Why January is the perfect month for golf

With the cold weather and short days, it might not seem like the best month for playing golf. But there’s a lot to like about hitting the fairways early on in the year. Here are a few reasons why we think that January might actually be the best month of the year to practice your golf swing…

Courses are empty

January is usually seen as off-season for golfers, so not many will be hitting their local fairways. This often means you’ve got the whole course to yourself. You can take your time, replay holes and generally embrace the freedom of not having a time limit.

It also means that previously long waiting lists for tee times will be reduced and you’ll have your pick of slots. And there are fewer events on the big courses, so you’re more likely to find a free day. For example, in January the St Andrews Old Course has only one event, compared to 15 in April. In fact, the Old Course is already solidly booked from March to October, yet is still available in January.

A tip is to book your tee time for mid-morning. Any earlier and you could find yourself waiting around for the fairways to thaw from overnight frost.

Cheaper than usual

Yes, the January sales apply to golf as well. Well, not really sales but as January is off-season the green fees tend to be a lot more affordable.

This allows you to play courses that might have previously been out of your price range. The Old Course in St Andrews reduces its green fees from £175 in high season to just £85 between January and March.

Offers a challenge

Aside from the availability of the course, playing in January also offers a new experience when playing. Not only will you be battling the cold – which can be mentally and physically draining – but the changeable weather.

This could be in the form of blowing gales, driving rain, frosted patches on the fairway sending your ball skidding into the rough, or swamp-like areas that are nigh on impossible to rescue your ball from.

If you can get a good score in January, then you’ll know you’re set for the rest of the year.
   

Get back into the swing of things

You’ll have probably not had as much time on the course in December as you’d like because of being busy with other festivities. So you might be a little bit rusty.

But if you leave it until April or May to get back playing again, then you’ll definitely be out of practice. You’ll end up spending your first few games just ironing out the kinks.

That’s why January is perfect. You’ll have plenty of time to work through your game without the pressure of matches or other players watching. And when everyone else does turn up in April, you’ll be in full swing.

Start your New Year's resolution

Most of us will make some form of New Year’s resolution, no matter if you tell people about it or not.

And many of them include some form of physical improvement, whether it’s simply losing a few pounds or spending more time exercising.

By hitting the course in January you can get straight into meeting these resolutions and making sure they continue throughout the year.