Technique in the rain

[matt611]

Just got home from playing 9 holes; my first ever in the rain. It didn't go to well. I found that when i took a shot (in particular from short rough) most of the power seemed to go into the ground, leaving a very shallow slick looking divot. The ball as a result hardly left the ground - is this normal? It also seemed that the club face was opening up.

So i'm wondering is rain technique to grip a little tighter (to stop face opening) or looser in the hope of gliding under the ball.

Any help is gratefully received.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Firstly do everything you can to make sure your grip is dry as well as your club (or invest in a wet weather glove that grips better the wetter it gets). The rough in particular will be heavier as it is wet and so a lot of the force generated by the shot will be absorbed by the grass. The only tips I can give is to try and keep the ball in play as much as you can and maybe sacrifice some distance off the tee to do so.

Also the ball won't travel as far. If you have waterproofs on as well they will restrict your turn and so the answer to all of theses is to club up and swing smoother and accept you won't make a full turn.

Playing in the wet does take some getting use to. You need some sort of pattern to get everything ready to play and keeping everything dry too. I like it and enjoy the challenge of wet weather golf. Just remember especially in competitions that it's the same for everyone so don't get too down on yourself if you hit a few bad ones.

 

[sawtooth]

I play some of my best golf in the rain, I think its because it forces me not to swing too hard so my advice is to slow it down and dont try to murder the golf ball.

 

[chrisd]

All the things Homer said are good. I personally dont worry about the rain at all. I wear a footjoy rain glove and just let everything get really wet. The grip doesn't slip at all and I dont have any mental thoughts different than normal (?).

I do try and keep dry myself though, nothing worse than a wet shirt collar when playing


Chris

 

[RoyPalmer]

You could also check you're not screwing your face up when facing the rain. This can tighten your neck and shoulders and then obviously this is going to affect your movement. Try relaxing your face before you play.

 

[birdieman]

The old adage is to choke down a little on the club so you can pick the ball away cleanly, move it forward in your stance a fraction to. As others have said you might swing easier cos of the extra layers so therefore take a club extra.

When it's wet greens get soft so you can fire right at the flags knowing the ball is going to stick. Putting is also easier as the pace slows. That can make life easier.

 

[sev112]

To get a bacll to travel its furthest it needs backspin to generate lift force and keep it in teh air longer. To do thsi the ball needs to grip against the fairway when the club impacts it. On wet ground their is less friction resistance to do this, so as a result in teh rian, balls leave the club ona lower trajectory and dont fly as far (and usually dont run as far, as teh ground is usually wet).

Which means that some golfers then tend to try an dhit the ball harder, or just automatically think that they are playing rubbish and get downhearted/negative.

You can;t change teh physics, so swing with a shoter backswing, accept shorter shot distances, and stay away from bunkers whatever you do (as they are always appalling and inconsistent in the rain).

Let all your competitors get downhearted and play badly, while you just play consistently and clean up!

One advantage is that there is generally less borrow on teh greens and they will be slower, so putting should (in all but teh heaviest rain) be easier.

 

[matt611]

Thanks for the replies. Helped a lot for my stableford...i haven't seen that much rain and wind for a while, nearly had to walk in.