07 Mar 2022
For keen golfers, light rain should pose no problem at tee off.
While significant, heavy rain may cause a course closure, especially when greens and the fairway become unplayable, many golfers in the UK will be familiar with the challenges of playing in light rain.
Instead, by adapting your approach, using winter rules, and preparing for bad weather, a game of golf can be enjoyed even in the rain.
Where you may normally be content with simply a light jumper on a summer’s day, when it’s raining, your kit requirements will need to change. Golf courses are exposed to weather varieties of all kinds, and in the rain, you’ll need to be prepared.
A set of good waterproofs is essential for all-weather golfing. Your gear should include a quality waterproof jacket, waterproof zippered trousers that easy slip over cleated shoes, as well as wet weather gloves.
As the wet reduces your grip, you’ll want to invest in a glove that allows you to maintain a strong grip, even in wetter weather.
Similarly, you’ll also need a good pair of waterproof shoes to play golf in the rain. Manoeuvring around a course in wet, uncomfortable gear can distract how well you play.
If your grips become too wet, then maintaining a good, reliable grip can be difficult. Try keeping a dry towel with you, conveniently stowed with your kit, and this can help to dry clubs, balls and even your hands in-between swings and playing holes.
While dry towels are helpful in all-weather golfing, you may also want to consider playing with gloves (why limit your game to one pair?) Golf gloves can be worn to your advantage, as they improve grip, especially for drives. Playing without gloves can therefore worsen grip, causing inconsistency in your shots.
Rain hoods come as standard with a good golf bag. However, you may want to invest in an aftermarket hood for your golf bag, along with some additional waterproofing.
Wet weather can come at you from all angles, which means golf balls and clubs can be more challenging to play with. If left wet over long periods of time, golf clubs can even rust. A rain hood ensures that the inside of your golf bag stays optimally dry.
Called so for a reason, golf umbrellas will protect you and your golf bag, ensuring that you’re only in the rain for the duration you need to be. A golf umbrella is a piece of practical kit that keeps gear dry, creates a wind barrier, and it helps with visibility in overcast or poor conditions.
A good golf umbrella should be structurally sound to withstand high winds and driving rain.
While your long game is less likely to be as heavily affected by rain, and you can potentially add more drive than normal to counteract the bad weather, your short game will be affected.
As the ball will roll less when the ground is wet, chips and putts will need a firmer stroke behind them. When there’s moisture in the ground, and the course grounds are not optimal (such as unlevel grass from lack of maintenance), then speed behind short putts becomes even more important. A firmer swing will compensate for the wet conditions, where moisture trapped in the grounds will slow down your game.
As we’ve learned, you’ll get less ball roll when course conditions are wetter. That’s why all-weather golfers, typically, advice using firmer chips and putts and a variety of shot choices as you manoeuvre around a course.
Playing off higher trajectories in your short game will help you play more effectively in the rain, because the impact is reduced, and surface moisture becomes less of a challenge.
The dreaded mud ball can affect your game considerably. Any mud on the left-hand side of your ball and it will curve to the right; any mud on the right and the ball will curve to the left. If there’s mud at your contact point, the overall distance and flight trajectory will be impacted.
The more mud on any ball, the worse your shot will be. Keep your balls as clean as possible.
Fairway woods and hybrids will be more forgiving for drives; on the other hand, you should consider choosing either wedges or irons for approach shots, increasing the backspin. This is because wet balls are heavier and will travel over shorter distances. Cold or muddy balls will behave similarly, troubling flight and distance from a swing.
Here at Foxhills, our courses are open throughout the year. We update our course status by 7am each morning and change the buggy levels depending on the day.
In wet weather, we may ask for carry only, so please be prepared for this.
However, our professional golf trainers are always willing to discuss finer points of playing in the wet, especially on some of our tricker holes.
Why not play a round or two, and experience golf at Foxhills today? Book your tee times today.
