5 Tips for Playing Golf in the Rain

5 Tips for Playing Golf in the Rain

by Bradley Turner, Keiser University College of Golf Director of Online Golf Instruction

I have lived in Florida for 30 years, and I must admit, I do not want to leave the sunshine state. I have experienced too many cold winters growing up in Michigan and played on too many cold and rainy days in early spring. For Floridians, January through March is a great time to be here when you are virtually guaranteed a chance to play golf in warm weather and good course conditions. That is not the case for many of our northern golf fanatics. Growing up in the Midwest was difficult for passionate golfers like me. I would often peer out the window to see a foot of snow on the ground and then turn to the television to watch the PGA Tour playing on a beautiful golf course in the warm sunshine. Spring fever was real for us northern golfers as we would sit in front of the television, waiting for winter to end. When the weather finally allowed for golf courses to open, we rarely played in sunny 70-degree conditions. Spring golf meant cool conditions accompanied by rain. This required a golfer to be prepared for spring golf and the anticipated wet conditions on the golf course. Here are five tips to help you prepare for the challenges of playing golf in the rain.

Rain Gear is a Must

Getting prepared to play starts with proper rain gear. A waterproof rain suit will make your round in wet conditions so much more enjoyable. There are plenty of quality brands available, and I suggest spending money on a quality rain suit that can last you for many spring and fall golf seasons. Another important item to have in your golf bag is a golf umbrella that is sufficiently large in diameter to keep you and your clubs reasonably dry. Rain gloves have improved and help if your grips get too wet to hold securely. Rain covers for the golf clubs, some extra towels, and you are in good shape to take on mother nature.

Keep Your Grips Dry

This is the number one priority in rainy conditions, so it is essential that you do everything possible to minimize your grips getting wet. The first step is to leave your big golf towel at home and replace it with as many small hand towels as you can get into your golf bag. One big towel will create one big slippery mess after only a few holes in the rain. Instead, bring out one small hand towel for two or three holes, and then replace it with a fresh dry towel. Another important strategy in keeping your grips dry is to avoid self-inflicted water accumulation in your golf bag. What does this mean? On seriously wet days on the golf course, do not place your putter back in the golf bag. Just secure it in the back of the golf cart and let the putter stay wet. This is the club that you will use the most, 18 times during the round. Since you are not swinging the putter with a lot of club head speed, it does not matter if the putter grip gets soaking wet. However, taking the putter in and out of the golf bag will quickly get your other grips in that same slippery condition. It took me a few years to figure this out, as I was always confused as to why my iron grips were wet even though I had not used the club that day. Now you know!

Understand the Influence of Wet Conditions

If you are a shorter hitter, playing in wet conditions can become frustrating since there may be little to no roll on your tee shots. There is not much to mitigate here other than an ego that may get you swinging harder and faster than normal. Focus on your normal swing tempo and rhythm in rainy weather conditions and simply accept the fact that the ball is not going very far on these days. As for iron play, you can hit a ball a bit farther. How does that happen? When the golf course is dry with no moisture on the grass, you can produce better friction between the club and the ball, resulting in more ball spin. But when water gets between the ball and the club face, there is less friction resulting in the ball flying about half a club more than normal. Consequently, golfers can hit “flyer” golf shots in wet conditions, so be aware of these slippery shots when choosing the right club for the situation you face. The USGA Rules of Golf allow players to take relief from temporary water accumulation on the golf course except for in penalty areas. If you are playing in a tournament and the committee is not allowing golfers to lift, clean, and place the ball in closely mown areas, you will need to contend with the maddening mud ball. As the name implies, when mud adheres to the golf ball, it will dramatically influence the ball flight. This creates unpredictable ball flight, so my recommendation is to always play a conservative shot when faced with a mud ball.

Make Short Game Adjustments

I believe the entire focus of the short game is to control the distance you hit the golf ball, which requires two important skills in the short game. First is the ability to judge the correct shot to play and the second is to properly execute the shot you selected. Judgment is vital to short game success, and it takes many years of experience to understand the multitude of factors that influence a short game shot. Distance control rules in the short game. When wet conditions are added to the mix, determining the best shot to play can be problematic. Experienced golfers will factor in the speed of the greens and the level of firmness of the greens during the judgment process. For example, assume you are playing a course with firm and fast greens. At the start of the round, water may begin to accumulate on the green, creating slippery conditions when the ball contacts the putting surface. With water accumulation on hard and fast greens, the ball will literally slide off the green due to less friction between the ball and the putting surface. As the greens soften, the ball will slowly lose the “sliding bounce.”  Once greens become very soft, it is advisable to hit shots with more airtime than ground time to mitigate the influence of a wet and slow putting surface.

Positive Mental Approach

Maybe the most important tip in playing in rainy conditions is to prepare your mind for the challenge ahead. Sure, there will be some unusual bounces and crazy ball flights when it is wet, but don’t allow these uncontrollable conditions to lead to frustration. A frustrated golfer never has fun on the golf course, so keep your expectations in check before you step on the first tee. Your friends may call you crazy for spending four hours in the rain playing golf. I would call you a true, passionate golfer who enjoys the added challenge of mother nature. So, enjoy the day!

If you’d like to study with Bradley Turner and other PGA Master Professionals, contact the College of Golf today.