When I first moved to Oregon back in 2017, I immediately experienced the poor golfing conditions. Cold temperatures and constant rain was the norm for over half the year. As I have played more and more golf, however, I no longer dreaded the cold. For the most part, this shift occured after I figured out the winter golf clothing suggestions below.
My golf game has improved, and my overall enjoyment of the game has gone up. So much so, that from September 2023 to January 2024, I practiced in 40 degree rainy weather for almost 20 hours week!
This wasn’t always the case and only until I narrowed down my clothing was when things started to click.
After having tried dozens of winter golf clothing options from fingerless gloves to neck scarves, (not to mention the dozens of jackets), I have finally perfected winter golf clothing.
You will never feel cold again after this guide.
This post covers the following:
- What makes good clothing?
- The Tailored Guide For Every Body Part
- Bonus Tips to Compound your Winter Golf Clothing Results
- What this Guide has done for me (+3 handicap)
**The information in this post has seriously had a massive impact on my game. This is for everyone out there who still has winter golf struggles…
What makes good clothing?
First before we get into the actual clothing recommendations, it’s important we define what is “good clothing”. For me good clothing will keep you warm and flexible.
We must have both.
Keeping this in mind, understand that all of my recommendations should check these two boxes. Warm and flexible. Most of the time we substitute one for the other. For example, I would wear less clothing to swing freely at the cost of being cold. Fortunately this doesn’t have to be the case as you will soon find out.
The Tailored Winter Golf Clothing Guide
This guide will cover clothing recommendations split up by body part. It will also include reasoning behind each choice so you can understand what makes it the best.
At the end, you will have the complete winter golf clothing guide.
Hands
For the hands, you must have electric hand warmers + titleist mitts. This is by far THE BEST combination I have found for keeping hands warm. If you can get two electric hand warmers that would be even better.
Recommended use: Put one electric hand warmer in each titleist mitt. Put the gloves on between shots and take them off once at your ball. The beauty with this is that you maintain your regular feel as you are hitting shots with only your hands. Many other products out there require you to play with gloves on which hurts my game.
For a more in depth discussion on keeping hands warm, check out this post, dedicated entirely to this topic.
Feet
To keep the feet warm, I would recommend thick socks with toe warmers on each foot. This keeps your toes/feet warm the entire day.
Will also say don’t be afraid of wearing multiple pairs of socks. Your feet play a passive role in the golf swing (as opposed to your hands), so don’t worry about a lack of mobility. Prioritize warmth.
Upper Body
For the upper body, I would recommend layering with various sweatshirts like the Galvin Green Insula. The upper body is crucial as you have to strike the right balance between warmth and flexibility.
I have found wearing multiple layers, sometimes 3-5, is the best way to maintain flexibility and stay warm.
In the past, I would wear one or two massive layers, but this would negatively impact my flexibility leading to poor swings. Wearing numerous thin layers is best.
Lower Body
For the lower body, I would recommend wearing as many layers as possible. One hack, would be to wear pajama pants under your golf pants. Trust me. Don’t knock this until you have tried it.
Similar to your feet, the lower body doesn’t require as much mobility as the upper body so prioritize warmth over flexibility.
Again, wearing multiple layers (2-3) under your golf pants is sure to keep your warm.
Head
A beanie has been the best at keeping my head warm. I can comfortably play in temperatures as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit with just a beanie.
Note: make sure your beanie is large enough to cover your ears. If not, I recommend you purchase a larger size.
You can also wear a beanie over your hat. I especially like this when its raining as I can wear my rain hat and a beanie on top. This keeps me dry and warm.
Click here to download a free printable pdf of the clothing guide. No strings attached.
Bonus Tips
While I provided some specific recommendations above, I felt it necessary to include some other helpful tips/guidelines on winter golf clothing.
- Layering, layering, layering: staying warm and flexible is about wearing multiple thin layers. It’s not about wearing one massive coat.
- Bring more than you need: always bring more layers than you think you’ll need. Especially if you are riding in a cart, make sure you have more than enough clothing. You would rather overestimate, than be too cold wishing you had more layers.
- Err on the side of caution in the beginning: It’s much easier to cool down than it is to warm up. When you first arrive at the course, overestimate the amount of layers you need. It’s better to feel too hot then take off layers rather than be cold and put more layers on. At lower temperatures, your body will struggle to warm up once it already feels ‘cold’.
What This Guide Has Done For Me as a +3 Handicap.
This past winter (2023), I took it upon myself to work really hard in the off-season. I set out a plan to practice upwards of 20 hours a week no matter the weather. Often, the temperature hovered around 40 degrees F with rain falling. But I was able to do this every week.
Looking back, I have to say a large part of this was because of my clothing choices. I was able to consistently stay warm and play well. For the entire month of November, I was 20 under par. (Click here for winter golf advice)
Hopefully, you get a lot out of this guide. I seriously wish I would have had something like this earlier on in my golfing career, as I’m sure it would have made a huge difference.
Nevertheless, I now look forward to the opportunity to play winter golf. I have a competitive advantage over my opponents as I am more comfortable and prepared in colder conditions. I urge you to implement a few of the above tips.
I guarantee they will make a huge impact in your game.
To conclude, here’s a downloadable summary of the clothing guide.
