Fall is the best golf of the year. The course is quiet, the greens are still good, the colour is ridiculous, and nobody is holding you up or pushing you.
It is also the time of year when it can be 30 to 40 degrees in the morning and then 60 to 80 degrees by mid-afternoon, so dressing for the day on the course can be a challenge.
Here is how to best be prepared for colder climate golfing.
The rule that governs everything
Dress for the gamut.
You will be cold standing on the first tee. You've been standing around waiting to tee off, and that hot cup of coffee (or bloody Mary!) will not be enough to keep you warm.
Dress as warmly as is comfortable while still allowing yourself freedom of movement. As you get moving and start walking to your ball, swinging your clubs, and the adrenaline gets flowing, your body will quickly warm up.
Layers, from the skin out
The base layer
A thin thermal top, long sleeved, tucked in. This is the layer doing most of the work and it is the one most people skip.
The only rule that matters here: not cotton. Cotton holds sweat against you and then makes you cold for the rest of the round. Anything synthetic or merino is fine.
The middle layer
Your normal golf polo, or a quarter-zip. A quarter-zip is better than a crew neck because you can open it and cool down without taking anything off, which is ideal when you want to concentrate on your next shot, not how hot or cold you are.
The outer layer
Here is the thing nobody tells you: the enemy is wind, not cold. Forty degrees and a still wind is pleasant. Forty degrees with fifteen miles an hour across the fairway is bone chilling.
A windproof vest is the single best cold-weather purchase in golf. It keeps your core warm, it blocks the wind, and it leaves your arms completely free to swing. If you buy one thing, buy that.
A full jacket is for rain or genuine cold. Most of the time a vest over a quarter-zip is plenty.
Hands. This is where we suffer.
Hands are the real problem and the one golf shops are worst at solving.
- Winter mitts — the big fleecy ones that go over both hands between shots. They look silly. They are the best thing in your bag from November onwards.
- Hand warmers — the little disposable packets. Put one in each mitt and your hands never get cold all day. RULES ALERT: read the rules note below before you put one in a pocket with a golf ball in it.
- Rain gloves — counter-intuitive, but a pair of rain gloves grips better wet than a dry leather glove does. These are worth having in the bag permanently.
What does not work: thick winter gloves you try to swing in. You lose all feel and you will hit it worse than you would with cold hands.
Head and feet
Most of your body heat goes out through your head, depending which article you read, so wear something on it. A beanie or an ear warmer are both good options. The ear warmer is better if you are someone who gets a headache from a hat.
For feet: waterproof shoes, and one pair of good wool socks. Not two pairs. Two pairs squeezes your foot, cuts off the circulation and makes you colder.
What not to wear
- A cotton hoodie. Holds sweat, holds rain, and restricts your shoulders.
- Anything bulky across the chest and upper arms. If it stops your turn, it costs you more than the warmth is worth.
- A long scarf. It will end up in your swing.
- Two pairs of socks. See above.
- Brand-new gloves you have not broken in, at the coldest time of the season.
The ball won't go as far. Club up.
Cold air is denser and a cold ball compresses less, so the ball simply does not go as far.
How much less is up for debate. A TrackMan test reported around two yards per club for every ten degrees below about 75, less with a wedge. Golf Digest quotes TrackMan at closer to one yard per ten degrees. Others put the driver as high as five yards.
Take the number you like, but understand the effect: on a 45-degree morning you are playing a different golf course from the one you played in July. Two clubs more is not unreasonable if you are hitting into the wind.
Which is the same advice as always, really. Most of us are short of the green anyway.
The rule that can disqualify you
This one is worth knowing because almost nobody knows it.
Under Rule 4.2a of the Rules of Golf, you are not allowed to deliberately change your ball's performance, and heating is specifically named as an example. The penalty for playing a ball you have deliberately warmed is disqualification. Not a stroke. Disqualification.
So: keep your hand warmers and your golf balls in different pockets.
It only becomes a penalty when you actually play the warmed ball, and if it happened between holes you can swap the ball out. But in a tournament, with prizes on the line, this is not a conversation you want to be having. Different pockets. That will keep it legit.
The part written for us
Three things that are specific to women and that no golf magazine covers.
Most golf outerwear is cut for men
Even a lot of the women's range is a men's pattern made smaller, which is why the shoulders bind when you take the club back. Before you buy anything, make a full backswing in the shop. If it pulls anywhere, put it back on the rack and move on.
Skirts work in the cold
You do not have to give up a skirt in October. Fleece-lined thermal leggings underneath and you are warmer than you would be in trousers. This is standard for anyone who plays in a cold climate and it looks quite fashionable.
Pockets
Women's golf clothing is chronically short of pockets, and in winter you need somewhere for a hand warmer, a spare glove and a ball. When you are trying things on, count the pockets. It is the most overlooked piece of advice in this post and the one you will thank me for in February.
The short version
Thin thermal base, quarter-zip, windproof vest. Mitts and hand warmers for between shots. Wool socks, one pair. Nothing bulky across the shoulders. Club up, because the ball is going nowhere.
And dress for the gamut.
Come with me!
Wendy
The 2027 GIR Club Classic at Hammock Beach runs April 11–15, and the Fingerlakes Open at Turning Stone follows on July 18–22. Fields are capped, so join the waitlist and you will hear the day registration opens.
Sources
- GOLF.com, reporting an Andrew Rice TrackMan test: roughly two yards per club for every ten degrees below about 75 degrees, nearer 1.3 yards with a pitching wedge
- Golf Digest, citing TrackMan: closer to one yard of carry per ten degrees
- Blue Tees Golf: one to two yards per iron per ten degrees below 70, with mid-irons losing five to eight yards on a cold morning in the forties
- USGA, Rule 4.2a of the Rules of Golf — a ball whose performance has been deliberately altered, heating included, and the penalty of disqualification for making a stroke with it
- GOLF.com Rules Guy and National Club Golfer, both on hand warmers and golf balls specifically