Golf in winter in Switzerland: what really works from November to March

At some point in November it is over. The greens are covered or switched to winter greens, the fairways are wet, it is dark by four. Golfers in Switzerland traditionally take a break of four to five months. It does not have to be that way. There are three ways to stay in the game through the winter, and each has its price and its use.

Way 1: the south

Ticino is the region where all three 18-hole courses stay open all year. Ascona, Losone and Lugano play through because the climate south of the Alps is mild enough. Switzerland Tourism lists all three as playable year-round. In Valais the same is true of Sion: the course in the Rhone valley has a microclimate of its own and, according to Switzerland Tourism, stays open practically all year.

What that means: from Zurich it is a good three hours to Ascona, from Bern about the same to Sion. A weekend in the south is no substitute for a training routine, but it keeps the game alive. Playing Losone in January at ten degrees is a fairly good reason to like winter. If you plan it: weekend tee times are more sought after in winter than you would think, because everyone has the same idea.

Way 2: the driving range with tracking

Many ranges stay open in winter, and some have upgraded in recent years: Toptracer or TrackMan Range follow every ball, show carry, curve and landing point on the screen at the bay and turn a bucket of balls into a training session with numbers. Our directory lists 16 driving ranges with ball-flight tracking, from Otelfingen to Sempach.

The catch: it is outdoors. At two degrees in drizzle, motivation rarely outlasts one bucket. If you mean to use the range seriously in winter, find one with covered or heated bays. Which ones those are is on each venue page, because we list it there the way the operator publishes it.

Way 3: the simulator

This is the way most people have chosen over the last five years. Switzerland now has 110 indoor venues with a golf simulator, spread over 21 cantons. Zurich has the most with 29, then Vaud and Valais with 12 each, Aargau with 11 and Graubünden with 10. The federation, Swiss Golf, counts 29 indoor facilities in its Facts & Figures. The gap shows how many venues have grown up outside the club structures: lounges, studios, hotels, fitness centres.

What it costs you: 80 of the 110 venues publish an hourly rate. The cheapest hour is CHF 25, the dearest CHF 99, the median CHF 50. The price is per bay, and a bay is usually shared by up to four people. As a foursome the hour becomes an evening for a little over twelve francs a head. The full list by canton is on the price page.

What you get for it: 78 of the 110 venues run TrackMan, the system the tour uses to measure. After every shot you see ball speed, launch angle, spin and carry. Most venues let you play real courses; Pebble Beach is on offer at eleven, St Andrews at six. And 81 venues offer coaching, often with a Swiss PGA professional who reads the numbers you cannot interpret yet.

Way 4: your home course on winter greens

The way many people forget, because it sounds like going without. Plenty of courses stay open through the winter as long as the ground is not frozen, playing to winter greens or shortened holes. The green fee is often lower, the round is quicker, and nobody is in front of you. Whether play is on today is decided by the course that morning and said on its website or over the phone; there is no general rule, because it depends on last night's weather.

What speaks against it: on a winter green you practise putting that is worth nothing in summer, and a wet fairway gives the ball no roll at all. What speaks for it: it is golf, in the open air, with a card in your pocket. As a complement to the simulator that is the better winter, not an alternative to it.

The four ways, side by side

Way	When it fits	What it costs	What it gives
Ticino or Sion	one or two weekends	travel, a night, green fee	real golf on real greens
Range with tracking	dry, mild days	balls by the basket	carry and curve, outdoors
Simulator	every week, any weather	a median CHF 50 an hour per bay	numbers, repetition, rounds
Home course, winter greens	when the ground is open	a reduced green fee	the feel of playing, fresh air

Most people combine two of them: a bay once a week for the numbers, and nine holes on the home course on a mild Sunday. That keeps both awake, the swing and the game.

What the winter can do for your game

Winter is the time your swing is allowed to change, because no score depends on it. On the course in July you do not want to rebuild anything. In the simulator you see the same numbers week after week under the same conditions: no wind, no slope, no excuse. That is the real value, not the virtual Pebble Beach.

