How to Play Golf in the Rain (UK Guide)

Rain takes yardage off the shot you hit and roll off the shot you land, so the answer is not a swing rebuild. It is a dry grip, one extra club and a plan for the puddles. Take one more club than the yardage suggests, aim at the middle of the green rather than the flag, and expect the ball to stop closer to its pitch mark than it does in July. This guide covers the kit that keeps you playing, the two rules you are owed when the course holds water, and the small changes that keep a wet round from turning into a big score.

Why rain costs you shots

Water on the ball changes how it flies, and that is measurable rather than a feeling. Golf Digest put wet and dry balls through a swing robot and found the wet ball changed driver distance, spin, trajectory and dispersion. You cannot dry the sky, but you can wipe the ball and the clubface before every shot, and that is a real gain for no effort.

Two more things change at the same time. Wet fairways stop the ball running, so a drive that releases in summer plugs a few yards past its pitch mark in October. Wet grips also turn in your hands, which makes most golfers squeeze harder and swing quicker, and that costs more shots than the rain itself. If your grips are old, regripping before the winter is a better spend than another waterproof.

This is not a niche problem in the UK either. The Met Office records observation sites in Snowdonia, the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands taking more than four metres of rainfall in a year, and the shoulder months of autumn and spring deliver plenty of it to every course in the country.

Quick picks for a wet round

Twelve pieces of kit that earn their place in a rainy bag, from the cheapest to the most expensive. Prices are what they were at the time of writing, and every one of them was checked as available in the UK.

Start with your hands, not your waterproofs

Every golfer reaches for the jacket first, and that is the wrong order. A wet grip costs you the shot before the rain reaches your shirt, so the kit that touches the club matters more than the kit that touches your back. The three items below cost less than £55 together and they do more for a wet round than anything else in this guide. If you want to know how often the glove itself wears out, our glove lifespan guide covers the rotation.

A normal leather glove turns into a bar of soap the moment it gets wet, which is why rain gloves use the opposite logic. The FootJoy RainGrip pair is built around a water-absorbent Sure-Grip Autosuede palm that is designed to keep hold of the club once it is damp, and the back of the fingers uses a quick-dry knit. Carry them alongside your usual glove, because you will still want the leather one on a dry front nine. If your hands are on the small side, measuring your glove size first saves a return.

Squeezing a cold, wet glove back on for every shot is how hands lose feeling by the fourteenth hole. The adidas winter mitt has a polar fleece lining and a grippy palm, and it slides over your glove while you walk. Take it off for the shot and put it straight back on.

Two towels, one dry job each

A single wet towel wipes mud onto your grips. Splitting the jobs is free and it works, and our club cleaning guide covers what to do with the muddy one once you get home.

For the dirty work, a bigger cotton towel holds more water before it stops being useful. The Callaway trifold towel is 100 per cent cotton, measures 16 by 21 inches and hangs from a carabiner, so it dries a clubface properly after a shot from wet rough.

The single most useful thing in a wet bag is a second towel. The Vayfoni waffle towel measures 30cm square, clips to a bag loop with an aluminium carabiner and costs less than a round of drinks. Keep it folded and dry for your hands and grips, and let the mud towel take the abuse.

Waterproofs you can still swing in

Rain gear for golf is a compromise between staying dry and being able to turn through the ball. Anything cut for a walk up a hill will fight your swing, so look for fabric with a stated waterproof rating and a cut that lets your arms move.

A jacket for golf has to do two jobs at once, and the second job is the one most jackets get wrong. The Callaway Stormlite II carries a 10,000mm waterproof rating with Aquaguard zips and an adjustable toggle hem, but it is cut to let your arms pass through the ball rather than to sit like a bin liner. If you only buy one piece of rain kit, make it this one.

Trousers are the piece most golfers leave at home and then regret. The 33,000ft overtrousers use a 5,000mm seam-sealed fabric with a side opening and hook and loop fasteners, which means you can pull them on over your shoes in the car park without sitting down. They also have an elasticated drawstring waist and two zip pockets.

Dry feet and grip underfoot

Wet feet make the last six holes miserable, and a shoe that slips on wet turf costs you balance on every swing. Waterproofing matters more in a golf shoe than almost anywhere else, which is why the case for proper golf shoes gets stronger as the ground softens.

Wet feet ruin a round faster than wet hands do. The Callaway Links pairs a coated leather upper with a TPU hybrid spikeless outsole and a Crushfoam midsole, so it grips wet turf without the spanner you need for metal spikes. Our golf shoe roundup covers the spiked against spikeless argument if you play on heavy clay.

If the Links is more shoe than you need, the Chev Mulligan S uses a waterproof breathable leather outer over a membrane layer, with a mesh liner to move heat out. It is the lighter of the two and costs a little less, and it comes up true to size for most golfers.

