Have you ever woken up early on a Saturday morning and been pumped up about your tee time, only to see an unexpected thunderstorm coming rolling in?

You may have wondered if you and your buddies would be able to get your round in at your favorite course. What a bummer!

Cheer up though, a rainy day on the golf course doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to cancel your tee time. In this article, we’ll discuss when it’s still feasible to play golf in the rain.

We’ll also give you some tips on how to make sure you are prepared to play in the rain.

How Much Rain Is Too Much for Golf?

It’s tough to say how much rain it takes to cancel your tee time. Some golf courses hold up remarkably well even during a steady rain and dry out quickly. This is especially true of courses in hotter climates.

Other golf courses aren’t as resilient and the extremely wet conditions may lead to wet grass, wet greens, and bunkers that are filled with wet sand and mud. It’s these types of conditions that make the staff decide to cancel some or all of the remaining tee times for the day. Most pro shops only do this if necessary because they do not want to lose the revenue from greens fees.

On a day with particularly bad weather, you may have arrived for your tee time and seen the dreaded “Course Closed” sign displayed near the pro shop. It’s a terrible feeling and you may have wondered just how much rain caused the course to close. Believe it or not, it probably wasn’t rain that caused the course to close.

The majority of the time, course closures are caused by lightning strikes or other types of severe weather like hail or tornadoes that pose an imminent danger to competitors and staff. When this happens, the best thing you can do is go home, pour yourself a cold one, and watch golf on TV. Hey, there are worse ways to spend an afternoon (lol)!

Can You Play Golf in Heavy Rain?

Yes, you can play golf in heavy rain, as long as there has not been a lightning strike in the area within the last 30 minutes. To successfully play golf in the rain, make sure you have extra towels in your golf bag. It’s also a good idea to invest in some quality rain gear like rain gloves, rain hats, and rain pants.

While playing in heavy rain, keep an eye out on the golf course for any signs that are posted. If there has been steady rain for quite some time, the golf course superintendent may opt to close some of the holes that have large puddles. The staff may also employ the “Cart Path Only” rule on rainy days to keep golfers from doing further damage to the course.

You also want to keep an eye out for any parts of the cart path that may be roped off because of being underwater. Never take any unnecessary risks by driving your golf cart into a puddle that looks too deep. If you have doubts about a puddle’s depth, simply drive around it.

How Long After It Rains Can You Play Golf?

As long as the golf course is still deemed playable by the staff, then you’ll be able to still finish your round. The only time you may not be able to keep playing is if the rain has caused significant damage to the course. When this happens you may notice multiple puddles and lots of tree limbs down.

If the course or the cart paths are unusable or lightning strikes keep happening in the area, you’ll need to ask the pro shop about their rain check policy. At some golf courses, you’ll be eligible for a rain check only if you’ve played six holes or less.

What to Do If It Rains While Golfing?

We’ve all been there. You are in the middle of shooting a great score and one of those annoying pop-up thunderstorms comes out of nowhere. Here are four tips for playing golf in the rain.

1. Make Safety Your First Priority

At the first sign of rain, stay alert to the sound of the pro shop blowing the horn. If this happens, you must postpone your round and find shelter. The pro shop staff will closely monitor the local weather radar to try to figure out when it is safe for golfers to resume their rounds.

All golf courses have a few safety shelters available for when lightning strikes happen. If no safety shelters are in sight, try to get back to the clubhouse as quickly as possible to ride out the storm.

According to recommendations from the USGA, when lightning strikes, a delay will remain in effect until after lightning has been absent in the area for at least 30 minutes. The pro shop will then blow the horn to indicate that all golfers can resume their rounds.

2. Break Out the Right Gear

When the rain starts coming down, bring out your umbrella to make sure that you and your golf clubs stay as dry as possible. It’s nearly impossible to hit good quality golf shots with wet grips on your clubs. A lot of golfers like to drape a towel underneath the lining of their umbrellas so that they can dry their hands and grips before each shot.

It’s also a good idea to put on your rain jacket and waterproof golf shoes if you weren’t already wearing them. Take the opportunity to put different spikes on if you prefer them in wet conditions. Spikes can keep you from slipping during your swing and allow you to still make clean contact with the golf ball.

To stay prepared at all times, some golfers like to keep all of their waterproof gear in a plastic bag inside their golf bag. Other things like an extra dry towel, hand warmers, golf gloves, and maybe an extra golf shirt can come in handy.

3. Have a Sound Strategy for Wet Conditions

When the fairways and greens are wet, you won’t get nearly as much distance on your shots. All of your shots will have less trajectory and you’ll get less backspin with your wedges. Because of this, be prepared to take more club on all of your shots during and after a rainstorm.

On long approach shots, use a fairway wood or a hybrid instead of your long irons to help you compensate for the less overall distance. Also, be prepared to hit your chips and putts with more authority. When the greens are wet and you’re hitting a wet golf ball, your chips will stop more quickly and your putts will have much less break to them.

4. Have Fun

Golfing in the rain may not be as pleasurable as golfing on a perfect 70-degree day, but it can still be a lot of fun. When playing during a wicked downpour, try not to take your score as seriously. Everyone tends to play worse in tough conditions, even PGA Tour stars!

