There's a specific feeling that only golfers in Ontario understand. It's mid-April, the snow has finally retreated from the fairways, and you drive past a golf course with the windows down for the first time. The grass isn't fully green yet. The flags might not even be out. But your hands grip the steering wheel a little tighter, and somewhere deep in your bones you think: soon.
I've lived and coached in the Collingwood area long enough to know that spring golf up here is its own beautiful, humbling, exhilarating thing. The courses along the Escarpment and around Wasaga Beach are some of the most stunning in the province — but those first few rounds after a five-month layoff can be rough if you're not prepared.
So let's get you prepared. Not with some generic "stretch before you play" advice you've read a hundred times, but with a real, week-by-week plan to shake off the rust and start your season with momentum instead of frustration.
The Honest Truth About Spring Rust
Let's start with some grace. You haven't hit a real golf ball in months. Your body has been in winter mode — stiffer, less rotational, less conditioned for the specific demands of a golf swing. Your timing is off. Your touch around the greens is dormant. And your expectations? They're probably stuck at wherever you left off in September.
That gap — between where you think your game should be and where it actually is in April — is the source of most early-season frustration. So the first thing I want you to do is lower the bar. Not permanently. Just for the first two or three rounds. Give yourself permission to be rusty. It's not a reflection of your ability. It's physics. It's biology. It's five months without reps.
"The golfers who have the best seasons are the ones who approach April with curiosity instead of expectations. Treat your first few rounds as exploration, not evaluation."
Your Four-Week Spring Plan
Wake Up Your Golf Body
Before you even pick up a club, spend a week getting your body ready. As a TPI-certified instructor, I can tell you that the number one cause of early-season injury is swinging full speed with a body that hasn't moved rotationally since October.
Focus on hip rotation, thoracic spine mobility, and shoulder flexibility. Ten minutes a day of simple movements: hip circles, torso twists with a club across your shoulders, arm circles, and deep squats. Nothing fancy. Just wake up the muscles that create your golf swing. Your body will thank you on the first tee.
Rebuild Your Touch
Head to the range, but leave the driver in the bag. Seriously. Start with a pitching wedge and hit half-swings. Feel the clubface on the ball. Reconnect with the rhythm of contact. Hit 30 balls with your wedge, 20 with a 7-iron, and call it a day.
Then spend 20 minutes on the putting green. Not practising long putts — just rolling balls from 3 to 6 feet. Feel the speed of the greens (they'll be slower than summer, and that's normal). Rebuilding touch is more important than rebuilding power right now. Power comes back fast. Feel takes longer.
Stretch It Out
Now we add the longer clubs. Start your range session the same way — wedge, half-swings, feel the rhythm. Then work through your bag: 7-iron, 5-iron, hybrid, fairway wood, and finally the driver. But here's my rule: no more than 10 balls with the driver. And focus on making centred contact, not chasing distance.
If you can, play 9 holes this week. Pick a course you know well, play from a comfortable set of tees, and don't keep score. Just play. Feel what it's like to walk a fairway again, to read a green, to stand over a shot with real consequences. That sensory experience — the wind, the uneven lies, the sounds — is irreplaceable.
Your Real Starting Point
Now play 18. Keep score, but treat it as a baseline, not a verdict. Pay attention to patterns: Are you missing left or right? Are your short puts falling? Where do you lose the most strokes? This information is gold for the rest of your season — it tells you exactly what to work on.
If you want to accelerate from here, this is the perfect time for a spring tune-up lesson. I do these every April and May at Mad River, and they're one of the most productive sessions of the year. We look at your numbers on TrackMan, identify what's carried over from last season and what needs attention, and build a focused plan for the months ahead.
Spring Conditions: What to Know
Playing golf in the Collingwood area in April and May is different from July golf, and adjusting your expectations (and your strategy) will save you strokes.
The ground is soft. You won't get much roll on your drives, so don't be alarmed if you're 20 yards shorter than you remember. The ball will also plug in greenside bunkers more easily, so take an extra club into greens and miss on the safe side.
Morning tee times are cold. Your ball won't travel as far in cool air. Factor in a club or two extra for the first few holes until things warm up. And dress in layers — mornings on the Escarpment can start at 5°C and finish at 18°C.
Greens are slower. Spring greens haven't been mowed at summer height yet. They'll be softer and slower, which means you need to be more aggressive with your putts. That three-footer you'd normally die into the hole? In April, give it a firm rap.
Courses Worth Playing This Spring
We're spoiled in this area. Within a short drive of Collingwood, you've got some of the best golf in the province. Here are a few I'd recommend for your early-season rounds:
Mad River Golf Club
Bob Cupp design, Niagara Escarpment setting, tournament-quality conditions from opening day. Home base.
Batteaux Creek Golf Club
A beautiful layout in the Collingwood area, well-maintained with a welcoming atmosphere.
Wasaga Beach Provincial Links
A fun, accessible course right in Wasaga — perfect for knocking off rust in a low-pressure setting.
Duntroon Highlands
Scenic and challenging — stunning views of the valley and a great test once you've got a few rounds in your legs.
One Last Thing
Spring golf in this part of Ontario is a gift. After months of snow and indoor simulators and dreaming about fairways, you finally get to step outside and do the thing you love in one of the most beautiful settings in the country. Don't waste those first few rounds being frustrated that you're not playing your best.
Be patient with yourself. Enjoy the walk. Notice the view from the 14th tee at Mad River when the escarpment is backlit by the afternoon sun. Feel the ground under your feet. Breathe the air that doesn't have a hint of snow in it for the first time in months.
The scores will come. They always do. But the feeling of those first spring rounds? That's the good stuff. Don't miss it by staring at your scorecard.
Start Your Season Right
Book a spring tune-up lesson at Mad River — TrackMan data, a personalized plan, and the momentum to make this your best season yet.
Book a Spring Tune-Up