Every year, as winter comes around, have you ever noticed your scores going up? One reason is that cold temperatures reduce compression on your ball, giving you less distance in your shots overall. But another is your short game. When temperatures drop, the grass is tight, and the ground becomes hard. As a result of the tighter grass, there is less grass below your ball, and the lie becomes less forgiving, reducing your margin for errors. So you’ll see more of those fat or thin contacts in your chips or pitch shots. But fortunately, with a few clever tweaks, you can actually turn winter into the perfect season to sharpen your short game. Here are three winter tips to help you master your short game even when the course is at its toughest.

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1. Let the Ground Be Your Friend

One of the simplest ways to survive winter chipping is to embrace the ground. As Simon Holmes explains, “It’s all about my shot selection. So, I have to be able to read the conditions. And what I would recommend is that once you’ve got sort of a club that you fancy, which easily can be from putter to 3-wood. They all work fantastically well. Find a technique that works…” And he goes on to suggest using the running shot (most commonly known as the bump & run).

Holmes emphasizes that the “ground is your friend”. The idea is straightforward. Don’t try to muscle the ball into the air unnecessarily. In cold temperatures, the ball compresses less, meaning shots will travel shorter distances. Keeping the ball low and running it through tight lies reduces the risk of fat or thin contact.

The setup should be where your sternum leans a bit closer to the hole, so you have the shaft lean at address. Your weight should be a bit more on your left foot, and your arms and chest should work as a single unit. The shaft lean will allow your club to slide under the ball, and also help you get the roll. You could either use your putter for this, or use a 6-iron or even a 3-wood to achieve the roll required. Since there’s no loft needed on this shot, the less loft on your club, the better.

2. Master the Loft for Obstacles

Another tip by Holmes is for when you have to tackle shots over obstacles like a water hazard or a bunker. You’re in a situation where you’re about 50-70 yards away from the hole, but you obviously cannot use the running shot here because of an obstruction. He points out that many people, especially players like Phil Mickelson, would use a lot of wrist action to get over that obstacle. But it’s not easy and does not work every time for most of us.

“We need something that works 95% of the time…” he begins. The key is finding your low point so the club contacts the ball cleanly and launches it with just enough loft. Holmes adds, “My sternum… may be like a whole ball ahead of the ball I’m going to hit. That means without me having to manipulate anything, my club head is going to hit the ball first and then just sweep the ground.”

Here, stability is everything. Don’t let your hips or chest rotate independently or jerk at impact. “It’s much more about being committed to getting to the end of the shot than seeing what you’ve done at impact,” Holmes says. The result? Less intimidation, fewer duffed attempts, and more confidence in carrying hazards or bunkers successfully. And since you need loft on these shots, ideally, a lob wedge or a sand wedge works the best.

3. Choosing the Right Club

Winter lies are wet, tight, and unpredictable, which is why club choice is critical. Mark Crossfield highlights the importance of using clubs with thicker soles. “Making sure you’re starting to use some clubs with some soles… Lots of people like the hybrid putt purely cuz it’s got more of a flat sole. So you’re just not going to take a divot at all…” he says.

His advice is to focus on running the ball rather than trying to loft it too much, especially in soggy winter conditions, a tip similar to Simon Holmes. “When it comes to being in the rough… use maybe a 52 or my 58 and just pop it forward. Get the ball running in the wind. Don’t start interacting with this leading edge on the wet ground…”

So for fluffy lies like from the first cut or from the rough, it’s ideal to use a lofty club to help you get the ball out easily without chunking it. But from tighter lies, a hybrid, a 3-wood or even a 7-iron is more ideal.

By choosing the right club for the conditions and sticking to simple, repeatable motions, you can avoid the frustration that often comes with winter golf. So, with these tips, you can turn the tight, unforgiving conditions into an opportunity to sharpen your short game. Over time, these habits don’t just help in the cold months, but they carry over to your spring and summer rounds, making you a smarter, more consistent short-game player all year round.