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

[Patch]

Up in Ely Nevada some years ago. Snow, icey rain,  and 50 + mph wind. It was a family deal with other folks showing up from Oregon and Idaho. Wind chill was way down close to zero as I recall.  Ice would form up on the club shafts. It was an unexpected storm, but we were all there, so why not. We had the course to ourselves which was an 8 some with family spectators too. The 19th made a small fortune on hot chocolate, Bailys Cream,  and different Bacardi drinks.

[Gator Hazard]

23 minutes ago, Patch said:

Up in Ely Nevada some years ago. Snow, icey rain,  and 50 + mph wind. It was a family deal with other folks showing up from Oregon and Idaho. Wind chill was way down close to zero as I recall.  Ice would form up on the club shafts. It was an unexpected storm, but we were all there, so why not. We had the course to ourselves which was an 8 some with family spectators too. The 19th made a small fortune on hot chocolate, Bailys Cream,  and different Bacardi drinks.

Nice.  My family used to go flyfishing in the Ruby Mountains and at Ruby Marshes a bit outside of Ely.  

[DeadMan]

I'll play in pretty much anything. Two times stand out to me. When I played when it was just above freezing, and it started snowing on the 14th hole. Finished the round, though, because only had 4 holes left. One of my playing partners said it was a "Forest Gump" day because stupid is as stupid does playing golf in that weather. The other was playing in a steady downpour when it was 50 degrees out. That was pretty miserable, and if your ball was in the rough, you tended to get more water than ball. I did not have a good round that day.

[inthehole]

40-50 mph winds in Mesquite, NV.     Getting pummeled by tumbleweeds on the tee box (had to time your tee shot so you didn't get mowed down by 6 ft tumbleweeds bouncing at us) & balls wouldn't stay put on the greens - they would blow right off.    Course actually gave us a partial refund - first time I've ever asked for a refund for an unplayable condition.

[Yukari]

About three years ago, we teed off one April morning.  Usually the weather is very unpredictable in CO especially in early spring.  Started off nice and sunny but by the second hole, the clouds started rolling in.  And by the time we got to the 5th hole, it started to snow.  We played holes 5-9 in lightly snowing condition.  Needless to say, we stopped after 9 and forget about putting.  The ball would be a big as grapefruit (exaggeration, of course) by the time it got to the hole.  We all gave 2 putts once we reached green but one putt if we made the first one.  Because of the snow, the ball did not travel far even if we hit it hard.

[SavvySwede]

I've done mid-30's, steady rain, and 20-30mph winds. Packed it in after 5 holes. 

Once while walking down the 16th hole of now closed Miry Run CC I saw what appeared to be a funnel cloud touching down off in the distance. Thought my eyes were playing tricks on me but listening to radio on the drive home confirmed a tornado had formed in the area.

[dave s]

Golf outing in Lake Tahoe area.  Squaw Valley, to be specific.  Day of event, weather called for mostly sunny and low 60s.  By the time we made the turn a front was blowing through dropping the temps to low-30s, high winds and SNOW!!!

Needless to say, our group cleaned the clubhouse of any and every warm-weather clothing item.  Brutal.  Just brutal!

Teeing off on #10 was the first time I'd ever felt wind blowing my driver head off line during a swing.  Like numbskulls, my team was one of only two groups who braved the elements and finished the round.  My team?  Finished 2nd of two!  Great.

Dave

[bkuehn1952]

10/12/2009.  Super Typhoon Melor's remnants hit the Monterrey Peninsula with torrential rain and winds of 45+ mph, gusting higher.  We were scheduled to play Spyglass Hill.  The power was out and the clubhouse guys recommended we stick with the first 6 "ocean" holes as trees and branches were falling all over the place.  Along the shoreline the rain hurt one's face since it had sand particles in the drops.  After 6 holes I probably weighed an extra 20-30 pounds from all the water in my clothes, rain suit, shoes.  I have played in similar winds and colder temperatures but I have never been wetter.

Edited November 10, 2015 by bkuehn1952
correct grammar

[jsgolfer]

Played in the hail in a high school match in Brewer Maine, sometime in 1981.  Have never been so cold playing golf.  

