[adambommb29]

It was a buddy of mine's birthday this weekend and mine is at the end of the month. We had a weekend planned of five rounds in four days at premium courses. We usually turn these outings into small strokeplay tounaments over the entire weekend and it's alway a good time. The problem was that the weather forecast was not looking good in advance and it looked like we could get rained out the entire first day and miss two of the rounds.

We woke up the morning of the first day and it was absolutely pouring out. Being the optimists we are, we held out hope and watched the radar while we played poker and had breakfast. Around 10am we decided that it looked the weather was breaking up around us and that we might be able to get at least 18 holes in. I packed up my Foodjoy Rain Pants, FJ short-sleeve rain jacket, umbrella and a couple of towels.

We get to the course and it is cloudy but not raining. The course was wet but playable. We were actually surprised to see how many cars were in the parking lot when we got there. So this may be the first mistake that I made... We elected to walk, because we usually do, and it was cart path only. The second mistake was that I forgot my hat at my house. It's not a rain cap, but I had nothing with me and didn't want to fork out the coin for one at the course.

We made it through eight holes with off and on mist but it was managable. On the ninth hole the skies opened up. After a quick bite to eat at the turn we went back out in to the heavy stuff. After four holes in a row under steady rain my jacket was no longer beading up and my shirt was getting soaked under my jacket. My hair was drenched because my umbrealla was beginning to let rain through. My grips were slick and it was becoming impossible to keep them dry. Everything inside my Sun Mountain Bag was drenched as well, including my extra towel. I was definitely losing control of the club during my swing and it all came to a head during an attemped iron shot from the middle of the fairway. The club slipped out of my hands during the downswing and bottomed out a foot behind the ballm then bounced into the ball causing it to move three feet. I threw my hands up in the air and told my group that I was heading back to the club house to have some beer and that they could join me if they wanted to. A little to my surpise they decided to stick it out and push on.

An hour and a half later they showed up at the clubhouse more drenched than I was. I had consumed a few beers and was happy with the decision I made. They shot some of the worst rounds in years and began sticking it me for walking off. They said it was a DQ for weekend tournament. I made the argument that there was no way that pros would have played through these conditinos. My buddy said that if the water isn't pooling on the course that the pros would play in steady downpours all day long. Is this right? Professional do have the luxury of having the best rain gear and a caddy to help them out...but would they play a round in non-stop rain all day long?

We are talking about going to Scotland in a few years and I will suck it up there and have all the right gear...including rain hat and rain gloves. What do you guys make of all this?

[TM golf guy 182]

I would have done the same thing, but I would have stopped at the turn. Not worth it to me. Don't get me wrong, I love golf, but I don't want my stuff drenched. I don't think it is right for your group to DQ you based on that.

[ram01002]

i grew up with no rain . . . just a ton of wind.

give me 50 mph wind and I'm fine, give me light rain and its like I can no longer function.

hopefully some of our pacific nw wrx'ers can chime in with some rain tips.

[Golffabrik]

I (we) also would have stopped at the turn and waited to see if the weather changed. After 4-5 brewskis or about an hour (whichever comes first) of more poker, I (we) would have made the decision to go back out, or not to. I'm sure that no marshall was pushing you back onto the course.

In every group of golfers, there is always someone who doesn't mind playing in a F4 hurricane...either because they don't want to be called a wimp, or throw the green fee out the window.

[InTheHole]

This is just a casual thing among friends, right? I would have excluded you from "winning" but certainly allow you to play the rest of the rounds... you should have set some ground rules before playing, knowing the forecast.

As far as the rain gear- you were totally unprepared. A jacket does not a rain suit make. It will buy you some time, as you discovered, but you are not truly protected against the elements. You also discovered that your bag is not waterproof and your umbrella only goes so far also.

Having said that, I agree- I would not have continued past the 9 holes. Once it started raining hard, the fun is gone for me. It becomes "golf survival" rather than a fun round- and I certainly don't play to my already limited potential. I'D hit the 19th hole for a beer and a hot meal.

