How To Play Golf In The Rain

Step 1: Grip firmly

When it is raining heavily, it is very hard to keep the grips of your clubs absolutely dry, even following the advice in our video “how to keep dry when playing in the rain”.
As a result, your hands will tend to slip on the damp grip.
You should therefore grip the club more tightly than normal, for a firmer hold.
As your muscles are tense in this firmer grip, you swing less freely, so the ball will not fly as far.
If the rain is very heavy, the rain itself shortens the flight of the ball.
To counter these two effects, go 1 or 2 clubs lower than you would use to reach the same distance in dry weather.
This is very important, as falling short could leave you with a nasty plugged ball in a wet bunker.
If this does happen, our video “The plugged bunker shot” shows you how to play yourself out of it.

Step 2: Play high

On rainy days, you will get more distance with a high trajectory than a low one.
Not only does a high ball fly further, a low ball will not roll very far on the wet ground.
The wet ground also gives you the chance to play more aggressively.
As the ball stops quickly on the wet green, you can land it right at the flag. This helps you to reach difficult pin positions, from which the ball normally rolls away.

Step 3: Aggressive putts

The slower green also allows you to be more aggressive with your putts, as your return putt will be shorter if you miss the hole.
It is important to smile while playing in the rain, just like children do. Learn to enjoy it.
You will feel much better than all the other miserable moaners, giving you a great playing advantage.
And of course there is a certain charm to playing “Golf in the Kingdom”, a nice links course in Scotland on a rough, rainy day.