Winter Golf Checklist

Whenever playing any Scottish course over the winter, here’s The Home of Golf’s Winter Golf Checklist that you may want to have a look at before booking a round – it’ll help manage expectations:

• Are fairway mats required?
• Are there any winter tees or winter greens in play?
• What condition are the greens in?
• Is there any major winter course work being carried out?
• Can we play at weekends? (many clubs restrict visitors on Saturdays to allow members to play)
• What are the earliest/latest times for teeing off? (restricted daylight hours in winter)
• Are handicap certificates required?
• Will the clubhouse be open when we arrive or when we get back in? (restricted hours in winter)
• When does the kitchen close/last orders?
• You may want to consider teeing of a bit later, as frost can hit many courses early in the morning, resulting in the use of winter greens for the first few hours.
• Another reason for considering a later tee time is that fog/mist (haar) can also delay an early start on our coastlines particularly on the East coast.
• Take some extra layers; it can get cold out there, particularly if the wind gets up!
• What is the club’s cancellation process – in terms of frost, fog, etc?

Green fees are substantially reduced at this time of year, which mean that if there are restricted tee times or mats required and winter greens in play, then these are the reasons for the discounted rate.