When is the weather "too bad" to play?

[krupa]

This is mostly for the members who can't play golf 12 months out of the year, but I'm also interested in life on the other side as well.

As a New Yorker, I can reasonably expect 8 months of golf-able weather.  As such, I try to maximize my opportunities and will go out and play when the weather is less-than-ideal.  This past Saturday was, to my way of thinking, perfectly good golf weather.  It was mid-to-upper 60s and overcast with a chance of showers.  Imagine my surprise when I got to the course a 2pm and found it virtually empty.  When I teed off, there were a couple groups on 7 and 8 and a couple groups on the back 9.  As I finished the front 9, I saw a couple groups on the first few holes and maybe one or two on the back.  The showers (not much more than a steady drizzle) started as I teed off on 11.  By the time I finished 18 I was alone on the course.  I guess the "rain" drove people off the course. 

The only weather that will stop me is thunderstorms, heavy rain actively pounding down or if the radar shows it to be imminent, and temps below 40.  So I'm curious, at what point  do you say "I'm not playing in that."

[Gator Hazard]

Being in Tampa I've played a lot of golf in rain. We stopped once when it got freaking crazy with lightning included. We were near my golf partners home and pulled the cart close and waited it out and then returned the cart as it was dark. 

If it got extremely gusty, over 40 or 50 mph I may also stop but have not had that happen yet. 

[Groucho Valentine]

Same with me, other than the under 40 degrees part. Ill play in below freezing temps if the sun is out and there is no wind. Its the wind that gets you. Below 50 and rain i won't do, though. 

Overall, its mostly the wind with me. If i look out side and see heavy winds, I'm usually like "the hell with that" lol. Heat, cold or rain dont bother me as much. 

[saevel25]

Temperature, 45 degrees if there is no wind
Rain, as long as it isn't a downpour I can play in some pretty steady rain. Rain gloves are the best.
Wind, as long as it's not stupid like 40-50 mph gusts. I can handle pretty steady winds. 

Typically if it's going to rain I don't plan on playing anyways. If it happens to rain, I'll still play or tee off if I am at the course already. 

[Groucho Valentine]

2 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Temperature, 45 degrees if there is no wind
Rain, as long as it isn't a downpour I can play in some pretty steady rain. Rain gloves are the best.
Wind, as long as it's not stupid like 40-50 mph gusts. I can handle pretty steady winds. 

Typically if it's going to rain I don't plan on playing anyways. If it happens to rain, I'll still play or tee off if I am at the course already. 

Yeah, i feel like i do that too. If I'm out there already, i don't care. 

[krupa]

6 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Same with me, other than the under 40 degrees part. Ill play in below freezing temps if the sun is out and there is no wind. Its the wind that gets you. Below 50 and rain i won't do, though. 

Overall, its mostly the wind with me. If i look out side and see heavy winds, I'm usually like "the hell with that" lol. Heat, cold or rain dont bother me as much. 

The last couple years, I've been getting more sensitive to cold temperatures.  I have 25 years to convince my wife to retire someplace warm.

5 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Temperature, 45 degrees if there is no wind
Rain, as long as it isn't a downpour I can play in some pretty steady rain. Rain gloves are the best.
Wind, as long as it's not stupid like 40-50 mph gusts. I can handle pretty steady winds. 

Typically if it's going to rain I don't plan on playing anyways. If it happens to rain, I'll still play or tee off if I am at the course already. 

I rarely plan to play, I mostly play alone and just go to the course when I can/want to.

[bkuehn1952]

• No lightning
• No steady rain at the start of the round with little chance of it stopping in the next several hours
• No snow covering the ground, especially the greens (partially covering the ground/greens is okay)
• Ground completely frozen and greens like parking lots [temperatures sub 32 (f) for an extended period of time]

I play in almost any kind of weather other than the above.  I probably would not go out when there are official "high wind" warnings with gusts to 50 mph but that doesn't happen often and I can't recall ever deciding to not play because of just the wind.
 

[Groucho Valentine]

7 minutes ago, bkuehn1952 said:

• No lightning
• No steady rain at the start of the round with little chance of it stopping in the next several hours
• No snow covering the ground, especially the greens (partially covering the ground/greens is okay)
• Ground completely frozen and greens like parking lots [temperatures sub 32 (f) for an extended period of time]

I play in almost any kind of weather other than the above.  I probably would not go out when there are official "high wind" warnings with gusts to 50 mph but that doesn't happen often and I can't recall ever deciding to not play because of just the wind.
 

Ive played on courses where the greens were frozen.  If the course design doesn't have too much forced carries into the greens it can be a boatload on fun to play when they're frozen. You have to get creative. 

[Jeremie Boop]

Until this year I never golfed if it was below 50, but I played in some pretty cold weather when I went to VA. As in, we actually got snowed on. Not something I would do regularly, but it opened my eyes to the fact that I can handle some pretty cold weather if there is a good reason. Other than that I don't play in high winds, basically 20+ mph winds and I'll just not play. I have enough trouble knowing where my shots are going without the added wind issue. Now, if I get to the course and the wind picks up or starts raining a little I'll usually just deal.