[Golffabrik]

Quote

I'D hit the 19th hole for a beer and a hot meal.

Sounds good...I'm out of here.

[adambommb29]

This was more of a casual thing. I actually won two out of the next three rounds, which I'm satisfied with.

I can handle wind and I play all year so that means having to play on some days in the upper 30's here in Maryland. I have even played with some snow on the ground on parts of the course. Rain is the worst though.

If I was totally unprepared...what could I have done to be better prepared for the rain?

[OpusX20]

I probably would have quit as well. But, I agree with your buddies that if you quit mid-round in a multi-day event, then you should be "DQ'd". JMO.

[Hateto3Putt]

adambommb29, on Sep 15 2009, 12:50 PM, said:

If I was totally unprepared...what could I have done to be better prepared for the rain?

I always keep a pair of the black rain gloves in my bag. My pair is probably 8 years old because of such limited use. They take up virtually no room in the bag, no reason to not have them in there always. I have a roll up rain hat in there as well.

It sounds like you had fair warning of the weather. So really there's no excuse for you not to be ready for whatever the skies threw at you that day. Me? I actually win more loot when it gets crappy out, I slip on my rain gloves and hat and grind out the shots. We play here all year round in all sorts of weather. When you're a junkie, you do what you have to do.

Rain, Cold, Wind <~~~~~ I'll play in any two.

But I do I hate it when rain falls on a scheduled golf trip! Glad you won the next two days!

[5under]

Yes, the pros keep playing unless the water is pooling in the fairways and/or on the greens or if lightning is present.
If it was just a one time round or the other three players agreed, I would have suggested a 9 hole rain check at the turn.
Under normal circumstances, I would not have started the back nine while it was still raining.
After you played four holes on the back nine, you were pretty much soaked already.
If the DQ was that important to you, you should have asked before you stopped play.
I assume the other players in your foursome did not have caddies either.
You only had five holes remaining.
I would have been reluctant, but I would have played the last five holes if the other three player were up to it.
All four of you were playing under the same conditions.
You should have just ate your pride an realized that you were not going to be able to play your normal game with your normal swing.
In a situation like that, I will take half swings and concentrate on solid contact and keeping the ball in play.

I have a rule of thumb I use.
I do not start a round if it is already raining or lightning is present.
If it starts raining before I complete enough holes and I am still able to get an 18 hole rain check, I will stop and get an 18 hole rain check.
If I am past the point where I can get an 18 hole rain check, usually 3 or 4 holes at most courses, I will finish the front 9 and get a rain check for the back nine if it is still raining.
If I have already played my 10th hole and it starts raining and a 9 hole rain check is no longer an option, I will finish the round.
If lightning becomes present at any time during the round I will go back to the clubhouse immediately and play it by ear depending on the situation.
The only time I will not stop play immediately when lightning is present is if I am putting on the 18th hole.
I will still be able to putt out and make it to the clubhouse before some of the golfers stuck out in the middle of the course.

[highergr0und]

Why not just try and get your buddies to only count the front nine for the weekend tourney? You all finished that. Or max out your handicap on the remaining holes?

[Mike_C]

Wimps I tell ya....I doubt the really hard stuff would have come down for quite a while.....


Ney wind, Ney rain....Ney golf.........old Scottish saying....

[pjh]

Bottom line for me: NO friend would DQ another friend in such circumstances...time to reconsider the value of the friendship.

[happyrock622]

Well being up here in the Pacific Northwest (near Tacoma) I play in the rain sometimes=quite a bit. We don't really get a down pour, just a light drizzle that can last for days. We usually just keep playing because like I said it's a light drizzle and not a down pour but there have been a few occasions where the light stuff turned heavy and I have left the course. You guys should have stopped at the turn and not went out into the heavy stuff.

[tjy355]

Just a couple of comments...

What the pros would do or not do is really not what you should be thinking about. There is so much more at stake logistically and monetarily in a pro event that there is just no comparison.

Lacking an individual who has the responsibility to cancel or postpone a round, that leaves it up to the group decision. Unfortunately for you, everyone else kept playing, you were the only one to quit. I'm afraid the majority is not in your favor.

