Golfing in the cold requires a great deal of control over your mind and body. While wearing cold-resistant clothing for winter golf is critical to maintaining mind and body control, often overlooked and just as critical is eating and drinking properly.
Humans are naturally warm weather mammals and extensive exposure to the cold will slightly impair the body function for humans. This is a result of nerve cells working slower which in turn slow down muscle control. If you don't take measures to continually generate internal body heat during a winter golf round, you will notice that keeping control of your muscles during a round becomes increasingly difficult as the hours pass.
One easy way to generate and maintain internal body heat is eating plenty of food, high in carbohydrates, both before and during a round of winter golf. Your body needs this food so it can burn it off throughout the round. When your body burns off food, it generates heat which helps to give you the control and energy required to complete a four hour round in the cold.
It is also important to maintain proper hydration levels in the cold. Through the process of respiration, your body naturally releases more water in the cold. You would think this would make you thirsty but in fact the cold makes your body want to drink less. This means you have two things working against you which is why it is so critical to keep drinking fluids in the cold to prevent dehydration even if your thirst tells you no. In cold or warm weather, if you become dehydrated, your energy and performance are going to suffer.
Just because you need to drink doesn't mean you need to drink warm fluids. Many golfers will drink warm fluids like caffeinated coffee or hot coco because they think it will warm them up. While it may temporarily warm your internal body, it can also lead to dehydration. In addition to caffeinated drinks, avoid alcohol as this increases heat loss. Instead the best drink for cold weather is water. Drinking plenty of water, helps prevent dehydration so you can maintain your performance throughout a round.
Related Links:
Eating for Cold Weather Exercise - How to Eat for Cold Weather Exercise
Cold Weather Exercise Safety - How to Exercise Safely in Cold Weather
Science of the Cold - How humans deal with and survive extreme cold
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