Playing Golf in the Rain Can Get Messy

The weather has changed, but for those who love to play golf, the desire to play remains the same.

Obviously, you need to adjust the way you golf in wet and cold conditions. Throw in 20-plus mph winds and beyond, sand sticking to your wedge, and standing water, and now you find yourself with more challenges to deal with.

Face it, under these conditions, you need to alter your game. In addition, the USGA has rules that cover situations you don’t see when the weather is good. To begin with, change out the spikes on the shoes, and consider making some minor swing adjustments. 

Remember, odds are the ball isn’t going to go as far as it usually travels. You will probably lose around 20 to 30 yards because the fairway is going to be soaked and when the ball lands, it will stick to the turf like glue. Don’t get frustrated, understand the course conditions, and you might walk away with a decent score.

Let’s go into some details about attempting shots, and how the rules may actually help you.

Some Dos and Don’ts

So you’re standing at the tee box where rain has roared through and you hit what feels like a great shot. You know what I’m talking about. That sweet connection you get on the club as the ball jumps off the face. A nice, down-the-middle shot.

That’s great when the conditions are ideal. In the rain, wind and cold, it’s completely different. The ball carries around 200 yards and sticks. There are puddles and mud all over the place, and you feel cheated.

As you approach the ball, frustrated that a great shot goes for naught, and you feel you need some kind of reward. You feel like teeing the ball is something you deserve. Well, that might be so, but there are no rules that allow a golfer to tee the ball in the middle of the fairway. Sorry, but that’s the cruel rules of golf.

However, let’s say you’re closing in on the green and you hit a shot that’s known as “through the green.” Before you lift your ball, mark the location like you would when you place your marker on the green. In this case, you are allowed to clean the ball and replace it within the designated area.

What Happens When You Go Off Course?

We’ve talked briefly about hitting the ball on a wet, muddy fairway. What about when your ball goes off course into the rough? For starters, unfortunately, when you are in the rough, you do not qualify for lift, clean, and place.

In my opinion, that’s OK. There are places in the rough, especially the first cut, where it might be better to hit from that spot where it’s wet but not too muddy than from a soaked fairway. 

For me, I find it much easier from the rough because the club seems to connect much better. You can take a full swing with little obstruction and get the ball in the air so it sticks on the green and doesn’t roll off the green that much.. Attempting to do that on the soaked fairway often leads to a lot of mud on your shot and the ball goes pretty much nowhere.

By the way, when your ball lands on the putting green and you have to deal with standing water, you get free relief at the spot of nearest complete relief not nearer to the hole, whether that be on the putting green or in the general area.

The Dreaded Embedded Ball

Dealing with an embedded ball can be a big pain especially if the rain is coming down significantly. Here are some rules you should know concerning ways you can handle an embedded ball

• According to information provided by Golf Link, you get free relief with an embedded ball Winter Rules or not. Refer to the USGA rules on what is deemed as an embedded ball. A key note here is if the ball is deemed embedded, mark the ball and drop within one club length.
• What about an embedded ball that can’t be found? When dealing with wet fairways, this is common even if you thought you hit a great shot down the middle. If you are able to estimate where the ball should’ve landed, you can get free relief. To be honest, since I am not playing for any rewards, I try to locate in a general direction and get free relief. The rules can be very flexible here.
• In rain, it’s generally a good bet you will find standing water in a bunker. This gets pretty tricky with USGA rules. You can play the ball as it stands, which I don’t recommend because things could get rather messy. You can find the closest point of complete relief in the bunker or no nearer to the hole within a club length. You can even drop the ball outside of the bunker as long as you keep the ball between you and the hole. However, this option comes with a one-stroke penalty.
• Dealing with standing water on the green can be painful. I recently played on a course in the rain where there was so much water, I had to hit the ball with some authority just to get it near the hole. Under USGA rules, you get free relief at the spot of nearest complete relief not nearer to the hole, whether that be on the putting green or in the general area.
• You get free relief from any abnormal condition on the course, especially standing water. Just determine the point of complete relief and drop one club length not nearer to the hole. 

If you’re playing in a tournament or not, wet conditions bring a new set of challenges to a game that’s difficult as it is. I believe if you’re just out golfing with friends or by yourself, try your best to find relief anywhere that has the least amount of standing water and go on with the round. This is no time to be a hero.