Tips For Playing Golf In The Rain

Golf Monthly

In this video, Neil Tappin offers 12 top tips for playing golf in the rain.

Transcript

00:00 - Hello everyone, Neil Tappan here from Golf Monthly

00:02 and welcome to the London Club.

00:03 And this video in which I'm going to offer some top tips

00:06 for playing golf in the rain.

00:08 This is all the practical stuff you need,

00:09 the equipment advice, a little bit of strategy

00:11 and also some rules as well.

00:13 Now the only thing I'm missing is some truly awful weather.

00:17 - Ah, that's better.

00:20 - Sort of.

00:21 - Right, let's get started.

00:22 (upbeat music)

00:26 (water splashing)

00:29 Now for most golfers, they'll need to choose

00:33 whether or not to use an umbrella

00:35 when they play golf in the rain.

00:37 And for me, it depends on two factors.

00:38 One, how windy is it?

00:40 If you are constantly fighting with the umbrella,

00:42 it might be best just to not bother.

00:44 And two, actually how wet is it?

00:47 If it's really pouring it down,

00:49 then frankly you're gonna get pretty wet anyway

00:51 and it might just not be worth the trouble

00:53 of having an umbrella with you.

00:55 As you can probably hear through the microphone,

00:57 it's pretty windy out here today.

00:58 So I probably wouldn't use an umbrella.

01:00 But if I did, I'd definitely put a dry towel,

01:03 fix a dry towel in underneath the umbrella.

01:06 So that's a really handy thing to do

01:08 to keep your hands dry before you,

01:10 or to dry your hands before you play any shots.

01:12 And keeping that towel dry is absolutely crucial.

01:15 Okay, so this is a really important one.

01:17 Now, before you go out to play, put your rain hood on.

01:22 I've done this in the past where I've got to the club,

01:24 put my clubs outside, gone in for a coffee and it's rained,

01:28 and I've come out and all of my golf equipment

01:30 is soaking wet.

01:31 That's absolutely what you need to avoid.

01:33 So check out the weather forecast,

01:35 know if it's gonna rain, and if it is,

01:37 take some time either before you leave home

01:39 or in the clubhouse before you go out to play

01:41 to put the rain hood on in the dry.

01:43 Give yourself half a chance.

01:45 Okay, so two very quick tips here.

01:47 Firstly, in the interest of pace of play

01:50 and keeping your equipment as dry as you can

01:52 for as long as you can,

01:53 maybe think about reducing your pre-shot routine

01:55 down a little bit.

01:56 So I think I probably wouldn't bother with a practice swing.

02:00 I mean, I'm not trying to rush,

02:02 but I'm trying to keep things a little bit quicker.

02:05 Hit the shot.

02:06 Oh, that's a good shot.

02:09 And then, before I put the club back in the bag,

02:11 I'm gonna give the club head a quick dry under my arm

02:14 as I put it back in.

02:15 That means that any water that's on the club head

02:18 won't trickle down the shaft

02:19 and down into the bottom of that bag

02:21 and get all of your grips wet.

02:22 It does depend on the daylight today.

02:24 There's not an awful lot you can do,

02:25 but if it's raining a little bit less than it is today,

02:27 that sort of thing can help you

02:28 keep your equipment drier for longer.

02:30 Okay, know the embedded ball rule.

02:33 It can really help you when the weather is as bad as this.

02:36 Because when the rules of golf changed

02:39 at the beginning of 2019,

02:41 the rules changed related to embedded ball rule.

02:44 Now you get relief anywhere in the general area

02:47 if you have an embedded ball like I have here in the rough.

02:51 Many people would, I think, be worried

02:52 that they'd have to take a penalty.

02:54 Drop here, you don't.

02:56 So, mark the position of the ball,

02:58 just right behind where the ball is situated,

03:00 place a T-peg, lift the ball up.

03:02 You then get one club length relief.

03:04 Now I'm not gonna use my longest club

03:06 'cause I don't wanna get that grip wet as well.

03:08 I'm gonna use my wedge for this shot.

03:10 But you could use your longest club

03:12 to mark out, obviously, an arc around your ball

03:16 where to drop it.

03:18 I'm just gonna go straight back on the line,

03:19 put another T-peg in,

03:21 and I'm gonna drop it from knee height here.

03:23 That ball is now in play.

03:26 I've got good relief from what was a horrendous lie,

03:29 and I can carry on.

03:30 Now, if you don't want to use wet weather gloves

03:37 and you prefer the feel of a normal leather glove,

03:39 then you'll need to figure out a way

03:41 of keeping your glove as dry as possible

03:43 for as long as possible.

03:44 One tip is to put the glove up in the top of the umbrella

03:48 next to your towel as you play.

03:50 I'm not sure this will work all the way around.

03:52 You'll need a few different leather gloves,

03:54 and you'll need to keep them dry in your bag as well.

03:57 But if you want that feel

03:58 of a normal leather glove on your hand,

03:59 then maybe keeping it at the top of your umbrella

04:02 is a good way to go.

04:03 The next one is about how to transport your clubs

04:06 around the course.

04:07 And there's a few different sort of conflicting opinions

04:10 on this one.

04:11 Now, on a day like today,

04:12 when it's as wet as it is and as windy as it is,

04:15 I think I would probably do away with the umbrella

04:17 and I'd carry it.

04:18 Except for the fact that I'm just gonna get wet

04:20 and I'd carry my clubs.

