Five useful tips for cold weather golfers

SAND LAKE, Mi. (WZZM) - Golfing in February? In Michigan? Thanks to the mild weather we're having, West Michigan golfers are able to go tee-to-green in the dead of winter.

Because of that, WZZM traveled to Pilgrim's Run Golf Course in Sand Lake Tuesday to ask the pro to offer up his five most useful cold weather golfing tips.

"We can now say we can play golf 12 months in Michigan," said Jeff O'Malley, Director of Golf at Pilgrim's Run Golf Course. "Golfers can get out of those winter doldrums and play some golf."

Since West Michigan golfers rarely get the chance to play golf before the groundhog sees his shadow, O'Malley offered up these five tips for February golfers:

"One of the tips is that we lose a lot of our heat through the top of our head so it's important to wear a stocking cap or something like that to maintain the heat in our body," O'Malley said.

"The second tip would be how you dress. You want to dress in layers."  

"The third tip would be to make sure you stretch," O'Malley said. "Make sure you're flexible during the round. When it's cold, we cross our arms and our muscles get tight so we stay flexible all the way around."

"The tough thing is going to be the mental side," O'Malley said as he detailed the fourth tip. "We're going to sit there and go, 'I'm a 150 yards out, i can hit an 8-iron during the summer', but when it's cold and windy, we're stiff and the ball won't travel as far, and muscles don't have the same flexibility. So it's good to go one up a club, a 7-iron, maybe a 6-iron, maybe even a 5-iron."

"This is probably the best tip," O'Malley said in jest as he revealed the fifth tip. "Write down the score you feel you deserve and not what you actually have and you'll have a great day."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can learn more tips from Jeff O'Malley and about Pilgrim's Run Golf Course this weekend as the 24th annual "West Michigan Golf Show" returns to DeVos Place February 10-12 in Downtown Grand Rapids.