Question: Im lucky and live in Texas where i never have to stop playing becuase of weather. (for long periods)
I am thinking about moving North when I grad from Univ, how does that effect your game? Do you have to take time off for Snow and unplayable cond? There are alot of Pros and Tourny players up North. How do you keep your edge in the winter? Practice? or is it not that bad?

Question: Im lucky and live in Texas where i never have to stop playing becuase of weather. (for long periods)
I am thinking about moving North when I grad from Univ, how does that effect your game? Do you have to take time off for Snow and unplayable cond? There are alot of Pros and Tourny players up North. How do you keep your edge in the winter? Practice? or is it not that bad?



2 things, 4 words....Under Armour, Gore-Tex. :D After living in FL for the past 3 years after living in MI, I actually miss putting on all my winter gear to play DG. I still played every day, but maybe 1 round instead of 2 and NO extra shots in the snow. Waterproof boots, sweatwicking under layer, snowboard pants, super warm vest, lite polar fleece under the vest, glove for off hand, handwarmer for throwing hand in vest pocket, and a something on your ears and neck. Oh and sunglasses in the snow because the reflection can cause snow blindness. That pretty much covers it.

If you do decide to paly in the snow, which is always fun and an adventure, there is another tip which helps you keep track of your discs. Take a piece of neon colored construction marking tape about 2 feet long, you can find it at Lowe's or Home Depotand it comes in rolls of about 250 feet, and tape it to the center of you disc with duct tape. When the disc dives into the snow the tape will make it real easy to find your disc and will not affect the flight of the disc.

That's a sure sign of a newb playing in snow. :DReal winter players don't use ribbons, they track the flight along with their group. The better way to ID where a disc goes in the snow is to use blue rock climbing powder on the disc before throwing it so you can see the blue slit where it enters the snow.

Oh yeah snow we used to get there around here in winter.

Snow can be a pain for finding your disc, especially if the snow is light. Also, if there is alot of footprints from other players, it is hard to find the disc tracks.

It is amazing to me how fast you warm up in the cold weather. Starting a round, it could feel like my hand is numb and it hurts to throw, but by hole 4, I barely even need gloves.

For me, the biggest problem with winter is not the snow or the cold, it's the darkness. I work days and it's dark by the time I get out of work. Weekends is just not enough practice to stay at the same playing level. But that's a problem everywhere, not just MI. What time does it get dark in TX?

We have a Tuesday night winter league that just started. Had 14 play this week. The league continues until March every Tuesday even if -20. It can be easier to find your disc in the snow with the glow lights on the disc than in the daytime.

Would it help to have the glow lights (LEDs right?) in the snow in the daytime?

Probably not. The relative brightness even on a cloudy day is much more than what those LEDs put out. Might as well try it. It's certainly better than a ribbon.

Question: Im lucky and live in Texas where i never have to stop playing becuase of weather. (for long periods)
I am thinking about moving North when I grad from Univ, how does that effect your game? Do you have to take time off for Snow and unplayable cond? There are alot of Pros and Tourny players up North. How do you keep your edge in the winter? Practice? or is it not that bad?


I play daily in the snow. Whether its field work behind my house, or rounds of golf. Its really the best time to play, you learn a lot about your game and your distance increases are a lot better because you're really fighting the air and your own cold tendons to get it out there.

As for layering, from the bottom up:
Sneakers w/ carpenters screws in the bottom (Al Schack's idea)
Heavy socks
Goretex Socks

Underarmour leggings
Pajama pants
Jeans

Snowmobiling gloves w/ handwarmers

Underarmour cold gear
Underarmour no-sleeve
Cold gear long sleeve shirt
Hoodie

Nice warm hat
Sunglasses (prevent snow glare & snow from getting in eyes)

Wow, you gusy are HIGH Maintanance!! LOL
well sounds about like i figured...ok thanks
It gets dark around 5:30, its hard to play if you work all day..

Haha, its hard to be low maintenance when its closing in on 0 Fahrenheit!

John,

I have an entirely different take on wintertime. I don't like throwing hard in the cold and snow -- too much chance for injury. I'm happy to hang up the discs for four months or so. It cures all burnout tendencies. It gives you time to work to rebalance your body. Disc golf involves lots of unbalanced twisting motions, and I need to compensate in the off-season. I spend much more time in the gym, and change my outside activities to more "two-sided" sports like skating and skiing (especially classic cross-country and skate skiing). I work with a theraband to strenghthen the rotator cuff and elbow areas, but I do this equally on right and left sides.

I used to worry that I would be rusty when I hit the disc golf trail in the spring, but this has not been a problem.

