Opinions on winter golfing...

So, how many of you out there really play during the winter? In years past, I would play the occasional round as long as the sun was out, the temp was around 30 to 40 degrees, and the snow was no more than 2" deep. With this criteria I would get in maybe 3 or 4 rounds the entire winter season. 
Well, last winter and this winter I have expanded my criteria to the following: no snow more than a foot deep, no ice rink courses (currently Golden Rod is nothing but icy fairways), can tolerate down to 0 degrees, no blizzards or rain, and no penguins. 
I've played a little more than half a dozen rounds just in this Month of January. I'm definately hooked on winter golf. Top that ball golfers!

    My son played is first round of winter golf last winter at Bandemer,the 9-hole course in Ann Arbor on the north side. Thankfully, there was only a good dusting of snow on the ground, but he loved it! Earlier this month, Conor and I took out a friend, Eric, to Goldenrod (an 18 hole course) in Davison. We only had time for 9 holes, but we all had a lot of fun. It was a partly sunny day with the temp being around 38 degrees. There was betwen 1 and 3 inches of snow on the ground. All in all, conditions were perfect for a quick round. But, I digress. Conor had a blast playing his second round of winter golf. For Eric, this was his very first round of winter golf and only his second time on a course. He had a great time and said that he would do it again. He is even thinking of having a go at one of this year's Ice Bowl tourneys.

    So, honestly, how many of you enjoy winter golf and why? And if you have reservations about playing during the winter, and especially in the snow, why? I am very curious about what all of you out there have to say.

[Louie Orozco]

I enjoy it. Living in Anchorage, AK you kinda have to. We get 7 months of winter like conditions so it's either play or go into hibernation. Another thing we deal with it the daylight, or lack thereof. On December 21 (the shortest day of the year) we only get about 4.5 hours of daylight. One of my favorite things about throwing during winter is that it filters out who's playing. There are days where its overcast, the temperature is in single digits and the wind is blowing. I'll pass those days. It was really nice today. It started off really foggy but once it lifted and the temperature rose to the mid 20's it was MONEY!

Keep those discs in the air!!!

[Randy Carruthers]

would love to come and visit. always wanted to spend some time in Alaska. especially to do some dog sledding! and of course to bang some icy chains!

[Louie Orozco]

Come on up!

[Joe Olson]

Your picture makes a good point. Trying to keep your drink from freezing. I played a tourney this past weekend in Southern Michigan and I was only able to drink about half my beverage. The other half was frozen by the end of round 1. Might need to add some vodka next time to work as an antifreeze for my Gatorade!

[Randy Carruthers]

lol....of course, a good single malt whiskey could work as well!

[Bryce @ Treebangers Disc Golf]

Playing in the cold, on the snow and ice is awesome. WHY? Here are my top 5 reasons.

Reason 1: I find it useful because you have to work on your form so much more because you cant use as much power.

Reason 2:When your at those tournaments this summer when its not so nice out (seems like most weekends lol) think of all the crap conditions you played in this winter and it wont seem so bad.

Reason 3: Im addicted to Discin' gotta get out and huk some plastic!

Reason 4: 99% less picknickers, dog walkers, etc. enough said!

Reason 5: No rust to shake off before the first big spring tournament. All most everyone else has spent all this time watching football and hockey, hmmm maybe this year i will place in the money more than once (but i doubt it lol)

GO hit some Brrrrrrrdies! you wont be disappointed

[Jeff]

Im also from michigan, so i can see what your talking about. yea its cold and snowy, but theres usually no one else out there so its kind of peaceful. I shoot a round a week in the winter months. During this time i work on my throws. i try new things and usually by spring time im a couple shots better. plus i find it easier to find the discs, no leaves and can usually see where the disc landed. keep up the practice and good luck to ya come spring.

[Sean Johnson]

I play in all conditions, but the one thing that I really don't like is playing on ice. For about two weeks, our courses were one huge sheet of ice. Frozen puddles the size of houses ten inches deep, with thinner ice everywhere else. Throwing anything mildly overstable results in some wild and impressive skips. Not only did I manage to chuck an expensive and rare disc in the river, but I was also falling on my a** more than I'd like to admit. Got some YakTracks, which helped some, but my rotation on my throws was all over the place. Good thing that we have only had about a month of real winter here.

[PanchoBlanco]

I hate playing in the cold, but I love the game too much to go more than two weeks without playing.

[Ryan Rios]

I too was a lil picky last year. I still went out in knee deep snow, just more like once a month as to a few times per week now. This weekend I played along with Paul at rolling hills then squeezed in Lola. Today we played both Indy lake courses then I met up at cass to return a disc and squeeze one more in. I'm so used to winter discin I don't even notice the extra layers now.

[Disc Nation]

Five years ago we moved to Austin, TX from Massachusetts where I lived most of my life. Me and my fiends played year-round in all conditions in Mass. We were routinely the only ones on the course in the winter and I never understood why. Sure it's cold and sometimes snowy, but winter golf is a load of fun, presents new and interesting challenges, you generally have the course to yourself, and the scenery can be really stunning in a fresh snow. And. let's face it, if you live in a cold climate, you have to get used to the cold weather anyways, or you'll spend a good chunk of your time indoors, and Wii Disc Golf can only get you so far :).

Key tips for winter golf:
1. If there is snow, tape a ribbon to the bottom of your disc. I would generally use a 2-3 foot piece of dark colored curling ribbon, attached to the middle of the underside of the disc with two thin strips of duct tape in an "X" formation. You'd think it would mess up the flight of the disc, but it really does not effect it too much. Plus, it's a small price to pay for being able to find your disc in the snow.
2. Wear waterproof boots. Nothing is worse than freezing cold wet feet all round.
3. Keep disposable hand-warmers in your bag. I only used these a couple times, as I'd generally prefer to just let my hands adjust to the cold, but sometimes it was just too cold...
4. Bring extra towels, especially if there is wet snow on the ground.
5. Watch your footing! Falling on the frozen ground or pulling a muscle is no fun.

[Lars Somby]