PGA Features

A little bit of tinkering with the clubs in the bag along with the ball, could well be the difference when it comes to challenging for that monthly medal.

It may have been a soggy summer but winter still brings a whole new ball game to the golf course. The weather conditions have a greater impact on your game, especially when it comes down to the equipment.

There's no need for wholesale changes, but a little bit of tinkering with the clubs in the bag along with the ball, could well be the difference when it comes to challenging for that monthly medal or just making the most of your round.

Tom Gillespie, professional at The Kendleshire and a trainee PGA equipment tutor, gives the lowdown on what's best to combat the harshness of winter.

There are various reasons for reassessing what you carry, which may be the optimum word if you find trolleys banned from your course. You certainly don't need to carry as many clubs around and the ideal scenario is to create a decent size gap in terms of the degrees of loft between the clubs in your bag.

This is due to the fact the ball doesn't fly as far in cooler conditions so the differences will be marginal between irons.

Drivers/fairway woods:

Put your driver in and take just one fairway wood, a five wood is ideal. Put in a rescue club of about 22 or 23 degrees and that should be perfect as you should have around a five or six degree margin between each of those clubs. Drop the three and four irons. Woods and rescues have blunter edges on their soles, making them less like to dig into the turf.

Irons:

Keep from five iron to pitching wedge. These clubs see less effect in the winter in terms of the distance loss, compared to the big hitting clubs. The area to look at more is the wedges and given the ground and more likely than not windier conditions there's less need for the lob wedge. Instead add a gap wedge (52 degrees) to fit in between the pitch and sand wedges.

What might be worth considering is to get wedges with a higher bounce, around 14, because of the wetter conditions.

Putter:

You may not think of changing your putter for a variety of reasons but it is becoming more common practice because of the difference in the greens during winter. Consider a club with more loft and a heavier one to compensate for the speed of the greens. You're going to have to hit the ball faster, hence a heavier putter.

Balls:

These are another aspect to consider, especially if you want to work with the conditions and not against them. Tests have shown balls work at their optimum in temperatures of 23 degrees, well there's not much chance of that so you need to be aware of your choice of balls.

High spinning balls are virtually a no-no for any mid to high-handicap golfer - so that's those in the top price bracket. To get the spin it has to come off the face fast but in colder temperatures that's harder to achieve.

The best solution is to use balls with less spin and to go for low compression balls. They are less affected and still offer good distance off the tee and feel around the greens.

Distance balls are an option, especially in windier conditions and will spin less, but you lose feel if you opt for that.

Also consider:

Getting your grips checked. If you've played a lot over the summer, it's worth having them looked at. Given the unpredictable nature of the weather invest in a wet-weather golf glove, you will notice the difference if the heavens open.

Obviously temperature is a factor, but avoid layering up too thickly and look at the compression wear, which is now golf specific including gloves!

Finally, check your footwear and keep your spikes in good nick to make sure you get the grip you need.

Tom Gillespie is a PGA professional at The Kendleshire and can be contacted on 0117 956 7007.