You must beg for mercy and perhaps they can add some number to your score for the unfinished holes. I don't understand the format actually, surely it is not a multi-round stroke play competition is it?

*EDIT*
Oh yeah, +1 for the rain gloves. The grips can be soaking wet and these things work pretty well.

[harold baines]

on the other side of the coin, what type of friend walks off the course to go drink by themselves rather than play 4 -5 wet holes with your buddies?

of course you can't play the same way in the soaking wet conditions, but you should certainly be able to handle it by doing things like swinging slower (because you know things are slippery)

I've played in some pretty wet conditions, and the rain can certainly make golfing difficult, but I would never want to be the guy who was the only one to walk off and quit mid round.

if only one player quits, I don't really see how you'd continue a multiday competition without DQing them

[RangerEsq.]

Depends on what kind of rain it is.

If it's some sort of downpour, I don't think anybody in there right minds would play.

But if it's just crosswind shower, you probably are not going to have much choice, once you get to Scotland! You'll get that constant, slight shower that just keeps going all day, cross wind assisted, that just gets you wet enough all day to be annoying but no heavy enough to make you quit. That's normal when you get to the British isles.

[atlanta golfer]

I'm probably nuts but I will play in almost anything as long as no thunder/lightning. A key is what is said above - you have got to have good goretex raingear, goretex hat, and raingloves.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

adambommb29, on Sep 15 2009, 12:50 PM, said:

This was more of a casual thing. I actually won two out of the next three rounds, which I'm satisfied with.

I can handle wind and I play all year so that means having to play on some days in the upper 30's here in Maryland. I have even played with some snow on the ground on parts of the course. Rain is the worst though.

If I was totally unprepared...what could I have done to be better prepared for the rain?

WOW!!! I'm in Maryland too and if you are talking about this past Friday the 11th...You deserve some sort of award for even going out in that stuff. I remember thinking that the Golfstyles Cup was that day and Saturday at Bulle Rock and I know those guys for sure didn't get 36 in on Friday.

As for what is right, I think you should have been allowed to be in the next two days comp, but if it was a 3 day cumlative total, I could see how you'd be screwed. I'm sure you enjoyed your beeer and watching the BMW from the Clubhouse. What course if you don't mind saying. I'd like to know a course around here that holds up that well to rain.

Oh, BTW the buddy who said the Pros play as long as the course permits is right. As long as there is no standing water on the greens or fairways, they generally play on.

[jules77]

I personally will play in just about anything and probably would have offered to double the wager if they wanted to continue... not worth my time scrapping out bogeys in the rain unless something is to be gained. Here are some tips for you-

1. Play a lot of shots off your back foot, take extra club on every shot
2. Slow your swing down and concentrate on tempo
3. choke down to the edge of the grip and use that as a last line of defence in case of a slip
4. Ram the puts in cause the greens will be slow
5. Umbrellas are mostly just a waste of time and effort in heavy rains, concentrate on keeping your gear dry

[eaglecabport]

Having spent the first 18 years of my golfing life in Vancouver, Canada, I definitely know about playing in the rain. Like the guy from tacoma said, it is usually a constant drizzle (and as he said, for 3 days).

However, there are times you get the downpours and being the stupid fool and die ahrd golfer i am....I played on, often. Once, my mom was watching from her course-view house as I was playing in one of the heavy downpour days. I was determined to finsih and she was commenting on how pathetic I looked as I stood by myself, huddled under my umbrella as I was writing my score before teeing off the next hole.

I have only quit a round once. That was because I was playing with friends of my grandparents and it was about 6 degrees celsius and raining. By the 7th hole, I literally could not feel my hands. I reluctantly agreed to quit since they wanted to and I thought it would have been rude to play on when they had invited me to play with them (public course, not a private one, but still).

I usually have just an umbrella, rain jacket and pants. Never tried the rain gloves.....just always kept about 3 on my umbrella underneath and for hat....always just a regular baseball type cap.

