Embracing winter golf – the seven-club approach

PGA Professional Barney Puttick on the many benefits of spending this winter playing and practising with seven clubs.

I’m a massive advocate of this, for lots of reasons. Firstly, it reduces wear and tear on the course with more players carrying their bags rather than using a trolley. There are roped-off areas to protect the greens and, when you’re carrying, you can really help to look after your course.

The reality in winter is that the weather is pretty set, if you have your waterproof trousers and then throw in a jacket in case it rains then you are sorted. You don’t need to be wary of storms and you don’t need to carry lots of water as you’re not going to be dehydrated.

Reducing ballast all in, so fewer balls, clothing etc, can only help and it’s also good for your back.

I find this when coaching pitching and chipping and, in the winter, you also have the added benefit that the ball will stop on landing. You can really be committed as a) the target is effectively a lot bigger and b) the ball won’t travel as far as you think. In winter please remember to club up.

It is also good for your strategy so, if you can’t reach the green, where do you want to play your next shot from? And it cuts down the thought process down which is generally good for your game and the decision process can be more positive.

More emphasis on strategy

You really get a different perspective on the course and it’s almost like playing foursomes. You think about plotting your way round and you’re really paying attention to where you want your ball to go and, at a bit of drab time of year, it can be a big stimulus and you can think a bit smarter.

If you are playing a long par 4 the chances are that you will be getting a shot. So think about where you want to play your third shot from if you can’t get up and give yourself a chance of a very satisfying par or an easy five.

It’s also a good idea to occasionally play your home course without your driver. You’ll get used to to what your fairway wood can do and you’ll hit some different clubs in which is good practice for when you play somewhere different and, again, to add that bit of stimulus. 

It’s strange but all of these things rarely make a difference to how you score. I would always run a seven-club challenge every Christmas and there was nothing in the scores. It’s easy to turn off but you re-engage with your course and it perks your brain up. It’s like when you play somewhere new, your brain is being fed new pictures and it gets you going. A lot of us grew up hearing stories of the late, great Seve Ballesteros learning the game with just a cut-off 3-iron and look how creative he was.