Playing Golf in the Rain

I was fortunate to get out of work early with my husband on Friday. We headed over to Saxon Woods Golf Course for a quick nine.

Even though the forecast said rain I figured that it’s just as important to hone my skills in bad weather as in good so we decided to see how the elements affect the score, swing, mood and all other factors.

Barry was on his best behavior (c’mon women, you know what I mean). It wasn’t raining yet but there was a steady fog creeping in and we could just feel the dampness in the air but we figured that it wasn’t the score that was important but the practice.

The cold and damp stiffened my bones and my ability to turn fully seemed harder to do. But they say that you have to work with whatever you’re given that day so I took it easy. In doing so my swing slowed down and I developed my tempo which, when it’s working, is a thing of beauty.

Rain began to fall. I noticed my golf glove getting a bit slippery. My hands weren’t getting dry no matter WHOSE shirt I wiped them on. I noticed that although my distance control was right on the club was spinning around in my hands causing the club to turn over. This forced more of a draw than anticipated.

At one point my golf ball landed in a wet sand trap. Although I tried to get the club into the sand I noticed that it was banging into the sand but not pulling through the sand, thus my ball was hopelessly rolling back to it’s initial spot in front of me. It was almost comical. Thank goodness that this was just practice and I wasn’t in a competition or my score would have been astronomical!

It is really important, if you plan to improve your game, to know the elements. Wind and rain can wreak havoc with your game if you don’t practice in these conditions. I found that out this week AND I wound up having fun doing it. The idea is to take a companion with you to make the experience unforgettable. You’ll be laughing about it for years to come!