See, I do all that in the winter too. mid-November through early April is a time for lifting weights, running, and playing in basketball league since there aren't nearly as many tournaments. I still golf just as much, on the whole, but I don't have to worry about a tired body killing my tournament golf so I take advantage.

probably another good idea if you are playing in snow, is not to use white discs

Meh, I use a white meteor. It works fine. The better rule is KEEP AN EYE ON THE DISC. If you're using a white disc to hook a blind turn... you're in trouble, yes. But if a disc wants to bury itself, its going to bury itself. Last year playing in an Ice Bowl we watched a disc follow its entire path into the snow, landing on an anhyzer and slicing under. We walked the area for a good ten minutes (thankfully, spread out cards) trying to find it. Finally he had to take a lost disc penalty.

Overnight the temperature rose about 30 degrees into the mid 40s. The next morning I came out before doubles to try to grab any lost discs from the day before so that the "scavengers" wouldn't get to them. I found his disc in a spot that we had walked over at least 20 times in those ten minutes, if not more. It was a bright purple z/champ color I believe. Sometimes discs just won't get found.


Another tip for winter golf (and all weather really, just more important in the cold): always stretch and warm up. -15 wind chills on Sunday I pulled a muscle over my ribs on a putt. Been having issues breathing without pain since (still doing field work, but very light... the main issue is exertion and breathing more than throwing). I definitely was not warmed up enough and I paid the price.

I think its Mike Randolph that says: Warm up to throw, don't throw to warm up.

The better rule is KEEP AN EYE ON THE DISC.



Woj, do I need to make the joke or is it clear enough? Is the disc the only thing you watch?

I clearly only said to keep AN eye on the disc for a reason. :D Most other people should keep two eyes.

If you're using a white disc ...



. . . you might expect others to be a lot less excited to help look for your disc :)

Whats fun is I use a white meteor and throw it on low nose-up shots. So all it does is hits the top of the frozen ice/snow and skips and slides. No way in hell it can wind up underneath. We'll go up and spend 30 seconds minimum trying to find it and then realize we all walked past it, sitting on top of the snow, 5 times.

we don't a lot of snow here, but the ground does freeze over and get as hard as pavement. i made a mistake once of wearing cleats, thinking that was a good idea. i busted my butt on the follow through, since the cleats wouldn't dig in at all.

That's a sure sign of a newb playing in snow. :DReal winter players don't use ribbons, they track the flight along with their group. The better way to ID where a disc goes in the snow is to use blue rock climbing powder on the disc before throwing it so you can see the blue slit where it enters the snow.



Cold Weather:

Dress in lots of layers.
Get sealskin or gortex socks to keep your feet dry.
Go to a hardware store and get some construction caulk. It comes in different colors so if more than one person in using it you spend less time looking. Try and stay away from the red and black chalks, they stain and the color won't wash out. I place the chalk in a baggie large enough to stick my disc in. This works very well, I tend to like it better than the string/tape method.

Play with younger guys, their eyesight tends to be better when tracking a disc.

Handwarmers are a bonus.

Sun glasses can also be a good thing in the winter with the bright snow.

The one problem I have a hard time overcoming is that my prescription glasses tend to get fogged up. I have tried the antifog wipes to no avail.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

I started wearing contact lenses this year. What a difference! The fogging was especially bad when it was too cold that I had to wear a face mask and the steam rose, but no more.

It's even more of an improvement playing in the rain.

I started wearing contact lenses this year. What a difference! The fogging was especially bad when it was too cold that I had to wear a face mask and the steam rose, but no more.

It's even more of an improvement playing in the rain.


I wish I had that option. :(

I really like the blue chalk idea,I live 30 miles west of chicago and we have been pounded with snow so far this year but my club runs a winter league every saturday and finding the discs aint as hard as most think, we just look for the little divet in the snow and try not to track all over the area it landed and we have pretty good luck. I also gat a winter snow skip ace it was great!!!

The one problem I have a hard time overcoming is that my prescription glasses tend to get fogged up. I have tried the antifog wipes to no avail.

Any suggestions would be welcome.



"Cat Crap". I was introduced to it a long time ago when I was scuba diving. It's basically just dish soap, which works just as good as any brand name de-fogger. Spread it on your lenses (a little goes a long, long way), then dunk it in water. I use shower soap on my shaving mirror when I take a shower and shave. Spread it on before turning on the water, then when I'm ready to start shaving, just pass the mirror under the shower stream briefly and no more fogging.

dont have such a hot face, then your glasses wont fog. HA!


i just got some of the over-the-shoe cleats, 3 styles and they are great. there are some with little metal studs (best for icy teepads) some with metal teeth (best for natural teepads) and some with the wire coils (yacktracks) (pretty good all around). they are rubber with metal cleats and just pull on over your existing shoes. you have to be careful because if there is no ice, they grip too well on concrete and you cant pivot, but for the ice, they are awesome. i got them at an outdoor store and some at a skishop. keeps me on my feet instead of my butt, and i dont worry about traction, so i throw with more confidence.