Re: Hello from the U.K.

You're lucky to be in the southeast UK. You have a nice long golf season there. I've played a couple of rounds in Kent, Dover area, in the summer, and I've visited in January and found the weather mild enough for golf. I'm in the US, in Philadelphia, and my friends and I try to keep going into December, but it's dicey. As a general thing, if the temp is 40 or above and there's not much wind, we'll play. My last game of last season was on 4 December, and my first game of 2005 was in mid-March. I bet where you are, you could go almost year round, with a few weeks off here and there for cold snaps. Probably rain is more of a problem than cold.

Re: Hello from the U.K.

Hi and welcome. I love "CBC" - it's such a unique name! You'll enjoy your time at GTO and get any and all advice you need.

Re: Hello from the U.K.

Thanks for the replies ubizmo & TeachingPro. Insofar as the weather is concerned, yes you can play here pretty much all year round nowadays. I remember about 20 years ago during the winter period my local courses used to be all temporary tee areas and temporary greens, but we seem to have been able to avoid all that in recent years...global warming I guess .

I read with interest on another forum I`m on, how bitterly cold and long the winters go on for in parts of America, with those huge heated driving range domes being very popular and giving sanctuary from the elements. I`ve played golf in Pennsylvannia (sp) and that course was one of the best I`ve ever played. I`m fortunate in that around here I`ve got Sunningdale nearby (where they played the womens British Open last year, which Karen Stupples won) and also Wentworth is nearby where they have a couple of top class tourneys I can go and watch!

C-B-C

Re: Hello from the U.K.

Yes, temperatures in most parts of the US tend to be extreme, compared to the gentler climate in England. As I said, I'll golf if the temperature is in the 40s and there's not much wind, but of course there can't be much snow on the ground either. There are public courses in Philadelphia that are open all year, and you will see people playing on the occasional mild days in January and February but those days are rare enough, and the courses aren't really maintained in the winter, so there are likely to be dead leaves strewn about, etc. It's not that pleasant. I haven't been to one of those golf domes yet, but I'll probably do so this winter.

The summer isn't always a picnic either, compared to Surrey! My last two rounds were played in 98 and 97 degree heat, with very high humidity, and high temperatures like that are routine during summer in many parts of the country. A year or so ago, a friend from England visited and we played a few rounds of golf. The temperature was in the mid 80s but he wasn't used to that and was very uncomfortable.