It’s Canada Day up here and since it’s a National Holiday, I have a day off! A day off for me usually means some work on this blog followed by a round of golf later on. What’s disappointing though is that it is raining. The beginning of the summer here in Victoria has been downright awful. We had better weather during the Olympics in February!
For those of you who haven’t been to the site much I separate myself by talking about other areas of the game. Rather then just talking about technique to improve your game and lower your scores. These other areas are generally the short game, mental game and course management. From my own experience becoming a better player and from focusing on these areas with the hundreds of students I have taught, I have no doubts in my mind that you will lower your handicap by paying more attention to them.
Today’s post and tip is once again a little outside of the box compared to all the other instruction and tips on the internet. It will come on the way of how to play better golf in the rain.
When I was younger and wanting to be a great player, I would play as much as I could. This meant that when the rains came, I was out on the course regardless of how bad the weather was. It was perfect because it really helped my tournament rounds because I had so much experience playing in it. Another reason I liked it was because no one else was on the course and it was easier to practice on the course.
Enough talk, now onto the tips for playing better in the rain!
Rain Gear
It’s pretty simple but not many people have the the proper rain gear when they head out into the storm and they get soaked really quick. You need water proof rain jacket and paints if you have any hope of staying dry. Take a look below at Foot Joys jackets and pants as they are the best company for price and quality of rain gear.
You will also need an umbrella to keep your bag and clubs dry. It’s important to focus on keeping the grips dry to be sure to really keep the bag dry. When you hit a shot, be sure to put the umbrella on top of your gold bag so it stays nice and dry. To keep a towel dry simply hang it from the spokes of the umbrella. When you take a club out you can then wipe it down using your dry towel that is hanging nicely under the umbrella! See the picture below for an idea of how to keep the towel dry.
Keep the towel dry inside the umbrella like this caddy here
The last piece of rain gear you need is waterproof rain gloves. Your grips will get a little damp at time no matter who well you keep them dry and the rain grips actually perform better when they’re wet.
Mental Game
When it rains it will be tougher to play better and you first have to come to grips with this. I’m not saying you will play bad but it will be tougher to play better golf. The first thing you need to do is adjust your mindset to start thinking this way. If a wet grip caused the club to slip a bit during your swing, or if you hit a shot fat because the ground was wet, or if your putt didn’t make it to the hole because the green had some water on it making it slower, you have to accept that this stuff will happen because the course is wet. Everyone else playing that day has to deal with the same elements and they will encounter the same stuff as you did at some point during the round. It’s how you handle and deal with these issues that will define how you bounce back from them. If you get upset and angry, you are not moving on and exerting too much energy on the past and stuff you have no control over.
Expectations
Adjust your personal par and lower your expectations. A great tool for me when playing in the rain is to lower my expectations of how well I will play. Because it is raining and it will be tougher to play better, I set a higher then normal personal par for myself that day. This helps me when I make a bogey not to get discouraged because everyone else out there is going to have a hard time playing well.
Strategy
Your strategy needs to change as well. I tend to play less aggressive in the rain and try to avoid making mistakes as much as I can because sometimes bogeys are not that bad. Everyone else will be struggling because they haven’t the right mental game to play in the rain, or because they’re expectations are the same or they don’t have the proper rain gear. But now that you read this post and have changed your golf strategy, you will be well ahead of your playing competitors! Now get out there and embrace the elements when it’s raining and have fun!
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by Dr. Gio Valiante was what he suggested. I had read only one other book on and that was by Mental Game Guru Bob Rotella.
