On The Green, Issue 11
I admit to a lack of motivation this time of year. Vermont winters, even mild ones like we’re having this year, will wear you down. February in the northeast is close enough to golf season to get excited, but not nearly close enough to satisfy the urge to play. It’s like getting 75% of the way through painting the fence in your front yard. It’s almost over, but boy would a beer and seat on the couch taste good.
And yet, we push forward. I’ve found golf-related activities help pass the time. After you’ve read all the mental game books on our reading list here, and made your golf New Year’s resolutions, you’ll need to find ways to make it through the off-season.
This winter I’ve gotten back into running and snowboarding. Two things I’ve historically done a lot of, but time, injury, and other factors have slowed me down recently. Rediscovering these outdoor activities has helped me stay motivated in the off-season. Living half a mile from a 700-acre state forest with tons of running trails and 20 minutes from Woodstock’s own Saskadena Six Area have made it easy to dip back into the winter fun.
However, this isn’t a snowboard newsletter. It’s not a running newsletter. This is a golf newsletter. And because of that, we’re featuring stories this month to motivate and inspire you through the quiet winter months.
Fore please,
Ross Evans
OTG Creative Director
Rocky Ridge in Vermont under a blanket of snow.
Photo Credit: Rocky Ridge Golf Club
Rudyard Kipling's Snow Golf
Though most of us in Vermont put our clubs away in the off-season, believe it or not, there is a long history of winter golf in the state. In 1892, shortly after British author and poet Rudyard Kipling married an American, they settled in the small town of Dummerston near Brattleboro. It was here that Kipling found inspiration, specifically drawing on his winter experiences in Vermont. Continued Below -
Rudyard Kipling’s Dummerston, Vermont home.
Photo Credit: Kelly Fletcher
It was noted by neighbors and area residents that Kipling was always adventuring around his property. He was also finding winters just fine for golf. Kipling would put on knickers knee high boots, drape a golf bag on his shoulder, grab a bag of his hand painted red golf balls, and off he’d go. Neighbors would watch as Kipling put on a show for them. Swatting balls off mounds of snow to made-up “greens” in his yard. Snow golf wasn’t the only thing inspired by his time in Vermont. It was here that Kipling wrote The Jungle Book, among other popular works.
Kipling spent five years in Dummerston. The home he built there, Naulakha, is a National Historic Landmark. Click Here for More on Kipling’s Vermont Home.
Golf in Impossible Places
There’s something comforting about knowing that golf can be played in just about any climate anywhere in the world. It’s inspiring and a testament to golf’s ability to motivate people, even in the most difficult of circumstances. Take Lofoten Links (pictured right) as exhibit A. Lofoten Links is one of only a few golf courses in the Arctic Circle, one of the harshest climates in the world. Located in northern (EXTREMELY northern) Norway, the 18-hole layout can be played 24 hours a day in the summer. The crew from No Laying Up released an incredible video recently from Lofoten. And pro golfer Viktor Hovland famously drove 22 hours with friends to play the course (and subsequently set the course record).
For more examples of golf motivating folks to play in impossible circumstances check out the sand greens of Saskatchewan, street golf with Tiger Hood, and golf at the Angola Prison in Louisiana.
Lofoten Golf Links.
Photo Credit: Kevin Murray
