Cold weather Golf. HELP!

[Disc Dog]

I moved from Virginia, in the Hampton Roads area, to Eastern Washington State and the climate difference is drastic. It is very dry and hot here compared to very hot and humid in the summer in Hampton Roads. I have adjusted to that well but the cold is something else.

I have now played when it is 18 degrees and several at or around freezing. Is it just me or have I lost my mind. My drives are shorter (I can drive consistently to 325, but now about 275), the tree action good or bad is less, and my putts are more difficult (more chain outs). I would assume wearing more clothing would account for some of it but this is crazy. I also realize the discs are less pliable.

I am a decent player and have made big strides in improving my game since I moved here. So do I just deal with it or is there some adjustments I can make? Any help would be nice. This feeling of going backwards is driving me nutty:wall:.

 

[ridestreet84]

its the cold dense air that isnt helping either. but yes you will notice that your throws will be a bit shorter, its normal

 

[General Scales]

Welcome to Eastern Washington, if you are in the Spokane area, we should meet up and play a round. Here's my advice for cold weather rounds.

1.) STRETCH twice as much as would normally. Stretch between holes, at the teepad, etc. You have to really work to keep the muscles pliable to keep the blood flowing to keep warm.
2.) More clothes is not necessarily the way to go. You have to invest in warm yet light layers. I usually go out in long johns (both top and bottom) or thermal under armor under my pants, then a light long sleeve tee over the first layer then either a light jacket, light fleece hoodie or a light sweatshirt. That way you have three layers on top, two on bottom and it is all very easy to be flexible in while staying warm.
3.) Go to Walmart, go to the sporting good section and invest in a 10 pack of handwarmers (it's actually 20 individual ones). Open them about 10-15 minutes before you arrive at the course that way when you get out of your warm vehicle, they are already warmed up.
4.) Invest in a pair of gloves that you can keep your non throwing hand in and one that you can easily slip on and off your throwing hand as needed. I won't use gloves from 25-40 degrees, but any colder then that (or in severe wind chill days) I always have gloves.
5.) Get used to wearing thicker socks. I will wear two pairs on really cold days (1 really light sock and a wool style sock over the top). Most of the time though, just a good pair of thick socks will do the trick.
6.) Keep your hands moving. There is nothing worse then trying to get the joints back to a warm state for throwing.

Now for cold weather disc throwing:
1.) Discs are generally more understable in the cold (at least that's what I've gathered from experience and what I've been told).
2.) Discs tend to fly not as far as they would in warmer weather. They seem to lose speed faster and die in the middle of their flight.
3.) Cold chains are the bane of a putters existence. They don't flex anywhere near as well when they are warm. Put that thing in the middle and it should be fine.
4.) Discs really become less pliable and more susceptible to damage in the cold. They don't take hard rock impacts (and the occasional super tree hit) anywhere near as well. If you have a thought that your disc is brittle, it probably is. I've seen a lot of really choice pieces of plastic meet their end in the winter up here. Nothing worse then watching your baby split in the flight plate.

The positives of winter golf? Courses are nowhere near as crowded, your beer will stay cold the entire round, your still playing disc golf.

Have fun!

P.S. If you ever want to know whats going on in the local area, check out nwdiscgolfnews.com

 

[Disc Dog]

Yup I am in Spokane. Was born and raised here. Then left with the military and was gone for 31 years. Got back and I love it!

I'd like to get together. thanks for helping me not feel like I'm loosing my mind.

 

[captain jack]

Yep.
It's harder to throw when you're dressed like the Michelin man, but its a fact of life when you live in the north part of the country.
The only good part is the 700' skips you get off the frozen surface.

 

[Disc Dog]

Yep.
It's harder to throw when you're dressed like the Michelin man, but its a fact of life when you live in the north part of the country.
The only good part is the 700' skips you get off the frozen surface.

The only 700' skip I ever got was in my dreams.

 

[theabacus]

1.) Discs are generally more understable in the cold (at least that's what I've gathered from experience and what I've been told).

Hmm, I find discs are typically more stable. Could be just me.

Slippery footing also affects the distance of the drives. Don't throw DX or CE hard into a tree, it can crack in half. Softer discs like ESP or Star tend to offer better grip in the winter. Frozen lakes can be a hazard, or used to your advantage.

 

[Disc Dog]

Hmm, I find discs are typically more stable. Could be just me.

Slippery footing also affects the distance of the drives. Don't throw DX or CE hard into a tree, it can crack in half. Softer discs like ESP or Star tend to offer better grip in the winter. Frozen lakes can be a hazard, or used to your advantage.

Makes sense.

