What is the worst weather conditions you have ever played in???

[mako224]

I will start.

Last year I played in The First T of Atlantic City Tournament at Linwood Country Club. I thought for sure the event would be postponed. We were having a wicked NorEaster with sustained wind of nearly 40mph with higher gusts and rain that ranged from drizzle to torrential downpours as bands of the storm came in off the Atlantic Ocean. Temperature was in the 50s. Linwood Country club is a beautyful private course built mostly on open exposed marshes just across the bay from Atlantic City. On one particular par 3 that was playing 190 yards directly into the wind out of over 100 golfers only 2 people reached the green.

Anybody got any good stories.

[flopdarock]

reminds me of the priest on caddyshack

[RocketSauce]

i havent played in any horrible weather really, just cold with a steady drizzle which is no fun. it was in the mid to upper 40's and drizzling the entire day. wasnt worth it.

[Kcas77]

Played a tournament at Sugarbush in warren vt it poured rain the entire time oh and it took 6 and a half hours. wasnt any fun

[rebby]

When I was in highschool we played a match in some really bad weather. Temps never got above 38' F. There was a constant 20mph wind with gusts over 50mph! It rained on and off throughout the round as well. Not a hard rain but when it's in the mid-30's, any amount of rain is torture.

Obviously it was easily the worst scoring match of the year. I did manage to medal though , with an 83! Considering the weather, I played really well. It was one of those days where you just hacked at the ball. There was no feel involved and you were just happy making contact w/all the layers of clothes on.

[kyldo]

Two come to mind:

Once back in high school it was maybe 5 degrees celsius, pouring rain, and sort of windy. By the end my hands were so cold I could hardly grip the club. It was an 18 hole tournament and anyone who finished (10 people) got a sleeve of balls.

The other was my last round this year. It was warm but it was easily the strongest wind I've ever played in, and possibly the strongest wind I've ever seen. Shit was borderline tornadic. It was so ridiculous that my 5 iron, which goes 220 when struck pure, went 120 into the wind. Any shot into the wind would rise and literally come back toward you. I hit a hook with an 8 iron into the wind and it progressed 20 yards forward and 150 yards right. Conversely, with the wind at my back I hit a drive 440. Easily the most frustrating round of my life.

[uttexas]

Texas-I stubbornly walked and carried my clubs 18 holes when it was 114*F at Sleepy Hollow golf course (Dallas, TX) in August, 2000. I was a resident physician at the time, and putting every penny in the jar (didn't want to pay for cart.....and I usually carry my clubs) I was 27 at the time, and thought I would be just fine. Started to feel a bit dizzy around the 16th hole (even though I was pouring water down my throat every hole). Glad I did it though, Sleepy Hollow was closed by the city in 2003 (needed flood plane for Trinity River Project) It was one of my last rounds there. Sleepy GC RIP.

Just outside Manchester, England (December, 1993)--Played in freezing 20*F, snow on ground, with light snow falling. Again, walked, hitting yellow ball.

Scariest-Just outside Eugene, Oregon March, 2005. Had been drizzling all day on and off. My buddy just hit his tee shot onto a par three, when a freakish lightening bolt crashed down into nearby power lines 170 yards away. We left the ball on the green and ran to the cart like little school girls and drove to club house. Siren went off as we approached club house. We finished the round after eating lunch and drinking a couple of Bloody Maries.

[flopdarock]

scariest driving range experience was a sudden t-storm... boy those 3 buck beers in the clubhouse were tasty during that storm

[shortgrass lover]

me and my friend were playing some of our "all-day, everyday" summer golf, when it started to pour down rain. so we drove our cart (don't normally drive but i guess i was lucky we did) into a shed out on the course. The rain eases up to a slight drizzle, so we head back out to play. We got about 10 feet out of the shed and ice starts pouring down like crazy, the wind picks up to idk how many mph, and we couldn't see anything anywhere because of the hail. so we have the cart floored trying to make it to his house asap, and we're trying to block ourselves with each other in order not to get whipped by the ice, which seemed like it was flying horizontally at about 80 mph. anyway, we made it to his house and let the storm calm down. when we go back outside it looks like a hurricane has ripped through. uprooted dogwood trees, huge limbs down, flagpoles in the middle of the fairway. it was INSANE (and awesome)

the weirdest thing was that it actually hailed, because it was like 90 degrees outside, in the middle of July??

