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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 and welcome to the London Club 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, the equipment advice, a little bit of strategy and also some rules as well. Now the only thing
00:14 I'm missing is some truly awful weather.
00:17 That's better. Sort of. Right, let's get started.
00:23 Now for most golfers, they'll need to choose whether or not to use an umbrella when they play golf in the rain.
00:30 And for me, it depends on two factors. One, how windy is it? If you are constantly fighting with the umbrella,
00:35 it might be best just to not bother. And two, actually, how wet is it? If it's really pouring it down,
00:41 then frankly, you're going to get pretty wet anyway, and it might just not be worth it.
00:45 So I'm going to go for a little bit of a wet weather.
00:48 And if it's really pouring it down, then frankly, you're going to get pretty wet anyway, and it might just not be worth the trouble of having an umbrella with you.
00:55 As you can probably hear through the microphone, it's pretty windy out here today, so I probably wouldn't use an umbrella.
01:00 But if I did, I'd definitely put a dry towel, fix a dry towel in underneath the umbrella.
01:06 So that's a really handy thing to do to keep your hands dry before you, or to dry your hands before you play any shots.
01:12 And keeping that towel dry is absolutely crucial.
01:16 OK, so this is a really important one. 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, 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 is soaking wet. That's absolutely what you need to avoid.
01:33 So check out the weather forecast. Know if it's going to rain.
01:36 And if it is, take some time either before you leave home or in the clubhouse before you go out to play to put the rain hood on in the dry.
01:43 Give yourself half a chance.
01:46 OK, so two very quick tips here. Firstly, in the interest of pace of play and keeping your equipment as dry as you can for as long as you can,
01:53 maybe think about reducing your pre-shot routine 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, but I'm trying to keep things a little bit quicker.
02:06 Hit the shot. Oh, that's a good shot.
02:09 And then before I put the club back in the bag, I'm going to give the club head a quick dry under my arm as I put it back in.
02:16 That means that any water that's on the club head won't trickle down the shaft and down into the bottom of that bag and get all of your grips wet.
02:23 It does depend on the daylight today.
02:24 There's not an awful lot you can do, but if it's raining a little bit less than it is today,
02:27 that sort of thing can help you keep your equipment drier for longer.
02:31 OK, know the embedded ball rule.
02:33 It can really help you when the weather is as bad as this, because when the rules of golf changed at the beginning of 2019,
02:42 the rules changed related to embedded ball rule.
02:44 Now you get relief anywhere in the general area if you have an embedded ball like I have here in the rough.
02:51 Many people would, I think, be worried that they'd have to take a penalty. Drop here, you don't.
02:56 So mark the position of the ball just right behind where the ball is situated.
03:00 Place a T peg, lift the ball up, and you then get one club length relief.
03:04 Now, I'm not going to use my longest club because I don't want to get that grip wet as well.
03:08 I'm going to use my wedge for this shot.
03:10 But you could use your longest club to mark out, obviously, an arc around your ball where to drop it.
03:18 I'm just going to go straight back on a line, put another T peg in, and I'm going to 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, and I can carry on.
03:30 Now, if you don't want to use wet weather gloves and you prefer the feel of a normal leather glove,
03:39 then you'll need to figure out a way of keeping your glove as dry as possible for as long as possible.
03:44 One tip is to put the glove up in the top of the umbrella next to your towel as you play.
03:50 I'm not sure this will work all the way around.
03:53 You'll need a few different leather gloves, and you'll need to keep them dry in your bag as well.
03:57 But if you want that feel of a normal leather glove on your hand,
04:00 then maybe keeping it at the top of your umbrella is a good way to go.
04:04 The next one is about how to transport your clubs around the course.
04:07 There's a few different conflicting opinions on this one.
04:11 Now, on a day like today, 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, and I'd carry it.
04:18 I'd accept the fact that I'm just going to get wet, and I'd carry my clubs.
04:21 It means I can just walk to wherever I need to on the golf course, get on with it, and play.
04:26 If you're a trolley user and you want to use your trolley,
04:28 think about buying one of those accessories that you can put onto the central console
04:32 that allows you to fix up your umbrella.
04:34 It means that you've got access to both hands 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 is whether you get in a buggy or not.
04:43 The only thing I'd say about buggies is they'll certainly help you stay a bit drier,
04:46 but think about how cold it's going to be.
04:49 If you're in a buggy all day and you're not getting that exercise
04:51 of 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 and as grotty as it is,
05:00 I think I'll walk.
05:01 If you're playing golf in the wet, then obviously the ball is not going to 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 when you're out on the golf course.
05:13 This is where it really pays to understand how far you carry each club in the bag.
05:18 It's something that we here, 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 my carry yardages and work from there.
05:30 It's going to help me understand in each scenario on the golf course which club to hit.
05:34 OK, so if it's raining, 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 coloured golf balls on the market at the moment.
05:54 I would avoid using some of the darker colours and go for yellow instead.
05:57 In my experience, this is just that little bit 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 really likes to stick with a white golf ball.
06:07 Have one packet of yellow golf balls stashed in your bag.
06:10 If you're playing golf in the summer in really dappled sunlight, it can be easier to see,
06:14 and on days like today where it's really gloomy, a yellow golf ball can be really handy.
06:19 OK, so I'm going to start with an apology to all those people who've heard me say this before,
06:23 but I think it's one of the best tips 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, they tend to come in pairs,
06:32 and they are designed to be worn the whole time that you're out on the golf course in the rain.
06:37 The wetter they get, I think, the more traction they offer you.
06:40 Certainly in my experience, they are a lot better than either playing golf without a glove
06:45 or with a sort of standard leather glove.
06:47 They'll also extend the sort of lifespan of your regular white leather gloves that you've got as well.
06:53 So think about a really good quality pair of black wet weather gloves for conditions like this.
07:01 It could make all the difference.
07:03 OK, so this one is a fairly obvious one, but it is worth saying.
07:06 Try to avoid the temptation to play golf in your comfiest pair of spikeless shoes.
07:11 Two reasons, really. 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, it'll be my sort of hardest wearing pair of spiked golf shoes that I'll wear.
07:25 That tends to mean that I can extend the life of my spikeless golf shoes
07:29 by not wearing them on really nasty days like today.
07:32 So for me, it's my best pair of spiked golf shoes.
07:36 Maximum traction means I can swing through the ball with a little bit more commitment,
07:40 a bit more aggression, which is really going to help me out on the course.
07:43 For this one, bucket hat.
07:46 Now, as you can see, the weather out here is horrible.
07:48 Nobody, I don't think, is particularly relishing playing golf on a day like today,
07:52 but sometimes you have to.
07:54 And in this scenario, a bucket hat is really important.
07:57 I think in particular because it stops the water 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, that bit of extra protection at the front.
08:08 I sometimes, I wear glasses, I sometimes wear a cap and a bucket hat on top.
08:14 Might not look the best, but it keeps me nice and dry.
08:17 So I store my bucket hat in my golf bag 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 to hopefully help you play a little bit better
08:31 when it's raining.
08:32 Certainly, hopefully, enjoy yourself a bit more on the golf course if you are caught out 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.
08:43 But that's it for now from the London Club.
08:44 Thanks for watching.
08:45 We'll see you next time.
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