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Here are our top tips for playing golf in cold weather!
Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 So this is the first of five tips for playing in the winter.
00:08 And obviously what we find a lot,
00:09 you get in some wet fairways, you get muddy lies.
00:12 And a great tip is really, I think,
00:14 is to play them much like you would do
00:15 a fairway bunker shot.
00:17 So for that in mind, what I would tend to do
00:19 is I'd narrow the stance down a little bit.
00:21 I'd actually, the other thing I always encourage players
00:23 to do is to aim towards the front of the ball.
00:26 So of course in the winter, we've got pick and place.
00:28 So my ball is finished here.
00:30 So what I'd actually do here is I'd turn it round
00:33 so I can actually see the line.
00:35 So obviously I'll use that for putting,
00:36 but in this instance, I'm gonna put it down like this.
00:39 So now when I actually address the ball,
00:42 I'm actually looking at the front half of the ball.
00:44 And this will ensure that I catch the ball first
00:46 rather than the turf.
00:47 'Cause as you know, on a damp fairway,
00:49 if you hit behind the ball,
00:50 you're just gonna end up with no distance whatsoever.
00:53 So if I demonstrate, narrow the stance down.
00:58 Looking down the fairway,
01:00 I'm looking towards the front of the ball.
01:02 And I can see how the ball's come off there really nicely.
01:08 It's got turf second, and I've got a nice shallow contact
01:11 that I haven't dug down into it.
01:13 And that's really critical
01:14 when you're playing off wet fairways.
01:16 So here's a really important tip in the winter.
01:19 Ground conditions are gonna get a little bit soggy.
01:21 We need to get more stability.
01:22 So what I work on is actually narrowing the stance down.
01:25 And of course that also has an effect
01:26 of just bringing the spine a little bit steeper.
01:28 So it'll actually help lower your ball flight,
01:30 which is a good thing this time of year.
01:32 So you can see here,
01:32 I've set up for my normal three-wood shot.
01:35 So my feet, I put the balls down
01:36 to measure where I normally would be.
01:39 So I'd stand to here.
01:40 We'll just give this one a hit.
01:43 So that will be my normal setup to there.
01:49 So now what I would practice
01:51 is literally standing inside of these balls.
01:54 So I'd actually have my stance a little narrower here.
01:57 Same idea.
02:00 And I can immediately feel
02:05 I'm a lot more stable from that setup.
02:07 And that's something that we're all gonna need this winter.
02:09 So my big bugbear about golf balls is
02:12 I see a lot of golfers
02:13 with all sorts of a jumble in their bag.
02:15 And really you wanna find a ball that's best for you.
02:17 There's a lot of great ball fitting out there.
02:19 In the pro shops,
02:20 you can find out what is the best ball for you.
02:22 And once you do, definitely fill your bag with it.
02:25 Certainly in the winter,
02:26 my feeling is find something a little bit firmer
02:29 and you'll find a little bit more distance off the tee.
02:31 And certainly when you get on the greens,
02:32 they're really damp.
02:33 That firmer ball will definitely roll out a bit easier.
02:36 So major improvement I think in golf in the winter
02:39 is the clothing.
02:40 You've got these companies now offering the base layer,
02:43 mid layer and outer layer.
02:44 And you can move so much easier than with the old equipment.
02:47 So jackets are now much lighter.
02:48 So this is the first time today,
02:50 it's actually stopped raining.
02:51 So I'm gonna take this off and you can see here,
02:54 I've got this nice smart layer on underneath,
02:57 but they're really warm.
02:58 And of course the other great thing about these jackets
03:00 is they're so light,
03:01 they don't add any weight to your bag.
03:03 So I've got the mid layer that keeps you really warm.
03:06 I can move a lot easier than I could with the old equipment.
03:08 Then I've got a base layer underneath
03:10 and that really keeps me nice and warm.
03:12 But as I say, the movement is the big thing.
03:14 And I think, you know,
03:15 if you haven't shopped for golf equipment for a few years,
03:18 get into your local pro shop and have a look round
03:20 and get yourself something smart.
03:22 As the weather gets colder,
03:23 I always think it's a really good idea
03:24 to actually carry a golf bag.
03:26 There's several reasons for that.
03:27 As you know, the green keepers have to rope areas off
03:30 so you can actually walk straight to your ball
03:31 if you're walking.
03:32 And I also think, you know, with the colder weather,
03:35 you definitely work a little bit harder.
03:36 So it's better for you.
03:37 And it's better for the ground as well
03:39 because less trolleys on the golf course.
03:42 The other thing you can consider,
03:43 I've got a full set here,
03:44 but then maybe play with a three-quarter set
03:46 or even what I'm really keen on,
03:48 which I've often run competitions,
03:50 is have a seven club challenge.
03:51 So you take two long, two medium,
03:54 two short clubs and a putter.
03:55 And it's a really interesting way to find out
03:57 the differences between your clubs.
03:59 And obviously at this time of year,
04:00 the difference between say a six and a seven iron
04:03 starts to get quite little.
04:04 So I think that's quite an interesting addition
04:07 to your golf game in any case.
04:09 So definitely if you're able to, give it a try.
04:11 These bags are really light now.
04:13 They're fantastic, really well balanced.
04:15 And I definitely am a big advocate for that in the winter.
04:18 (club clatters)
04:21 So there's five simple tips
04:26 that I think will help your winter game.
04:28 So I hope you enjoyed them.
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