It’s fall here in the northern hemisphere, and depending on exactly where you are, this may mean nothing to your golf or it may mean you have a week left of your golf season. Some of you live in places which allow you to golf year round. Some of us, myself included, live in a place where we have a significant winter. I thoroughly enjoy four distinct seasons, so while it does not bother me, the approaching winter means no more local outdoor golf for me.
So while fall means your local course may soon be closing, it shouldn’t mean you should not golf as much as possible up until then. In fact, with the exception of dealing with aerated greens and possibly making a new local rule to handle lost balls in leaves on the ground, fall golf has many things going for it.
- Fall golf is inexpensive. Let’s face it. Golf is an expensive sport. Two local municipal courses I golf on, St. Germain Golf Club and Northwood Golf Club, cost $45 for 18 holes in the summer. Granted, even though these are town-owned, they are 4.5 star courses. Still, I don’t know about you, but $45 to golf is a significant cost for me. Today I teed off at 3 o’clock in the afternoon at St. Germain Golf Club, took advantage of their twilight all you can golf rate for $14, and squeezed in 18 holes in the 3 and a half hours of daylight I had. Every course has deals like this. They’re still open and want golfers.
- On many days, it is more comfortable to golf in the fall than in the summer. For me, many days in the summer are just plain too hot for golf. I’d rather put on a layer of clothes and golf in the fall than to sweat it out in the summer heat. The weather for my round today was 52 F, sunny, and very little wind. The temperature was not too cold for my hands to get cold and I was very comfortable with a sweatshirt and light jacket.
- There are little to no bugs in the fall! The mosquitos and biting flies of spring and summer are gone or nearly gone in fall.
- The chance for severe weather in the fall is very minimal. If fact, in general, there is much less rain in the fall. There were several times this summer that my round was shortened due to severe weather. Watching the radar and not going out if there is a chance of storms is just not realistic. Too many times you don’t go golfing and no severe weather turns up. So you end up taking your chances and being forced off the course by severe weather. Never golf with lightning in the area. Golf is never as important as your safety.
- The fall colors are spectacular. If you are lucky enough to have a local course with woods, the course is an excellent place to see the changing colors. Being out in nature is one of the great perks of golf and the outdoors are many times most beautiful in the fall.
While many of us are sad that another golf season is coming to an end, don’t stop golfing just yet. Take advantage of all the things that fall golf has going for it and golf up until your course closes.