A plan that works: one hour a week, 40 minutes of it with a goal and 20 minutes of play. Goals worth having because they can be measured: know the carry of every iron to within five metres, hit the driver with under 3000 rpm of spin, land a wedge from 60 metres inside eight metres. Whoever arrives on the course in March with those three things plays a different season.

And if you want your course permit: winter is the best time for the theory and the basics of the swing, so that in spring only the course is missing.

What the cold does to the ball

Anyone playing outside in winter hits it shorter, and it is not the swing. Cold air is denser and slows the ball more, and a cold ball is harder, deforms less and gives back less energy. Together they cost metres, on every shot, all day.

Four things help. What works in what weather is in Golf in rain and cold. Take one more club than the number on the card says, and expect no roll on wet ground. Keep two balls in your trouser pocket and swap every few holes so a warm one is always in play. Dress in layers that do not lock the swing up, and warm up longer than you would in summer. And let the score be what it is: a winter round does not measure your game.

This is exactly where the hall has the advantage. In a simulator it is the same temperature every week, the ball is always the same, and the number you compare really does compare your swing rather than the weather.

One winter, in four blocks

Five months is about twenty hours if you go once a week. Divided like this, they add up to a season:

1. November: measure. Two hours for numbers alone. The carry of every second club, the spread, the smash factor. At the end you have a table that serves as the comparison all winter.
2. December and January: one thing. A single subject for eight evenings. Contact, the face, the attack angle. Take two subjects and you get neither.
3. February: the short game. Pitches from 40, 60 and 80 metres, always at the same target, writing down the miss. This is the part that saves the most strokes on a course and gets played the least indoors.
4. March: play. Rounds on the screen with gimmes off and the tees you play outside. Plus the first round on winter greens as soon as the course is open.

What a winter cannot do: bunkers, lies in the rough, wind and long putts on a real green. So put two afternoons at a practice facility in the diary for March, before the season starts. The swing will be there; only the ground under it is missing.

More on this: Indoor minigolf or golf simulator, Indoor golf around the clock, When is indoor golf open?, New indoor golf venues.

Practical: how to book

• The map shows every venue, the ones near you included, with price and system.
• Open now shows who is open at this moment. Some venues are accessible around the clock with an access code.
• Bringing your own clubs is always worth it; most venues have rental sets, but your numbers belong to your clubs.
• Book as a pair or a four when it is about fun. Book alone when it is about training. The two rarely work together.

And when the first courses open in April, the question is no longer whether the swing is still there. Only how fast the greens are.

Frequently asked questions

Can I play golf outdoors in Switzerland in winter?

Yes, in Ticino on all three 18-hole courses and in Sion in Valais, which stay open practically all year thanks to their climate. Most other courses close their greens from November to March or switch to winter greens.

What does an hour in a golf simulator cost?

Of the 110 indoor venues in Switzerland, 80 publish an hourly rate: between CHF 25 and 99, a median of CHF 50. The price is per bay, which up to four people usually share.

Do I need my own clubs for the simulator?

No, most venues have rental sets. If you want to train with the numbers, bring your own, because carry and spin belong to your own clubs.

Do Swiss golf courses stay open in winter?

Some do. In Ticino, Ascona, Losone and Lugano play all year, and in Valais, Sion stays open almost the whole year thanks to its microclimate. Many other courses carry on to winter greens as long as the ground is not frozen; whether play is on today is on the course's website that morning.

Why does the ball fly shorter in winter?

Cold air is denser and slows the ball more, and a cold ball is harder and returns less energy. Add wet ground with no roll. Take one more club, keep a second ball warm in your pocket and swap every few holes.

Sources

• Schweiz Tourismus: Golf im Tessin (die drei ganzjährig offenen 18-Loch-Plätze)
• Schweiz Tourismus: Golf im Wallis (Sion, ganzjährig bespielbar)
• Swiss Golf: Facts & Figures (29 Indoor-Anlagen, 35 Driving Ranges, über 108'000 Golferinnen und Golfer)
• golfsimulators.ch: alle Standorte (126 Standorte, Stand 17. September 2026; Preise sind die Angaben der Betreiber)