Mike Noblin

Mike has been involved with sports for over 30 years. He’s been an avid golfer for more than 10 years and is obsessed with watching the Golf Channel and taking notes on a daily basis. He also holds a degree in Sports Psychology.

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With how often it rains in the UK, you shouldn’t let it stop you from playing your favourite sport. Playing golf in the rain can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. We’ll go through how to prepare for golfing in the rain and give you some top tips on how to adjust your play to get the most out of a rainy round on the course.

Can you play golf in the rain?

The short answer is yes; you can play golf in the rain. However, this will depend on whether your local golf course stays open, which will be determined by the amount of rainfall and how it has affected the course. If the course you want to attend is open, there are several steps you should take to prepare for a round in wet conditions.

How does rain affect golf?

The rain can significantly impact both course conditions and how your ball behaves after every shot. This can include:

• Less control of the ball: As both your ball and the club will be wet, the club will have less traction when hitting the ball. As your golf ball is also likely to pick up more mud and water, both of these things together can cause the ball to act more unpredictably for each shot.
• Reduced ball distance: After hitting the ball, you’ll find it will likely not travel as far in the air due to increased drag, and it can ‘plug’ upon hitting the ground and not roll as it would in dry conditions.
• Slippery fairways: While you may have perfect form for your swing when it isn’t raining, the excess water on the fairway, on your ball, and the club can make you more likely to slip and make a mistake while taking your shot.
• Wet rough: Once the thick grass of the rough becomes wet, you may find that your swing speed is impacted by trying to push the club head over the grass, especially if it’s muddy.
• Waterlogged bunkers: The bunkers around the course can become more challenging to navigate should you need to get your ball out of the bunker. Once the sand is wet and compacted, the playing surface is entirely different from when you’re hitting your ball out of dry sand.

How to prepare for a round of golf in the rain

To make sure that you’re as comfortable as possible in wet weather, and that you minimise the effect that it has on your play, there are a few things you should bring with you to the course:

• Waterproofs and extra layers: To help keep you dry and warm without making you overheat while you play, you want to look for breathable layers and light waterproofs, such as a jacket and trousers.
• Rain gloves: As you might have guessed, rain gloves are designed for wet weather, and the grip they provide actually improves when wet to help you keep hold of your club properly.
• An umbrella: Investing in a good golf umbrella can help keep the worst of the rain off of you while you walk between holes or wait for your shot. You might also want to consider getting an umbrella or a waterproof cover to protect your club bag.
• Extra towels: Packing extra towels is always a good idea to help wick away any excess moisture as you play.
• Waterproof shoes: A good pair of waterproof golf shoes can help keep your feet dry, and if you purchase shoes with spikes, they can help you maintain traction on the wet grass, too.
• Club brush: Your clubs are likely to pick up more mud if the ground is wet, so keep a club brush handy to clean them off as you play.

5 tips for playing golf in the rain

1. Club up

In the rain, your ball will roll a shorter distance due to the ground being wet, so you may need to club up (for example, swap your 8-iron for a 7-iron) to mitigate the difference.

2. Adjust your swing

Practice a more controlled swing with a wider stance to avoid slipping. You may also want to grip your club further down to make up for your feet sinking further into the ground, and move your ball further back so that you aren’t sweeping it up off of the wet grass.

3. Brush up on the rules for ‘casual water’

The ‘casual water’ rule gives players free relief if golfers find their ball in ‘temporary water’, such as puddles. The rule allows you to move your ball to the nearest point of complete relief within one club-length (but not closer to the hole).

4. Hit putts with more force

Generally, the presence of water will reduce the speed of the greens, can cause your ball to hydroplane, and make your ball stray from its intended direction. To get the most out of your putts, it’s best to hit with more force and increase the length of your backstroke.

5. Swap your sand iron for a pitching wedge

Getting the ball out of sand is one of the toughest challenges a golfer can face, even more so when the rain compacts the sand.

A pitching wedge is better placed than a sand iron to overcome this challenge. The reason is that golf clubs are designed for normal sand, and a sand iron has bounce on its sole.

However, if the sand is compact, the last thing you want is a club with bounce on the sole, because it’ll strike the ground and bounce into the ball if the ground is hard.

You can either de-lock your sand iron grip to create more loft, or use a pitching wedge so the leading edge acts more like a knife, cutting through the sand in wet conditions.

Playing golf in the rain: FAQs

Do golf courses stay open in the rain?

Golf courses may stay open in light rain or if rain is sporadic. If the course becomes waterlogged due to prolonged or heavy rain, it will likely close until the weather improves.

Do golf courses refund when it rains?

Unfortunately, most golf courses will not provide a complete refund if it rains and the course has to close. However, you may be able to get vouchers back to be able to move your scheduled round to a later date. The best way to find out is to check the booking policy of your chosen course.

Specialist golf insurance through Golf Care

Whatever the weather, you may want to consider getting specialist golf insurance to financially protect yourself and your equipment while out on the course.

Get an instant online quote today. 

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