 

[Patch]

1 hour ago, Gator Hazard said:

Nice.  My family used to go flyfishing in the Ruby Mountains and at Ruby Marshes a bit outside of Ely.  

I know the Ruby area quite well. One of my wife's favorite photography spots. 

[dkolo]

Going to the driving range the day Hurricane Sandy was coming in was a lot of fun. 

[shanksalot]

 Where do I start. Played in Hawaii 30 years ago on Mauna Kea and the winds were blowing 40 MPH with heavy rains. Not too bad. 15 years ago I played on a course that two of the holes were closed because the rains that month flooded those holes. The course was obviously playing lift clean and cheat. But there was not a spot you could put your ball that water did not come over your shoe when stepping on the ground to take your stance. It was in the low 30's and yes raining, but by the 8th hole it started snowing. I played the last hole with the ground totally white with snow. when I go in (I was the only one on the course at the time) people came out of the bar area and were pointing at me and laughing. I was covered in snow on my back as the wind was coming from behind me and my push cart and bag were also while with snow.

 This same course we had a huge fire that swept toward  our course. It was not under control and had been burning for weeks. The advisory was to be ready to evacuate as the fire came within a mile of the city. We were out playing with masks on  so as not to breathe in too much smoke. When we finally got in after the round we were told there was a fifteen minute advisory meaning if they said get out of town you had 15 minutes or you were cut off from getting out as there was only one road to get out as the others were shut down. My wife and I had our truck packed ready to go at a moments notice, but a few days later they had the fire controlled enough that things were relaxed and eventually they had it  contained . It was touch and go there for about 2-3 weeks. The fire burned nearly 500,000 acres in Southern Oregon. It started in July and was finally put out in December. We continued to play the rest of the year, but mostly with masks on until September. 

[isukgolf]

Ireland ... Ballybunion old course ... cold, wind so strong it blew the pull cart over the minute you let go of it ... drizzle ... but hey, I was in Ireland, and playing golf ... nothing could ruin the day!  

[DaveP043]

38 minutes ago, isukgolf said:

Ireland ... Ballybunion old course ... cold, wind so strong it blew the pull cart over the minute you let go of it ... drizzle ... but hey, I was in Ireland, and playing golf ... nothing could ruin the day!  

And Ballybunion had fabulous seafood chowder to help you warm up.

[Lihu]

Lightning thunder and heavy sideways rain. My son (when he was 13) and I huddled under a little pine tree far away from the taller trees while the rain occasionally hit us from the side. The tree was short and round and had a lot of shelter from the top and sides. It stopped after just half an hour and we were able to finish the round.

We watched one party pass us up during the heaviest rain. Apparently nothing was going to stop them from finishing the round. Ironically, we passed them up as they were warming and drying themselves 20 minutes or so later down the course.

[Aflighter]

Kinda hard to say which was worst.Ive played in steady pouring rain two days in a row till water was standing o green.Played in 30 degree weather with winds howling 30mph.Played in some storms where bolts of lightning were coming down before we could get t shelter.Had storm with strong wind and hail beating down on our carts.Played in some sleet before but wasnt  as bad as cold and rainy windy.

[JonMA1]

Man, you guys are hardcore playing under those conditions. You have my respect.

I've played many times when it was below freezing, and a couple times in heavy downpours. Waited out a lightning storm sitting in a cart.

[vangator]

In the early 90's we played a 2 man scramble in a Tropical Storm in Sebastian Florida.  Sixty MPH winds, but no rain.  Rain was on the eastern side.  We were the only team to finish under par at -1.

In the early 2000's we played two days in a row in 114 to 118 degree heat.  Walked.  By the second day I was crawling.

Every year a guy at work has a Christmas tourney here in the Tampa area in the Tuesday between Christmas and New Years.  36 holes.  The last year I played, we teed off on the McDill AFB course with the temp in the teens and the wind howling.  It was the most miserable day of my life.  My lower lip cracked and was gushing blood for a week (slight exaggeration about gushing).  Never played the tourney again and won't ever in the future.

We were playing the final day of a Ryder Cup match.  Started as a slight rain.  By the middle of the round it was a gully washers.  We wanted to finish the round, so we played on.  Standing water on the fairways.  The greens were lakes.  We would move the balls to find a path to the hole that wasn't a lake.