Rain, will you play in it?

[jmanbooyaa]

Good morning east coasters. Was thinking of going golfing on this rainy Sunday morning. If it is a rain day but this is your last chance to golf for 2 weeks do you put on the rain gear and hit the course? It is supposed to rain all day here in NY. Not sure how heavy.

[Lofty Lefty]

Rain, hail or shine. I'm actually surprised at how little a difference makes most of the time. (Hey, I'm a poet and I don't even realise it). But anyway. I used to stay away from the cold and wet, but now I make a point of playing in it. It will make you a better golfer in the long run!

[jmanbooyaa]

I have played in the cold, I played for most of the winter here in NY except the 2 months it was covered in snow. I have never golfed in the rain. Might break that streak today. Thanks for the response.

[Zeph]

The biggest problem with playing in rain is finding the motivation to get out the door. Once I'm on the course, it's no problem. Wind and rain is a no go for me, or heavy rain. Light or medium rain is no problem.

[jmanbooyaa]

Decision: heading to the course, lets hope the light drizzle is the worst of it. Rain geared up.

[NI4NI]

Playing in rain is not a problem when you have the right apparel.  I have Mizuno Imperialite rain paints, ProQuip rain pullover, ProQuip cap, rain gloves, and waterproof FJ's so rain is not an issue.

Last season, I played in quite a few rounds with rain, and liked having the course more or less to myself.  It's actually very quiet and peaceful playing in the rain,so long as there is no lightning.

My scoring was not affected, even though ball plugging can be an issue.

[NEOHMark]

In NE OH, if you won't play in the rain or cold, you won't play much before the end of May or after late September.  I find the biggest benefit of being willing to play in moderately inclement weather is the fact hardly anyone else is.  This entire spring I'd be the only one on the course several times in mid-40s to mid-50s temperatures or light rain.  The sun and warm weather brings out the fair weather players, many of whom can jam up the course into a 6 hour marathon.  I played 18 (riding, alone) yesterday in about 2 hours and 40 minutes - no rushing, and playing a second shot at times.   We had severe weather all around the course, but the course itself had sunshine and mild temps.  But the threat was enough to keep people away - I counted maybe three other groups on the entire course.

[bradsul]

As my granddad used to say "there's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing."  Lightening being the exception for both golf and flyfishing!

I love playing in the rain.  Between my push cart with umbrella holder and my rain gear the only things that get wet are my hands.  I keep a towel stashed up under the top of my umbrella for hands and grips to solve that.  As others have mentioned, having the course to yourself is really nice.  I spent more than 5 hours on the course last Sunday because of the fair-weather golfing crowd, I'm going to play today in the rain and even playing two balls I don't expect to be more than 3 hours tops.

I would add that if you play in the rain a lot, one of these is nice to have.  I hate it when my golf bag gets soggy.

[roobatooba]

I was just punishing myself by looking at some old scorecards and i realized that i seem to play better on wet fairways . I'm not saying i prefer the rain but i seem to hit better on  moist ground.Now i dont mean marshy swamps , rather  , off the morning dew or an hour or so after light rainfall.Mentally , i think my mind feels more comfortable swinging underneath when the ground should '' give ''more. This is just a weird observation that i made about myself and i wonder if anyone has anything idiosyncratic about their game or just some odd or weird preference ?

[Dad-2-3]

For me and my index/game a bit of moisture is good. Keeps a ball in the fairway that may have rolled into the rough otherwise and the greens obviously hold better with a bit of moisture. The downside is green speed may be a bit inconsistent or slower than normal.

[Shindig]

  jmanbooyaa said:

Good morning east coasters. Was thinking of going golfing on this rainy Sunday morning. If it is a rain day but this is your last chance to golf for 2 weeks do you put on the rain gear and hit the course? It is supposed to rain all day here in NY. Not sure how heavy.

Played final round of club championship this morning. Third group out. Rain until second tee. I wish the rain had continued; I parred the first hole.

[the19thhole]

  jmanbooyaa said:

Originally Posted by jmanbooyaa

Good morning east coasters. Was thinking of going golfing on this rainy Sunday morning. If it is a rain day but this is your last chance to golf for 2 weeks do you put on the rain gear and hit the course? It is supposed to rain all day here in NY. Not sure how heavy.

Was in same situation as you at the weekend. Forecast showers all day and knew I couldn't play again for 2 weeks. Got up early, rain gear on, take my trolley and shoes out to the car. There's a little drizzle, no problem. Go back to get my clubs and the heavens opened. I go back to bed. It rained heavy pretty much all day.

I don't mind if it starts raining when I'm playing, there is just something about driving to the cousre in the rain that puts me off.

[jmanbooyaa]

Great day of golf. Played for 5 hours and had a 1 hr 15 minutes playing lesson. Total of 6 hrs and 15 minutes of golf. Played 9 with no waiting and somehow the back 9 got a bit backed up. i think the 4 some in front of me on 10 started at 9. Either way it didn't matter I got to really practice alone. Can't really do that too much on the weekends.

[phillyk]

It depends on the weather of previous days for me, because if it has been raining for a while and the course is soggy, I might not play that day.  But, if it was sunny the previous day and the course was not too wet, I'll play in anything.  Usually, when I'm at home and notice bad weather coming in, I might as well go play golf, because no one else will be playing once it starts raining. haha!

The worst weather I've played in was a crazy afternoon.  T-storms rolling in hot and no one else on the course, and my bud and I tee of 10, and get to 14 when hail, heavy downpours, 30mph winds, and lightning just all turn on at the same exact time!  We hit our approach and then realized we should prolly find cover and wait it out.  2 problems here: 1) We are furthest you could possibly be from the clubhouse, and 2) the storm didn't go through as quick as we thought.  We ended up so soaked we went into clubhouse anyway, and of course the storm stopped once we got to there... typical.  Fun playing in rain though!

[TourSpoon]

I don't mind the rain, it's the golf ball sized hail that keeps me away. Aside from being pelted, it is hard to find your ball.

Seriously, light to medium rain is no problem.

[Backhoe]

Why yes, I do like to play in the rain. Not only do the fair weather golfers dissolve but so does the course marshal so if I find a problem area, like some combination of ball above or below the feet and on an up or down slope or a really deep bunker I can stop and hit as many balls as necessary before moving on. During inclement weather I don't necessarily play a given number of holes. I pay for 18 but just work until I've got in 4 hours or my boots fill up, whichever comes first. During the winter I play a 9-degree driver to avoid plugging. I turn the club over pretty aggressively for a low ball flight. The rooster tail put up by the ball also makes locating it a cinch.

[lumpuckeroo]

I will play in the rain, not like Caddyshack rain, but light rain, drizzle, mist, spit it's all good.  I don't get a whole lot of opportunities to golf, I will get in 20 and maybe 25 rounds in a year, so if I schedule time to play, I play.

[ochmude]

Light rain is no problem at all.  I was in the Marines for 5 years, so I'm used to being cold, wet, and miserable.  The only problem for me is gripping my clubs.  I still haven't found good rain gloves.