If you watch pro golf tournaments being played in the rain, you might notice the amount of effort caddies and players take to keep their hands and clubs dry. It makes sense considering the amount of money on the line; one slip of the club could cost thousands of dollars!
The Rules of Golf address weather in several places. To help be clear on what you can and can’t do in terms of keeping your clubs and hands dry, we’ve compiled this tip sheet for you to become familiar with.
Here are some of the CAN DO things:
- You can wear gloves designed to be tacky when wet (Rule 4.3).
- You can towel off the grips of your clubs before swinging (Rule 4.3a(5)).
- You can wrap a towel around the handle for a better grip (Rule 4.3a(5)).
- You can change gloves as often as you want.
- You can hold an umbrella over your head while putting (Rule 10.2b(5)).
- You can use some type of drying powder on the handle (Rule 4.3a(5)).
Here are some of the CAN’T DO things:
- You can’t have someone else shield you from the elements while swinging.
- You can’t use any equipment that gives you an unfair advantage with hand or grip pressure.
- You can’t pull your shirt sleeve down to hold onto the club while making a stroke.
This last one deserves a little explanation as you might wonder what the big deal is, especially when you’re allowed to hold a towel on the grip or wear special rain gloves.
This is the clarification in the rules book (Rule 10.1b/2): “If the player deliberately uses a gripping hand to hold an article of clothing worn on any part of the body (such as holding the sleeve of a shirt with a hand) while making a stroke, there is a breach of Rule 4.3 (Prohibited Use of Equipment) since that is not its intended use and doing so might assist the player in making that stroke.”
In case you didn’t know, anything you wear during a round is considered “equipment,” in addition to your golf clubs and balls.