[Grumpter]

Southeast PA had about the same weather as you did and the courses lost a LOT of money this weekend. I had to spend a few hours hopping around to a bunch of different courses websites just to be able to find a group I could join. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to record my score. When I finally found a group and made it to the course they had already sent out the twosome I was supposed to join. Maybe I could have caught them but I wouldn't have been happy about the whole thing. Luckily one of the guys who works at the course was going out at the same time. A few minutes later and it would have been a huge waste of time and effort.

Most of Saturday was just fine to play and the courses were completely empty.

[rkim291968]

(Weather spoiled in CA)

When I worked, I played whenever I can.  Weather wasn't a deciding factor except for a non stop hard rain.   Now that I am retired and can play every day, I find myself sitting out on rainy and/or heavy wind days.   If I see 20+ MPH wind in forecast, I will just go to a range.  My course has hills where 20+ MPH wind forecast becomes about 25 MPH wind.   Golf is not fun at that wind.

[DaveP043]

Just now, Jeremie Boop said:

Until this year I never golfed if it was below 50, but I played in some pretty cold weather when I went to VA. As in, we actually got snowed on. 

That was the kind of weather I wouldn't have played in, if y'all weren't in town.  I usually look for highs into the 40s, with no rain, into the high 60's with a light drizzle, no steady downbpour no matter what the temperature, and I run if there's lightning.  I don't mind wind, unless its cold and wet in addition.  Of course I'm going to Ireland in a few weeks, and we'll be playing pretty much no matter what the weather is, since most of the golf has been paid for already.  Who started that thread about bad weather tips, I better check my own notes and take all the gear I mentioned.

[Hardspoon]

Temperature: I'll play as long as I don't need gloves to keep my hands from freezing...for me, that's about 40 degrees or so.

Wind: I've never cancelled a round (or not played because of wind). It would take something crazy (40mph gusts or something) for that to happen. 

Rain: I don't mind playing in the rain. It's actually nice sometimes, since it won't be as crowded. If it's a steady or really heavy rain, that's a different story, but I've definitely headed out for a round when I knew it would rain for a good portion of it.

Lightning/Fire/Brimstone/Nuclear Fallout: Depends how long since I've been able to play.

[Jeremie Boop]

2 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

That was the kind of weather I wouldn't have played in, if y'all weren't in town.  I usually look for highs into the 40s, with no rain, into the high 60's with a light drizzle, no steady downbpour no matter what the temperature, and I run if there's lightning.  I don't mind wind, unless its cold and wet in addition.  Of course I'm going to Ireland in a few weeks, and we'll be playing pretty much no matter what the weather is, since most of the golf has been paid for already.  Who started that thread about bad weather tips, I better check my own notes and take all the gear I mentioned.

I'm looking forward to seeing your course in good weather, as nice as it was in the poor weather we had I can't imagine how nice it is now. Same for @jsgolfer, though I hope to have my golf game in much better shape before then.

[No Mulligans]

Very weather spoiled here.

Still, I've equipped up with rain gear, winter gloves and a good umbrella that attaches to my push cart.

I've played in light rain.

I've played with wind up to 20 mph.

I've played down to about 40 degrees.

I've played at 95 degrees.

For me the most uncomfortable on that list is the 95 degrees, I like to walk and don't do well with that much heat.  So, when it's that hot I ride.  But still, high heat is the most uncomfortable for me.  The second worse for me is heavy wind.  Light rain, I really enjoy playing in the light rain in that it's not crowded and I find it very peaceful.

[Dinoma]

Never ;)

 

[krupa]

4 minutes ago, Dinoma said:

Never ;)

 

Damn... you win. 

[onthehunt526]

1 hour ago, krupa said:

This is mostly for the members who can't play golf 12 months out of the year, but I'm also interested in life on the other side as well.

As a New Yorker, I can reasonably expect 8 months of golf-able weather.  As such, I try to maximize my opportunities and will go out and play when the weather is less-than-ideal.  This past Saturday was, to my way of thinking, perfectly good golf weather.  It was mid-to-upper 60s and overcast with a chance of showers.  Imagine my surprise when I got to the course a 2pm and found it virtually empty.  When I teed off, there were a couple groups on 7 and 8 and a couple groups on the back 9.  As I finished the front 9, I saw a couple groups on the first few holes and maybe one or two on the back.  The showers (not much more than a steady drizzle) started as I teed off on 11.  By the time I finished 18 I was alone on the course.  I guess the "rain" drove people off the course. 

The only weather that will stop me is thunderstorms, heavy rain actively pounding down or if the radar shows it to be imminent, and temps below 40.  So I'm curious, at what point  do you say "I'm not playing in that."

Matt,

When we played... It rained, sleeted, snowed, was cold and windy. My rule is generally under 30 degrees, imminent thunderstorms, or steady downpours... If I can find a window to play Golf... I will... I played 18 holes in an hour and 50 minutes yesterday because everyone must have seen chance of p.m. thunderstorms.

 

Shane