Sports Consultant: Jim Fletcher of Windsor Park Golf and Country Club

Winter is the time of the year when many golfers decide to pack away their golf clubs and wait until the fairer weather in the Spring before starting out to play again. However, winter is actually a good time to work on improving your golf, working on different aspects of the game that you would not normally work on during the regular golf season. With good preparations during the winter season, you can hit the course in the Spring and score well.

First of all, it is possible to play golf at most golf courses in the Tokyo area, including The Windsor Park Golf and Country Club. Heavy snowfalls, which would close any golf course, are negligible in the Tokyo area, allowing these courses to remain open all through the winter season. Green Fee rates are generally cheaper so wintertime is actually an opportunity to play a little more golf on the same budget.

When you do make it to the golf course during the cold weather do remember some of the following points:
1. Be sure to wear thin layers of warm clothes, and not thick sweaters or jackets that will impede your swing.
2. A warm woolen hat is also essential to keep the heat in, as most of your body heat will escape through your head.
3. You should also consider a good pair of sunglasses, as the sun will be in your eyes on many holes as it does not rise too high in the sky during the winter months.
4. The cold weather will also tighten up your muscles so stretching and warming up before your round becomes even more important.
5. You may also need to consider hitting an extra club or two for some shots as your body will be less flexible in the cold weather.

To improve your game off the golf course, you can visit the Driving Range at Windsor Park, or your local driving range to keep your swing in sync. There are many outdoor and indoor practice facilities available in the Tokyo area, more details of which can be found on the Golf in Japan website at www.golf-in-japan.com. It is possible to sign up for a series of lessons at most of these facilities. There is no quicker way to improve your golf swing—and score—than to have a golf lesson from a trained golf professional.

You can also work on several aspects of the game without even leaving your home. Have you ever thought about practicing gripping and re-gripping with a practice club while sitting on the sofa watching TV? How simple is that? A solid grip is one of the key aspects to making a good golf swing.

Standing in front of a full length mirror with a club checking your stance and posture is easy to do too. Here you can check your spine angle, hip and knee flex. By placing some tape on the mirror at these key points, you can be sure to repeat the same stance and posture every time.

The golf swing requires the body to coil and uncoil. Place a golf club or broom handle behind your shoulders and holding both ends with your hands. Take up an athletic position and coil the shoulders to the right side while resisting with the hips. Once you are tightly wound up, uncoil by turning the lower body in the opposite direction. The movement of the golf club or broom handle should resemble the rotary movement of a helicopter blade. This exercise will help keep your muscles in shape during the winter months.

The most overlooked part of the game when we practice is putting. Statistics have shown that putting is about 40 percent of the game. We all like to go to the driving range and bomb drivers over the 250 yard marker, but have you ever considered the fact that a six foot putt counts for one shot too. So practice these short putts on your carpet during the winter months. If you want to improve your score, there is no better place to start than to work on your putting.


You’re never in the cold at Windsor Park
We are open all through the winter season at The Windsor Park Golf and Country Club, and look forward to welcoming you. Please check our website at www.wpgcc.com for information on some of the packages available, and remember that we can also tailor make packages to meet any specific requirements that you may have.

Windsor Park

The management team, headed by CCA’s Representative Director Franz Eichenauer, along with our friendly staff and the warm atmosphere of the clubhouse, assure that you will very soon forget about the cold weather and enjoy another great day of golf.

Franz Eichenauer

Our Executive Chef Hara and his culinary team will also prep are for you delicious hot soups and hot Japanese and International dishes, and don’t forget about our Roving Fairway Bar that serves hot spiced wines and other hot beverages on the course during your round. You will never be cold at Windsor Park.


Jim Fletcher can be contacted by email at [email protected].