 

[araytx]

Since I throw mostly Discraft, I easily change out my bag to mostly Flex plastic in the cold, because of the increased brittle-ness and worse grip of the Z (champ). The flex plastic helps me. Now granted, here in Texas there's only 6 weeks of winter, so it is a minor detail, but below 40, see the General's other comments

 

[Discwrangler]

Patagonia capilene baselayer, long sleeve shirt, fleece and windproof jacket is all you need to keep you warm via body heat. Windproof stocking cap is great too.

 

[Grungedude42]

Willing to bet it's wind and thinner air causing discs to fly more understable, but if you can't get them up to speed because you're dressed like Randy on A Christmas Story, they will fade out sooner. I'm having real trouble adapting to a predominately night-based glow game, and can't decide if the cold air, added weight/reduced flightplate flex from LEDs, or form-based noodlearming is hurting my game most. I plan on buying lightweight glow versions of my discs to test a hypothesis or two, and maybe salvage the winter.

My River and Stalkers are going hard right where they would normally flatten out and glide, and glide has become non-existant. My drives refuse to carry, and fade out early and choke. A round friday night in 20mph winds had me shoot a +15 where I normally would be under par. Very irritating.

 

[Monkeypaws]

Cold air is dense. Makes sense that disc lose glide in that stuff.

 

[kerplunk]

I recommend a nice down vest. It will keep you warm without hampering your arm motion, and you can compress it pretty well if you get too warm. I always used to clown on vests until I got one.

Also, I second the hand warmers, probably the best investment a winter disc golfer can make.

And yes, I live in Texas now, but I lived in Amsterdam for a year, not quite as cold but pretty much always cold and damp.

 

[freezermink]

http://www.zippo.com/product.aspx?id=1025148

just picked one up last week. keeping this thing in my pocket to hold on to between throws made all the difference. you can pick them up at any sporting goods/hunting store.

 

[pookie]

I played a tournament a few weeks back when it was very cold in the morning and I was flipping my discs as well. Also my grip was horrible, especially putting couldn't get a good release. A lot of people talk about wearing sports gloves, but I could never could get the hang of it. I've moved to more overstable to stable discs of lately to help adjust.

 

[akguanja]

in the winter I use more overstable discs to achieve a straighter line. if a disc is normally stable to understable the cold it is going to amplify that.

I played a round of glow tonight in 5 below.

 

[redrum]

Everything the General said is absolutely true. Except for the discs being more understable in cold weather. Then again, it could just be personal experience, but due to the fact that the discs get hard and rigid, I find my stuff flies more stable. I tend to throw more understable stuff in the winter.

Here in Michigan we experience pretty much every type of golf weather imaginable. Never underestimate your elements. Invest in a great pair of gloves, I even use a pair with fingers cut off...provides the feel I need to throw, yet keeps my hands plenty warm.

Cold chains suck. So do hard putters. If you're ok with it, switch to a soft version of whatever you throw. There's lots of models out there that would be able to swap in for your putter, I'm sure. That will help your putts.

Layers are a must, but not in excess. Really, you should be able to go out with no more than 2-3 layers, if you have the right gear. Under Armour is worth the investment, but a solid pair of thermals from a sports store will work too. I like UA bc it doesn't bunch, is very close to the skin so I don't even know it's there.

One major thing to remember...wind burns just like the sun. In colder air, your skin will dry out. Partnered with a 3 hour round, and a 10+mph wind, and you're bound to wind up red and sensitive. Get yourself a ski mask, a thinsulate or neoprene mask that covers just your nose and mouth, velcros in the back. They work amazing. Also, never underestimate the power of a good thermos with some hot cocoa in it. It'll work wonders on making a long cold round enjoyable, and keep you wam. Or throw some whisky or alcohol of choice, coupled with a good warm mixer, and you'll be golden

 

[JedV]

http://www.zippo.com/product.aspx?id=1025148

just picked one up last week. keeping this thing in my pocket to hold on to between throws made all the difference. you can pick them up at any sporting goods/hunting store.

Seconded.

And to second it even further, I've got another on order from Amazon.com so I can have one in each pocket, for each hand. I prefer to let them burn hotter, so I leave the velvet sleeve at home.

They are inexpensive to operate (I have a 1 gallon container of coleman white gas that will take a very long time to use up ~1 oz at a time). The instructions tell you to use Zippo brand lighter fluid, but that costs roughly 4x more for the same or very similarly formulated naptha product. Compare the msds sheets fwiw.

Note: the hand warmers are thin stainless steel, and if your hands are cold, the unit will cool down from the heat transfer and will take a minute or so to come back up to a hot temp... I've found that it's best to keep these to myself and not share them

 

[juju]

I heard those zippo things don't work under 20-25 degrees. Any truth to that?

 

[brandocommando9]

discs fly more stable in cold due to air density slowing them faster and the cold weather making them more rigid ive lived in washington my whole life and have yet to notice the cold making anything more understable