The northern climes of North America and Europe are fast being enveloped in another winter season, the anathema of all golfers.

I have long been of the position that a golfer in a climate with a chilly or downright cold time of year has an extra special cross to bear, a heavier burden to shoulder.

The game of golf itself is tough enough. And, as so often happens, we seem to make a breakthrough of truly promising proportions in our game only to have to shelve all golf activity in order to hibernate.

Winters are a complete waste of a golfer's time. But they don't have to be.

Here are ten ways to put winter to good use in your golf game.

1. Find an indoor practice range or buy a practice net and set it up in your garage or basement - if you have a high enough ceiling. If you're not in a snow-bound land, perhaps you can set it up in your yard - or the neighbors' if they're down south.

2. Don't spend more than 20 minutes every couple of days hitting balls. Knocking out hundreds of balls in a golf dome or into a net is a waste of time. Your purpose is to maintain your rhythm and timing.

3. Call up your teaching pro - he's probably pretty lonely at this time of year - and take a lesson a month. That will give you something to focus on when you're hitting balls. It's also a nice thing to do for someone who's lonely.

4. Loosen up. Register for a Yoga class - any kind - or buy some stretching DVDs and regain some of that lost flexibility. In fact, you can get golf-specific stretching and fitness DVDs online from guys like Mike Pedersen or Roger Fredericks. They are well produced and these two fitness experts in particular are the real deal.

5. When the sun slips below the horizon in mid-afternoon and the fire is burning nicely in the hearth, pull out that excellent golf book called The Match (more on that plus an interview with the author, Mark Frost, in two days!) and hunker down for one of the best golf reads of the year.

6. Send a copy to your teaching pro for Christmas. You will be rewarded handsomely. It is always better to give than to receive...

7. Further to tip #4, take on the challenge of eating healthy (there are no Golden Arches in "healthy"). Stay away from junk food, comfort food and all the nasty stuff that appears at this time of year. Ditto for high calorie food unless you're into an aerobic routine like spinning or circuit training.

8. Hey, take up spinning or circuit training. A nice complement to the Yoga class you've signed up for. Does wonders for the heart, too.

9. Focused visualization is a superb way to improve any part of your golf game. And it has more science behind it than the link between smoking and cancer. How do you visualize? Meditate. Get into a relaxed state of mind and body sitting comfortably upright in a chair with eyes closed and no distractions and direct your thought energy to images of you performing at your best. Remember, you're thinking GOLF here.

10. Finally, there is only one thing left to do over the winter. Pray like hell that it's a short one.