This is a special public service announcement

Winter Golf is Hard

The snow had finally melted, and some local golf courses opened for the first time in 2025. We were excited to snag one of the tee times, as many courses were already fully booked by Thursday.

Saturday was supposed to be the warmer day of the weekend, with temperatures hovering around 60°F. To be safe, we grabbed an 11 a.m. tee time to guarantee some warmth.

During the week, I spent some time digging through my gear, which had been scattered around since my final round of 2024. I was really looking forward to playing my first round of golf in 2025.

Over the winter, we played a lot of simulator golf. Golf simulators let you swing a club indoors, so you never have to worry about the weather. Plus, you can usually finish a round in a couple of hours, and it costs about the same as a regular round of golf. Of course, I try not to take things too seriously in the simulator.

On Thursday, my wife, armed with her honey-do list, asked me about my weekend plans. I told her I was playing golf on Saturday. She asked what time, and I said 11 a.m. She asked when I was leaving, and I said 9 a.m. Then she asked when I’d be home, and I said around 4:30 or 5 p.m. That’s when she gave me the look...

She wasn’t really too upset; she just moved the tasks to Sunday.

Saturday arrived, and I started packing my golf bag, trying to remember the lessons learned from early-season rounds. I had plugged in my golf watch, which I hadn’t seen since October, but of course, it was as dead as when I had plugged it in Friday night. For some reason, it hadn’t charged. I grabbed a different cord and had to start the process over again.

I decided to layer up and bring extra cold-weather gear since the open golf course can get chilly and windy.

We arrived at my home course to find the parking lot packed. After a nice breakfast in the clubhouse, we went to the putting area to warm up. Then, I noticed that although the forecast called for sunshine, the sun hadn’t shown up, and the wind had picked up. I was cold... but then again, it wasn’t even St. Patrick’s Day yet. 

While waiting by the practice green, a flood of golfers arrived, all heading to the first tee. I decided it was time to get in line before things went sideways, and we ended up teeing off at noon.

As I waited, I added more layers to keep the chill out of my bones. 

Oh, and did I mention it was “Cart Path Only”...?

It was slow, but I didn’t have anywhere to be, and at least we were outside, playing golf.

I started to think it would be a long day as I watched the groups ahead of us walk from the cart path to their balls and back,

The front nine was brutal. For some reason, I couldn’t commit to a full swing with my irons. I looked like a baseball player who had just realized the pitch was a slider—checking my swing and waiting for the call from the first base umpire. That may work in baseball, but it doesn’t look good in golf.

Some of the greens were waterlogged, making putts tricky. But hey, we just had three feet of snow a couple of weeks ago, so I should’ve expected that. 

By the time we reached the back nine, the weather had warmed up. It was funny—no matter how good our shots were, they all seemed to be a club short.

Thank goodness the 15th and 16th holes were par 3s. My back was sore from the bumpy cart ride and from hitting my driver into the ground a couple of times. My hips were screaming from all the walking, and my knee was on fire from bending over to pick up my golf ball. On the 17th hole, walking to my ball, I stepped in a hole and twisted my ankle.  I was becoming a member of the Walking Wounded.

By the time we completed the 18th hole, I was cold, exhausted, and sore—but we made it. It felt good to be in the warm clubhouse, drinking a beer and reflecting on what could’ve been on the scorecard.

Winter golf is hard, so I ordered a bottle of Geritol and signed up for a six-week "Intro to Yoga" class at the local senior center.  I also moved my honey-do list to June, so I can play again this weekend. 

I am still waiting to hear from Matt, Rey, and Eric about the 2025 Closest to the Pin.

Reminder: The Pan Am – Pro AM is our first event on March 30th, 2025, at Rolling Meadows County Club in Ellington, CT.  Please let me know if you are not playing in this scramble.  I know James is working that weekend.

Respectfully,

Broken Joe

Commissioner