04:21 It means I can just walk to wherever I need to

04:22 on the golf course, get on with it and play.

04:25 If you're a trolley user and you want to use your trolley,

04:28 think about buying one of those accessories

04:29 that you can put onto the central console

04:31 that allows you to fix up your umbrella.

04:34 It means that you've got access to both hands

04:35 as you walk around the course.

04:37 It can be a real game changer.

04:39 And then of course, the other one to think about

04:41 is whether you get in a buggy or not.

04:42 The only thing I'd say about buggies

04:44 is they'll certainly help you stay a bit drier,

04:46 but think about how cold it's gonna be.

04:48 If you're in a buggy all day

04:50 and you're not getting that exercise

04:51 walking to all of the different shots that you play,

04:53 then maybe you might start to feel a little bit colder.

04:55 For me, on a day like today, when it's as wet and as windy

04:58 and as grotty as it is, I think I'll walk.

05:00 If you're playing golf in the wet,

05:05 then obviously the ball is not gonna run as far

05:07 once it hits the ground as it will do when it's dry.

05:10 And you need to factor that into your thinking

05:12 when you're out on the golf course.

05:13 This is where it really pays to understand

05:15 how far you carry each club in the bag.

05:18 It's something that we here,

05:19 our top 50 coaches tell us all the time.

05:21 Understand what your carry yardages are.

05:23 They're more important than your total yardages.

05:26 Now, I think I would probably take a little bit off

05:28 my carry yardages and work from there.

05:30 It's gonna help me understand in each scenario

05:32 on the golf course which club to hit.

05:34 Okay, so if it's raining,

05:44 it's likely to be fairly gloomy out.

05:46 And in that scenario, think about using a yellow golf ball.

05:49 Now, there's lots of different types of colored golf balls

05:52 on the market at the moment.

05:54 I would avoid using some of the dark colors

05:56 and go for yellow instead.

05:57 In my experience, this is just that little bit

05:59 easier to see.

06:01 I think it's just worth having some in your golf bag,

06:03 even if you're somebody who sort of really likes

06:06 to stick with a white golf ball.

06:07 Have one packet of yellow golf balls stashed in your bag

06:09 that if you're playing golf in the summer

06:11 in really sort of dappled sunlight,

06:13 it can be easier to see.

06:14 And on days like today where it's really gloomy,

06:16 a yellow golf ball can be really handy.

06:19 Okay, so I'm gonna start with an apology

06:21 to all those people who've heard me say this before,

06:23 but I think it's one of the best tips

06:25 for playing golf in the rain.

06:26 And that is to get yourself a decent pair of rain gloves.

06:29 They tend to be black.

06:30 They tend to come in pairs.

06:32 And they are designed to be worn the whole time

06:34 that you're out on the golf course in the rain.

06:36 The wetter they get, I think,

06:38 the more traction they offer you.

06:40 Certainly in my experience,

06:41 they are a lot better than either playing golf

06:44 without a glove or with a sort of standard leather glove.

06:47 They'll also extend the sort of lifespan

06:50 of your regular white leather gloves

06:52 that you've got as well.

06:53 So think about a really good quality pair

06:56 of black wet weather gloves for conditions like this.

07:01 It could make all the difference.

07:03 Okay, so this one is a fairly obvious one,

07:04 but it is worth saying.

07:05 Try to avoid the temptation to play golf

07:08 in your comfiest pair of spikeless shoes.

07:10 Two reasons, really.

07:11 Firstly, you are more likely to slip, obviously.

07:14 And then secondly, I think that I have a few pairs of shoes,

07:18 but on a day like today,

07:20 it'll be my sort of hardest wearing pair

07:22 of spiked golf shoes that I'll wear.

07:25 That tends to mean that I can extend the life

07:27 of my spikeless golf shoes by not wearing them

07:29 on really nasty days like today.

07:31 So for me, it's my best pair of spiked golf shoes.

07:36 Maximum traction mean I can swing through the ball

07:38 with a little bit more commitment, a bit more aggression,

07:40 which is really gonna help me out on the course.

07:42 For this one, bucket hat.

07:45 Now, as you can see, the weather out here is horrible.

07:48 Nobody, I don't think, is particularly relishing

07:50 playing golf on a day like today,

07:52 but sometimes you have to, and in this scenario,

07:55 a bucket hat is really important.

07:56 I think in particular because it stops the water

07:59 from getting down the back of your waterproof suit,

08:01 going down your back and making you cold.

08:04 Also, for anyone who wears glasses on the golf course,

08:06 that bit of extra protection at the front.

08:08 I sometimes, I wear glasses, I sometimes wear a cap

08:11 and a bucket hat on top.

08:13 Might not look the best, but it keeps me nice and dry.

08:17 So I store my bucket hat in my golf bag

08:20 so that when the weather is as bad as it is today,

08:23 I know I've got that little bit of extra help.

08:25 So there you have it.

08:26 That's my look at some of the things you might be able to do

08:28 to hopefully help you play a little bit better

08:31 when it's raining.

08:32 Certainly, hopefully, enjoy yourself a bit more

08:33 on the golf course if you are caught out

08:35 by really bad weather.

08:37 I hope you found that helpful.

08:39 If you have any comments, please do leave them below.

08:41 We'd love to hear what you have to say.

08:42 But that's it for now from the London Club.

08:44 Thanks for watching.

08:45 We'll see you next time.

08:46 (gentle music)

08:49 (upbeat music)

08:51 (upbeat music)

08:54 (upbeat music)

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