Some common -- and not so common -- sense tricks to weather the storm
June 6, 2017 by Jacob Wilkins in Instruction with 1 comments
Earlier this year I wrote a piece about some mental tips to improve your play in the rain. But what about the physical preparation? Sure, summer is around the corner, but that doesn’t guarantee you’ll stay dry — just look at the forecast for this week’s Beaver State Fling if you need convincing. Having been dumped on recently at the Amateur Championships at Bowling Green, though, I now have some common sense tricks for how to prepare for rain physically, besides just bringing an umbrella.
1) Bring the towels. All of them. No, seriously. It rained heavily for the last two rounds of the tournament, and I had packed one towel per three holes, so six towels total. This turned out to be fine for the third round, which presented standing water on the fairways and on and off rain showers. However, my six dry towels did not hold up well for the last round of the tournament, which took place in a steady downpour. With my latest experience, I might invest in nine towels for rounds that look to be that rainy. This will give me one towel for every two holes, which seems reasonable.
2) Have one towel dedicated to getting the “muck” off. It is also a good idea to bring an old shower towel with you, as well. I was fortunate enough to have a caddy for the event who provided me with one, and it was great to be able to wipe all of the mud and grass off on this towel before fine-drying the disc with a microfiber towel. If I were you, I would not count this toward the towel count above.
3) Put a napkin in your pocket. Why? This one may sound odd, but my caddy told me to try it because I utilize a forehand throw a lot during my rounds. The napkin will help keep the moisture away from your throwing hand while it is in your pocket. While this was great for a while, I had to eventually get rid of my only napkin because it got too wet. Next time I’ll know to pack more to keep my hand dry enough to grip the disc.
4) Use plastic bags for everything. I had a plastic bag for dirty towels, dry towels, my cell phone and wallet, and the scorecard. The plastic bag for dirty towels helped keep the wet stuff away from the dry stuff. Keeping your cell phone and wallet in a plastic bag will also keep those valuables dry, which will be great for after the round. Your course official or tournament director will also be very happy to receive a somewhat dry scorecard at the end of the round, as well. I’d also suggest placing your competition manual and caddy book in protective plastic. Also, be sure to keep those birdie bags, Whalesacs, and Sportsacks dry.
5) Pack extra clothes. Sure, it’s not like you’re going on vacation, but I’d go as far as to suggest packing an extra set of clothes to leave in your car. At the very least, definitely pack extra socks in your bag. I got in a situation during the third round where I chained out a putt and my putter fell into shin-deep casual water. Generally that’s no problem, except relief would have added an extra 15 to 20 feet to my already 15-foot comebacker. I swallowed the pill and made my way to my putter and tapped out, and I was glad to be able to put on an extra dry pair of socks after that hole.
Some of these tips I knew of before this soggy experience. Some tips I learned from my caddy, and others I learned the hard way. What’s most important is to realize that, as a player, you can’t do anything about the weather. All you can only change is the way you respond to the adverse conditions.
What’s in your wet weather bag? Leave us some advice in the comments or on our social media channels!
