
1. Garage to Indoor Practice Area? (DIY)
The most expensive way to keep busy is also our most effective. If you can pull this one off, forget about the rest of our 10 things to keep a golfer busy during the winter.
If you’re one of the lucky few with a garage that is not completely cluttered, you may be able to set up a turf mat and golf net in there. Size and space restrictions make this impossible for most, but if you can pull it off, you absolutely should.
2. Indoor Putting Aids
In terms of at-home practice during the winter, this is a bit more realistic for golfers. All you need is about 8 open feet of space. Think of a hallway, bedroom or even your kitchen. These practice greens can be put away so it’s only temporary space that you need.
We took a look online and found a few good ones that we think everyone will like. After all, there’s nothing like coming out for the first round of the spring and dropping in every 4-footer you have.
Bye Bogey’s Top Indoor Greens
Putt-A-Bout Grassroots Par Three Putting Green
PERFECT PRACTICE Perfect Putting Mat – Official Putting Mat of Dustin Johnson
Abco Tech Indoor Golf Putting Green
3. Watch International Golf
Just because it’s winter where you are doesn’t mean everyone else is dealing with freezing cold and dormant grass. Golf is a global game. As such, professional golf is played across the world.
Turn on the Golf Channel, find a stream online—whatever. Keep up with what’s going on with international golf and it’ll make your Thursday-Sunday go by quicker.
4. Golf Boys
We’ll admit this has no real lasting ability to get you through the winter, but it will give you a good laugh. For those new to golf, you won’t remember a few years back when we were first introduced to the Golf Boys.
In 2011, Ben Crane, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson and Hunter Mahan got together and gave us a music video I’m sure at least one of them would like to forget. If you haven’t seen this before, let us introduce you to “Oh Oh Oh”.
As if one music video weren’t enough, they came back two years later and delivered again with smash hit, “2.Oh”. In this one, there’s enough name dropping to give you material to look up and remember some of our favorite golfers from 10 years ago.
Go ahead, have a laugh. Remember those good times when you were on the course it was nice enough out to be wearing just overalls—no shirt (this was never okay, Bubba).
5. Golf Movies
No golfer can call themselves that without an arsenal of movie quotes for every situation on the course. Spend your winter watching and re-watching your favorite golf movies. By no means is this an exhaustive list, but it’s a good place to start.
Bye Bogey’s Top Golf Movies:
- Happy Gilmore—not entirely a golf movie, but one you need to see
- Caddyshack—maybe our favorite, buy don’t even bother with the sequel
- Tin Cup—There’s a lesson or two in here about not playing hero golf
- The Greatest Game Ever Played—A little history, a little entertainment
- The Legend of Bagger Vance—Matt Damon, Will Smith and Charlize Theron? What else do you need?
6. Books
This is a list of 10 things to keep a golfer busy during the winter, right? Well, curl up by the fire, open one of these up and get right into it. More golf books have been written than movies produced. If this is something that interests you, there’s unlimited material. We went in a bit of an entertainment direction, but there are countless books about history, mindset and confidence related to golf as well.
Bye Bogey’s Top Book Picks:
Tommy’s Honour: The Extraordinary Story of Golf’s Founding Father and Son
- Stumbled across this one while watching The Open Championship a while back when the announcers kept talking about Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris. Little did I realize how important he was to the game of golf (and how good each of them was at playing it).
The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods
- Get to know the greatest player, Tiger Woods and greatest coach, Hank Haney. With someone who has been covered as much as Tiger Woods has, we forget so much of what makes him great. This book puts some of it in perspective.
The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf
- If this one sounds familiar, it’s because Shia LeBeouf’s movie adaptation made it into our best movies list as well. While the movie is more “Hollywood”, the book is incredibly real. Francis Ouimet claimed his US Open title at The Country Club, where the tournament is being hosted again in 2022.
7. Find an Open Course
Outside of a foot of snow on the ground, some courses will never close. These might not be the best courses in your area, but golf is golf. Would you rather stay home doing nothing or brave it for an hour or two in freezing weather?
They invented hand warmers and thermal layers for a reason. Go out and play a few holes (unless of course it’s dangerously cold).
8. Destination Golf
The complete opposite of finding a course open while it’s freezing out; finding a course where it’s warm. If you have the means to get this done, there is nothing like it. Imagine taking a break from shoveling your driveway and going down south to play a few rounds on a course fit for the pros. Must be nice.
Destination golf is great, but also costly. If you’re in a field where you can pull it off, turn it into a “business trip”. Close a deal or two, have a few drinks and enjoy not being in the cold for a change. If you end up on one of these trips, it’s probably enough that you don’t need to explore the other 10 things to keep a golfer busy during the winter.
9. Indoor Driving Range
Sometimes it’s an old warehouse that’s been remodeled. Other times it’s an outdoor facility with partial enclosures and heaters. No matter what it looks like, you want a place that will help you keep your swing through the months you can’t get on the course.
Most northern states have a few of these around and a quick google search will point you in the right direction. Even if it’s a bit of a drive, it’s winter. What else are you doing?
If all else fails, there’s indoor simulators. These are more expensive and don’t give you the satisfaction of watching the ball fly of your club. Unfortunately, beggars can’t be choosers. Any chance you get to swing a club during the winter is one you should try not to pass up.
10. Aimlessly Read Bye Bogey
Our 10 things to keep a golfer busy during the winter list wouldn’t be complete without a little self-promotion. Like many of you, our winter golf opportunities are limited. To keep busy, we’ll be writing more and more. As new gear comes out (like push carts), we’ll have you covered for what you need to start your next season off right.
1 thought on “10 Things to Keep a Golfer Busy During the Winter”