There's an entire category of local courses in the Met area that have at least 80 players out on any day that might get into the 50s temperature Dec - March. If there's no wind and good sun, people (including me) will challenge a day in the low 40s.
For 6 years I played a role in the oldest Winter Golf organization known, "The Sno-Birds" at Siwanoy CC - started back in 1908. Over the course or October and November, some 40-60 players will try to qualify for a 16 (or 32) man match bracket that commences after Thanksgiving with each round being played the next five weekends into January. They usually have a Sno-Bird Member Guest on Dec 31st,
Until the greens freeze, the matches are played over the regular front nine, but when ice and snow come to dominate they quickly employ the "Sno-Bird" course which, though morphing some over the years, is a significantly shortened, amalgamated version of the Front nine, with the targets now being tiny circular discs of hard packed sand, infused with oil (to keep moisture and snow off). the flagsticks are broomsticks, which not only is a charming bit of arcanery but also a practical matter as you use the broom to sweep the green smooth of footprints and tracks for the next group.
I have caddied for the sno-birds a few times in light snow to moderate snow, but the Sno-Bird member guest of 1996 was after one and during a seperate out and out blizzard. The drifts were thigh high in spots and it was absolutely amazing that we lost only a few balls in 225 shots of a foursome. Sno-bird Rules are absolutely the last word in "liberal" winter rules, but that day was as close to defeating any enterprise of Golf as any could be.
Yet, with the aid of enough liquor to create a $500 bar tab, the six (myself, the other caddie and four players) of us made it in just under three hours and I had the single greatest day in the snow since I was a child on a toboggan.
unless your an elite player or uptight about your handicap, Sno-Birds proves, to me, that Golf is entirely about the company you keep. Alone, you are truly a nut - perhaps well intentioned - no matter what private intimate inspirations may come toting your own bag in the lonely sunset. With another, better still a friend - it becomes an ennobling, affirming activity, even in the snow.
Cheers
vk