Winter Training is not for the weak!

Winter Training for Junior Golfers (and the Very Cold Parents Who Love Them)

Winter golf training has a special place in the hearts of junior golfers—and an even more special place in the frozen fingers of their parents.

While many people see winter as the offseason, junior golfers know better. Winter is where swings are rebuilt, fundamentals are sharpened, and dreams of spring tournaments quietly grow. It’s less about scorecards and more about repetition, patience, and discipline. And it’s also the season when parents prove, over and over again, just how committed they are to their kids’ goals—by standing at the driving range in temperatures no human should willingly endure.

Why Winter Training Matters for Junior Golfers

For young golfers, winter training is often the difference between improvement and stagnation. Without the pressure of competition, winter allows juniors to slow things down and focus on the “boring but important” stuff: grip, posture, alignment, tempo, and short game fundamentals.

It’s also when physical development really comes into play. Junior golfers are growing, changing, and getting stronger. Winter training helps them learn how to move their bodies correctly, build speed safely, and avoid bad habits that can creep in during casual summer rounds.

Mentally, winter is huge too. Hitting balls into a cold, empty range with no instant gratification builds resilience. Junior golfers learn that progress isn’t always visible right away—and that improvement often happens when no one is watching.

The Reality of the Winter Driving Range

Of course, all of this development doesn’t happen in a warm, tropical setting. It happens on driving ranges with frozen mats, stiff golf balls that feel like rocks, and wind that somehow always blows directly into your face.

Junior golfers, to their credit, usually handle this pretty well. They’re moving, swinging, and focused on their tasks. Give them a hoodie, a hat, and a goal, and they’re surprisingly tough.

Parents, on the other hand, are not swinging a club.

Parents are standing still.

Standing still… in the cold… for an hour.

A Special Kind of Parenting Commitment

There is a unique bond formed between parents who huddle together at a winter driving range. It’s built on shared suffering: stamping frozen feet, blowing into gloved hands, and pretending you’re “fine” when you absolutely are not.

You start with optimism. A warm coat. Maybe a coffee. “It’s not that cold today,” you say.

Twenty minutes later, you can no longer feel your toes.

Yet you stay. You watch every swing. You nod encouragingly. You offer snacks. You give thumbs-ups. You become an expert in reading body language from 40 yards away, trying to decide whether to say something helpful—or wisely say nothing at all.

And you do it because your child loves the game.

More Than Just Golf Balls

Winter training isn’t just about producing better golfers. It’s about building work ethic, consistency, and commitment. Junior golfers learn that success isn’t seasonal—it’s earned year-round.

Parents learn patience on a whole new level. You learn to support without hovering, encourage without pressuring, and endure discomfort for something bigger than yourself.

Those cold afternoons are investments. They don’t show up on scorecards, but they show up in confidence, maturity, and resilience when spring finally arrives.

Spring Feels Better Because of Winter

When the weather warms and tournaments begin, the results of winter training start to show. Swings look more confident. Short games are sharper. Juniors walk onto the course knowing they’ve already done the hard work.

And parents? Parents finally get to feel their fingers again.

Standing in the sunshine, watching your junior golfer compete, there’s a quiet satisfaction in knowing you were there in January—layered up, shivering, and cheering them on when it wasn’t glamorous or easy.

Because winter training isn’t just a season.
It’s a commitment—from junior golfers chasing improvement, and from parents who love them enough to be cold for it.