Claire Kane on the difficulties of winter golf
I recently played golf in an icy wind whilst suffering from a head cold.
In my attempt to keep warm and avoid going down with pneumonia, I cocooned myself in so many layers and ended up totally over-cooked and struggling to hit the ball.
We must be mad to play golf during the winter months, but then some of us are keen to get value from our club membership so it’s a case of being prepared and plugging all the gaps.
If you’re a skier you can always dig out your snow gear. The bulky clothes may offer fantastic protection when you’re weaving your way down the slopes on a couple of planks but, when it comes to golf, there are other factors.
For instance, you’ll need to be able to stride out for miles without becoming a ‘boil in the bag’, freely rotate your arms like a windmill without gaping bits, plus have enough flexibility to constantly bend down without feeling you’ve gained 10lbs round your midriff.
Thank goodness retailers now sell high tech compression base layers.
So, take your mum’s advice and ‘buy big’. What the marketing fails to mention though, is there’s a fine line between snug and skin-tight, something you quickly realise when you try to slip into, what appears to be, a body-hugging garment for a 10-year-old.
It’s not just the tight neck-line; the material is similar to clingfilm and exposes every pimple, never mind all your lumps and bumps. So, take your mum’s advice and ‘buy big’.
By the time you’ve added your scarf and a woolly hat to reduce the chill factor around your ears, you’re beginning to look more like a neckless snowman (woman) rather than a golfer.
If you wear winter gloves allow an extra minute per hole whilst you fumble around for your tee peg, marker and pencil. Also if you wear ‘over’ mittens to keep your hands warm between shots, be careful not to wave your arms around as you just might be mistaken for an aircraft marshall directing planes.
When it comes to winter golf, my personal tip is to apply a thick coat of lip gloss as it helps to stop lips turning into shrivelled prunes.
Just bear in mind, reapplying dark colours on the course with a pair of mittens could mean you’ll end up looking like you’ve just eaten a jam sandwich, very badly.