I will try the rain gloves though....playing 5 consecutive days competition in Scotland next April and may be good to have in my bag....

What does anyone do about the bag though? Is it just 'too bad' or maybe just buy a full rain cover for those occassions?

[jskd82]

I play in "The wettest city in the United States" and although it does suck to play in rain, I am pretty used to it. I normally don't wear rain gear, just a pair of rain gloves and an umbrella. Rain makes it much harder to play in and at times I feel like it's not worth it, but I just keep going for some reason lol. I'm not playing because I don't want to waste my green fee. Green fee's is $40 for a monthly card and you could play 28-31 days a month for $40 depending on the month I guess I just hate giving up, heck if I am already wet why not just keep going.

[18StrokeGolf]

Being from the Tacoma area, we get a lot of rain. re: a lot. But its more of a constant rain than an outright downpour, albeit there are times when you cant see more than 50 feet in front of you, courtesy of the deluge of rain. The worst I have played in was when I was standing on the tee of a short par 3 and couldnt see the flag. I hit my shot, and when I get up to the green, the entire surface was under at least an inch and a half of water. Needless to say, putting was a problem that day.

If you tee off when it's raining, you can fully expect the rain to continue for the round. I usually carry a few extra gloves,(never tried rain gloves, oddly enough) and keep the preshot routine to a minimum. Yes it can mess with you a bit, but you will be out in the rain for less time if you have an umbrella. If I foolishly left my umbrella at home drying out from the previous round, I'll put my jacket over the grip to help keep it dry.

[eaglecabport]

18StrokeGolf, on Sep 15 2009, 05:15 PM, said:

I'll put my jacket over the grip to help keep it dry.

+1 on that....will slide the club up my sleeve to do that until I am just about to hit.

[Hateto3Putt]

eaglecabport, on Sep 15 2009, 05:29 PM, said:

I usually have just an umbrella, rain jacket and pants. Never tried the rain gloves.....just always kept about 3 on my umbrella underneath and for hat....always just a regular baseball type cap.

I will try the rain gloves though....playing 5 consecutive days competition in Scotland next April and may be good to have in my bag....

What does anyone do about the bag though? Is it just 'too bad' or maybe just buy a full rain cover for those occassions?

The rain gloves are nothing short of amazing. You actually need to wet them to make them work best. They cost about $20 a pair and as I said before, they last forever because you just don't use them everyday. Scotland?? You dog!


As far as keeping you entire bag dry, I have a clear plastic cover made specifically for this task. I don't always bring it with me but if I know in advance there may be lots of rain, I'll bring it along. It's another one of those things that will last forever, I have actually forgotten where I bought mine it's been so long. Anyway it looks like this.....

[hollabachgt]

pjh, on Sep 15 2009, 01:31 PM, said:

Bottom line for me: NO friend would DQ another friend in such circumstances...time to reconsider the value of the friendship.

I feel the exact opposite. He clearly choose men of great fortitude as his friends and as he did not live up to their level, I would expect nothing less from them. If I was in his shoes I would certainty not quit, as I rather like playing in the rain. If one of my buddies quit mid round at the start of the tournament I would expect them to understand that they were no longer playing for the title, but would rather be playing as a marker. Seeing that everyone else pushed on to finish the round I believe they felt the same way.

[Barsky]

InTheHole, on Sep 15 2009, 09:38 AM, said:

This is just a casual thing among friends, right? I would have excluded you from "winning" but certainly allow you to play the rest of the rounds... you should have set some ground rules before playing, knowing the forecast.

As far as the rain gear- you were totally unprepared. A jacket does not a rain suit make. It will buy you some time, as you discovered, but you are not truly protected against the elements. You also discovered that your bag is not waterproof and your umbrella only goes so far also.

+1 I would have still played though..

[steveh1591]

strangely enoughi play better in the rain
the ball stops alot quicker and i get alot more control on pitches and chips and as long as it isnt driving rain ill score better

im not the best wind player though
i hit it quite high with my irons and that causes all problems in wind

[dannybsj]

hollabachgt, on Sep 15 2009, 09:34 PM, said:

pjh, on Sep 15 2009, 01:31 PM, said:

Bottom line for me: NO friend would DQ another friend in such circumstances...time to reconsider the value of the friendship.

