Here in Green Bay, WI, we had a range that was a series of doors like those storage units sort of facilities. They each had a heater and driving range mat, and we hit balls out into a nice field of snow. They jerryrigged a ball gatherer that was pulled behind a snow mobile or ATV that pulled a roll of pliable rubber dual disked that trapped the balls and popped them up into gathering bins. It worked pretty well. Similar like Steve Stricker that famously has a 3 sided trailer with a tarp that rolls down, and a heater and a full swing studio inside where he hits balls out into the snow in Madison. It seems to work for him.
Unfortunately, our great winter facility driving range and golf shop was a casualty of the economy.
I just started my winter YMCA workouts today, that I do not go to in golf season. I kid myself that walking golf 2-4X a week is enough. But it really isn't. I find I loose a percentage of my strength over the golf season. So, I try to build up a little during winter. I'm going to try to go somewhere warm for a week or so mid winter.
What ticks me off about winter layoffs, is you can chart my golf handicap like clock work. I go into a slump mid-late summer, and mysteriously I shoot my best scores the last few weeks. Same this year. I often wonder if I lived south if I could keep it going and improve over winter, or have a mid-winter slump, requiring a slump-buster.
