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18 September 2026 · 10 min read

Winter greens in golf: what they are, which rules apply and whether the round counts

In winter the club puts the flag in a piece of fairway and closes the green. What a winter green is, what changes on the course, whether the round counts for your handicap and which Swiss courses play through on summer greens. And where you measure a score in winter that means something.

Winter greens in golf: what they are, which rules apply and whether the round counts — post image

Winter greens in golf are the closely mown patches in front of or beside the real green where the club puts the flag in winter. The summer green is closed, sometimes covered, the rest of the course stays open. If you want to play golf in winter in Switzerland, that is how many courses play: on winter greens, with preferred lies and a lower green fee, and the round often does not count for handicap. A few courses play through on summer greens. What matters to you depends on what you want from the winter: to be outside, or to get better.

What a winter green in golf is and why the greenkeeper switches

A winter green is a temporary green. The greenkeeper mows a patch of the fairway or the apron shorter, cuts a hole and sets the flag. The summer green next to it is off limits. The reason is the grass: on the green it is cut shorter than anywhere else on the course, which makes it fragile. The Par72 glossary names the three enemies: frost, moisture and little sun, and grass hardly regenerates in winter. A footprint on a frozen or waterlogged green stays visible into spring, and a pitch mark does not heal. So the club closes the green as soon as the ground freezes or stays wet, and opens it again only when the grass grows.

A winter green is therefore a compromise. The surface is smaller, bumpier and slower than a summer green. You putt across fairway grass, the ball rolls short and hops. A chip from ten metres often beats a long putt. That makes the winter course a game of its own. It is golf, but not the course you know in June.

The rules on winter greens: wrong green, preferred lies, green fee

The Rules of Golf know the winter green. In the R&A definitions, the putting green is the area the Committee defines as the green, expressly including a temporary green. The normal green of a hole where a temporary green is being used counts as a wrong green and is part of the general area. If your ball lands on the closed summer green, you do not play from there. You take free relief beside the green, no nearer the hole (Rule 13.1f). That is not a courtesy to the greenkeeper, it is the rule.

Then come the club's local rules for winter. The usual one is preferred lies: on closely mown areas you may mark, lift, clean and replace the ball within the distance the local rule names, no nearer the hole. Many clubs require tee mats in winter, close bunkers or single holes and allow no electric carts, because wheels leave tracks on wet ground. And they often charge a lower green fee, because the course is shorter and in worse condition. What applies on a given day is on the notice board or the club's website. Read it before you tee off. If the basic rules are not yet solid, they are in the twelve rules that count.

Does a round on winter greens count for your handicap

Not automatically, and it is not your decision. An acceptable score needs a course with a valid Course Rating and Slope Rating. Winter greens change the course: the holes get shorter and the greens are different. Appendix G of the Rules of Handicapping of the R&A covers exactly this. The club's Handicap Committee must notify the national association when temporary changes to the course may affect the Course Rating, and the association decides whether scores made under those conditions are acceptable. If the course is less than 100 metres shorter over 18 holes, nothing changes and scores count as usual. Above 300 yards, about 274 metres, the day does not count unless the association decided otherwise in advance. In between, the association can issue an adjusted rating for the day.

In Switzerland there is a second condition. The Swiss Golf WHS brochure lists when a score counts for handicap: over 9 or 18 holes, by the Rules of Golf, in the company of at least one other person, on a course with a valid Course Rating and Slope Rating, during the active season, and announced before the round, at the club office or as General Play in the Swiss Golf app. A private round you did not register never counts, in summer or in winter. And a registered round on winter greens counts only if the club treats the course as handicap-relevant on that day. Par72 notes that many clubs treat rounds on winter greens as not counting, and advises checking first. So ask at the club office before you register a General Play. How the Handicap Index is calculated is in The golf handicap explained.

For your game that means: a winter round that does not count is not a lost round. It is practice under conditions that test the short game. But it says nothing about your handicap, and a good score on a shorter course with preferred lies is no proof that you have improved. Measuring progress needs another place. More on that below.

Which Swiss courses play through on summer greens

Not every club switches. Some courses keep the summer greens open as long as ground and temperature allow. There is no complete list, and one would be out of date after a winter. So, examples with a date:

  • Golfclub Lipperswil TG: for winter 2023/24, golfhome.ch reported on 18 December 2023 that the 9-hole Feldgarten course would play through on summer greens for the first time in the club's history, as long as temperatures allowed. The green fee for 9 holes: CHF 50 for all guests, whatever their home club.
  • Ticino: south of the Alps, winter is a different season. What works there, and what the ranges with ball-flight tracking offer, is in Golf in winter in Switzerland.