[LottaBalata]

I played a Sunday in February a few years back. It was about 22 degrees and the wind mph was about 15. . .felt cold as crap. The course I played has covers on their carts in the winter and you can rent one of those propane heaters that fits in the cup holder. Not bad in the cart!

[picrig]

I'm from Texas, so we don't get a whole lot of bad weather days, but I'm (stupidly or not) heading out the door right now to play. Currently 39* with a windchill in the mid 20s. Some light drizzle on and off. What can I say, though...if the course is open and I have time, I'll be out there.

[PiKapp23]

When I think of weather conditions as they relate to golf, I always think of the 3 'foul weather' conditions: cold, wind and rain. To clarify those conditions, these are what I consider to be 'foul weather'. Cold = ( below 50*); Rain = steady downpour (irregular intermittent or light sprinkling does not count); Wind = minimum 15 MPH. My rule of thumb is that I will play in any 2 of these 3 conditions, but I will not play in all 3. Overall, I really do not mind playing in bad weather - I always look at it as a challenge and a chance to hit some different shots.

Within those parameters I have played in conditions that are pretty bad, but not as bad as some. Coldest is probably about 20 degrees; windiest, about 40-45 MPH gusts; and I've played in rain a couple times so hard and steady that I had to change rain jackets and shirts at turn because even the 'waterproof' jacket had gotten saturated enough to no longer be waterproof. The worst all around weather would probably have to be last year when we have a buddy trip that turned into a monsoon. It rained with a hard downpour for our entire 18 holes. The temperature was around 50 (which is not bad when playing in rain since you already have to wear jacket), but half the course was on a high ridge with winds that day that would just about blow you over (the one Welshman who was with us said that's what real golf is supposed to be like). The course was so saturated it was cart path only so we all walked and I've never been so worn out in my life from slogging through through those soaked fairways/mudways. There were a couple holes where we all hit ball into fairway and never found them because they completely buried. For almost the entire round we were the only people even on the course. When it was all over and done with I think we all agreed we'd had a great time.

[nevets88]

If a photo is worth 10K words, what's a video worth?

 

 

[Kenny Lee]

Ballybunion Golf Club. Ireland. 2006.

Wind was so strong that the ball would roll away before I could hit it. After a few holes we quit. Went to the pub and played poker all day and night.

[DaveP043]

I went on a trip to Ireland in 2004.  The week before, two hurricanes had come up the east coast of the US, so that by the time we got to Ireland, the storms had followed the gulf stream and were hammering western Ireland.  We had rain every day, ranging from occasional showers to steady driving rain, and heavy winds, with gusts of up to 60 mph measured.  We had to keep laughing to make it bearable, but it was sure an experience.  I went back a couple years later, with my wife, and we had weather as perfect as anyone could ask for.

[RussUK]

Couple of years ago played my then home course, Willow Valley Country Club, on a March morning. Weather was clear at home bu the course is high up. Reached the 1st tee and the fog was so thick we couldnt see the greens the whole round. 

We were the only people stupid enought to play. Strange this was we had the best rounds ever. No pressure if you cant see your target 

[Elmer]

Few years back played a local course in the 1st week of November. It was supposed to be 45 and sunny for a majority of the day.
We tee'd off around noon and it was 45 and over cast.

By the back 9 it had dropped to 35 and snowed for our last few holes.

It was cold and windy!!!
Never again!

[mcanadiens]

Miami Shores, Troy, OH, sometime in late 2013.

The day started cold and damp. When the sun finally rose, my buddy and I stepped outside and tested the ground and decided to give it a go. The front nine went ok, We teed off on 11 and then the heavens opened up and the wind blew it all sideways. Despite it all, we struggled on for two more holes, An approach shot hit the green on 13 and splashed like it were a water hazard. That was the end of the day. 

Saturated to the bone, we made a total mess of the car on the drive back home.