I feel the exact opposite. He clearly choose men of great fortitude as his friends and as he did not live up to their level, I would expect nothing less from them. If I was in his shoes I would certainty not quit, as I rather like playing in the rain. If one of my buddies quit mid round at the start of the tournament I would expect them to understand that they were no longer playing for the title, but would rather be playing as a marker. Seeing that everyone else pushed on to finish the round I believe they felt the same way.

I hope you are joking, men of great fortitude? If my friends did that to me and i continued to play, when i got the flu i would expect them to pay the bill then would you agree to that?

[dpb5031]

Two things here have influenced my opinion:

1. The golf course remained open for play, which typically indicates that the conditions were not dangerous or unplayable.

2. The remaining players in your group/tournament continued on with their round whilst you decided to "pack it in."

In my opinion you are on the hook for any outstanding bets from the round and should be excluded from having any chance at winning any type of "overall" award since you chose not to finish. In some match play money tournaments I have played in you would have lost every hole from wherever you quit and would owe a ton in automatic presses and other side bets.

I know playing in the rain really sucks, but it is unsportsmanlike to quit on your playing companions without a group consensus decision to do so. I think it would have been ok to try to convince them to quit if that's the way you felt, but to just walk off is unacceptable.

[cherokee8215]

I walk the course pretty much all the time, except when it's raining, then I take a cart. Much easier to keep the clubs dry (my club's carts have those little "rain awning" things), gives you a dry place to sit inbetween shots, place to extra dry towels, etc. Plus if it starts pouring or t-storming you can get the heck out of there quickly.

I can play in rain as long as my hands and grips are dry. I actually don't wear rain gear, or even a hat. Usually just a light jacket, regular pants, and my newest pair of waterproof golf shoes. I keep about 3-4 gloves in a dry spot of the cart, and take my glove off my hand inbetween shots. I use an umbrella when going from the cart to the ball, or when on the green, unless it's just misting.

It usually has to be at least 60 degrees out for me to play in the rain though.

[78blades]

LOL, for me the same things that were true with skiing and steelhead fishing are ture in golf. BASIC rules, never skimp on foul weather gear, always have a good hat, fleece is your friend, umbrellas are a good thing, (although I've never used one skiing or steelhead fishing, rain gloves work very well in rain. No sense in taking extra stuff if you don't have a dry place to store it. As for carts vs walking; for me, I'll usually walk cuz its cart path only so I'll end up walking a lot anyway and I really don't like it when I get to the ball w/o the correct club.

[eisen99]

jskd82, on Sep 15 2009, 03:30 PM, said:

I play in "The wettest city in the United States" and although it does suck to play in rain, I am pretty used to it. I normally don't wear rain gear, just a pair of rain gloves and an umbrella. Rain makes it much harder to play in and at times I feel like it's not worth it, but I just keep going for some reason lol. I'm not playing because I don't want to waste my green fee. Green fee's is $40 for a monthly card and you could play 28-31 days a month for $40 depending on the month I guess I just hate giving up, heck if I am already wet why not just keep going.

Are you playing in Hilo, HI. This sounds very similar to my college days.

I think the single most imortant item in the rain are the rain gloves. If you have those you are all set and it doesn't matter how wet any of you equipment is. Now if you have to deal with cold and wind as well you better have the right equipment meaning bag cover rain suit and waterproof shoes and the like. That said, attitude is the most important thing in the rain. If you hate it to start out with you'll have a miserable time. If you just try to enjoy it you'll feel a lot better. Btw walking off the course with five holes to play while you've been playing drenched for a while should get you DQ'd from you tourney if the course is playable.

Playing in the rain can definitely be fun especially if the courses are a lot less busy.

[Greenie]

+1 on the rain gloves. I have all the rain gear to stay dry but never really had a good time in the rain till I bought a pair of rain gloves. Nothing worse then slippery grips in the rain. They really work.