Whether your course plays through is on its website under course status, usually with the date of the last change. If nothing is there, phone. A course on summer greens in December can switch in January after a week of frost, and a course on winter greens opens the summer greens as soon as the ground allows.

The day the summer greens open again

The switch back has no fixed date. It depends on the ground, not the calendar. An example from eastern Switzerland: the Ostschweizerischer Golf Club in Niederbüren announced on 25 February 2026 that its summer greens were playable at once, while the rest of the course was still very wet and needed time to dry (osgc.ch). That is spring on many courses: first the greens, then bit by bit the fairways, the bunkers and the permission for trolleys and carts. The club's course status says so the same day. And with the summer greens the handicap round comes back, as soon as the club releases it.

Winter kit: what to wear, in one paragraph

In winter golf, clothing decides whether the round is fun. Three thin layers instead of one thick one, so you can still turn your upper body. A hat, because you are out for hours. Warm gloves or mittens for the time between shots, a normal glove for the shot itself. Waterproof shoes, because the fairway is wet even when it is not raining. A towel for ball and grip. Coloured balls if there are patches of snow. And lower expectations of distance: cold air and wet ground cost metres, the ball flies shorter and hardly rolls. Warm up before the round, it helps the swing and the back. How to do that in five minutes is in Golf and back pain.

Where the score is measured in winter

A round on winter greens tells you whether you still have a swing at five degrees. It does not tell you whether the swing has got better. The yardstick is missing: the course is shorter, the green is a piece of fairway, the ball lies where you place it. To work on numbers in winter, go where the ball is measured the same way every time: the bay. A launch monitor measures ball speed, launch angle, spin and carry the same at any outside temperature, and a score on a simulated course compares with the one from last winter. Why it comes out lower than on the real course, and how much of it counts, is in simulator score and course score.

The bays for that stand in 21 of the 26 cantons: the golfsimulators.ch directory listed 126 venues on 18 September 2026, 110 indoor venues and 16 driving ranges with ball-flight tracking. 80 of the 110 indoor venues publish an hourly rate, between CHF 25 and CHF 99 per bay, a median of CHF 50. Up to four people usually share a bay, and the price with it. What an hour costs where is in the price guide, and which venue is open right now is under open now. The winter training plan gives the season a structure.

Winter is no reason to put the game away, but a reason to split it. Outside on winter greens you play because you want to be outside and because the short game learns something there. Inside you measure whether the work pays off. Before your next winter round, check the club's website: summer or winter greens, and does the day count for handicap. And find a bay for the numbers: Year-round golf shows how course, range and simulator complement each other over the year, and the directory the venue nearest you.

Frequently asked questions

Does a round on winter greens count for handicap?

Not automatically. Under Appendix G of the R&A Rules of Handicapping the club's Handicap Committee reports temporary changes to the course to the national association, and the association decides whether the scores count. In Switzerland a private round must also be announced at the club office or registered as General Play in the Swiss Golf app before you start, otherwise it does not count.

What is a winter green in golf?

A temporary green: a closely mown patch on the fairway or apron with a hole and a flag, which spares the real green in winter. Frost, wet and little light stop the grass from growing, and damage stays visible into spring. Under the Rules of Golf the closed summer green is a wrong green, and you take free relief from it.

Can you play golf in winter in Switzerland?

Yes, on many courses, usually on winter greens with preferred lies and often with no effect on your handicap, as long as there is no snow. A few courses play through on summer greens: golfhome.ch reported that in December 2023 for the 9-hole Feldgarten course in Lipperswil, at CHF 50 per 9 holes. The simulator covers the rest of the winter: 110 indoor venues in Switzerland, a median of CHF 50 per hour and bay.

What happens if my ball lands on the closed summer green?

You do not play it from there. While a temporary green is in use, the normal green counts as a wrong green and is part of the general area: you take free relief beside it, no nearer the hole. That is in the definitions in the Rules of Golf.

Which winter rules usually apply?

Preferred lies on closely mown areas within the distance the local rule states, often mats on the tees, closed bunkers or individual holes, and no buggies on wet ground. Many clubs charge a lower green fee in return. What applies on a given day is on the noticeboard.

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