Keep the bag and your head dry

An umbrella and a bag cover do more than the hat does, but the three work together. If you push a trolley through the winter, the budget electric trolley guide covers what survives mud and standing water.

An umbrella that flips inside out in the first gust is worse than carrying none. The ACEIken 62 inch umbrella uses a double canopy with fibreglass ribs and an automatic opening button, which vents the wind rather than catching it. Sixty-two inches covers a bag and a trolley, so a playing partner will be sheltering under it too.

Most golf bags are water-resistant at best on their own. The Rilime rain cover is cut from heavy duty 600D polyester with a water-resistant side zip, so you can pull a club out without lifting the whole cape. It fits 8.5 to 9.5 inch stand and cart bags, and a strap holds it against the bag in the wind.

A cap keeps rain out of your eyes, but the water runs off the peak straight onto your grips. The Titleist Players StaDry bucket hat uses waterproof materials with bonded seams and a wider brim, so the drips land on your shoulders instead of your hands.

If you carry rather than push, a wet bag gets heavy fast. The TaylorMade Pro 6.0 has a 9 inch top, a 7-way divider, a high-mount automatic stand and a four-point strap that spreads the weight. Pair it with the cover above and your kit stays dry from the first tee to the car. Our best golf bags guide covers the cart bag alternative.

The rule you are owed when it pours

Temporary water, the stuff that used to be called casual water, is an abnormal course condition rather than bad luck. Under Rule 16.1 of the Rules of Golf you get free relief from it in the general area, which means you take the nearest point of complete relief, no nearer the hole, and drop within one club length of that spot.

Two things trip people up. You have to take full relief, so standing outside the water while the ball sits in it is not enough, and you cannot take relief in a penalty area. Preferred lies are a separate thing and only apply when the committee puts them in place, so check the noticeboard rather than assuming.

Playing the shots once you are out there

The swing does not need rebuilding, but the plan does. Take one more club than you would in the dry, swing at about eighty per cent and accept that the ball will land and stop. Aim at the centre of the green rather than the flag, because a wet green will not hold a shot flighted at a tucked pin.

Putting needs a small adjustment too, since wet grass slows the ball and putts finish short. Roll the ball a little firmer and pick a line that dies at the hole. If you rely on a laser, remember that rangefinders struggle to read through heavy rain and mist, so have a yardage book or a GPS number as a backup. Kept indoors by the weather instead? Our home practice guide has the alternative, and a ball cleaning routine is a decent job for a wet afternoon.

Pace of play and the small etiquette

Rain makes a round feel longer than it is, and slow play in the wet is the fastest way to lose partners. Keep the umbrella between two of you rather than one each, put the bag cover on before the first fairway rather than after the first soaking, and repair your pitch marks as you go.

Mark your card under cover and take the trolley or carry bag straight to the next tee. A round played briskly in bad weather is more enjoyable than one played slowly in the same rain, and most clubs will thank you for keeping the field moving.

Frequently asked questions

Does golf stop when it rains?

Golf carries on in rain at almost every UK club, and only lightning or a waterlogged course will suspend play. A horn means a dangerous situation rather than a heavy shower, so stop and take cover when you hear one.

Do rain gloves actually work?

They are built on the opposite logic to a normal glove. The palm material is designed to hold its grip once it gets damp, so a wet pair grips better than a leather glove that has gone slick.

Can you wear waterproof trousers for golf?

Yes, and most golfers keep a pair in the bag through the winter. Full-length side zips are the feature that matters, because you can pull them on over your shoes in the car park.

What is the free relief for water on the course?

Temporary water is an abnormal course condition under Rule 16.1. You take free relief within one club length of the nearest point of complete relief, no nearer the hole, and you must take full relief.

How do I keep my grips dry in the rain?

Carry two towels. Use one for mud and keep the other folded and dry for your hands and grips, because one wet towel used for both jobs just moves the water around.

Should I change how I putt in the rain?

Wet grass slows the ball, so a putt that would run past the hole in summer can finish short. Roll it a little firmer and die the ball at the hole.

The short version

Fix your hands first, because a dry grip is worth more than a dry back. Then add the waterproof layer, a pair of shoes that hold wet turf, and the umbrella and bag cover that keep everything else usable. Club up, swing smooth, putt firmly, and take the free relief the rules give you when the water gathers. A wet round is a round you would otherwise have missed, and the kit above turns it into one you can enjoy.

For more golf gear guides for UK conditions, visit WeekendGolfer.

T

Tom Ashworth

Tom compares golf gear for WeekendGolfer - balls, clubs, bags and gadgets. He plays off 14 at a municipal course and says when the cheaper option does the same job.

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Last reviewed: October 2, 2026 · Evidence-based content · Contains affiliate links