Record February cold

Wicker Park Golf Course, Highland, Ind.

It's 12 below outside - without the windchill. And what a fitting way to send February away. According to Chicago weather savants, it's the coldest February on record. That goes back to the beginning of record-keeping some 126 years ago.

Now I know what you're thinking - it's a little too cold to JEDgolff. But think again. This is actually the perfect weather to JEDgolff. It's an opportunity.

1. You will encounter NO snail golfers to slow you down and holler at you.
   
2. You will probably not have to pay. 
   
3. You will get some amazing GoPro footage. Brutal cold + bright sunshine + plus frozen white snow everywhere = great landscapes.
4. In solitude that resembles being on the moon, you will sink into yourself, and that's hard to do in real life.
5. These are  just a few reasons to take a half hour getting dressed, and another half hour getting your GoPro stuff and balls and phone and stuff together. And then driving to a course you never JEDgolffed on before, with about a 50% chance that you'll get stopped at the clubhouse and turned away. But it's worth it. Trust me. It's worth it.

…Anyways, on Wednesday (photo above) I JEDgolffed four holes at Wicker Park in Highland, Ind., a mile from my house. It is, more or less, my home course for JEDgolffing since Woodmar Country Club closed down. The reason I could only get in four holes was twofold. The going is still really slow. You're bundled up in a bunch of layers, and you have to lift your feet out of 9 inches of frozen snow for every step. It's not really running. More like trudging.

And you wind up looking for your ball a lot. If you hit the ball in the air, it hits the frozen snow and goes straight to the bottom. You have to know exactly where the tiny hole in the snow should be. And since the snow's been on the ground for a while, there's other little holes in the snow from deer, coyote, cross-country skiers, the occasional hiker and maintenance worker. You gotta pay attention and sometimes that's not even enough to find your ball.