I passed up an opportunity to play a 3 pm twilight 18 today. Temp was 92°, humidity 80%, wind <5 mph.
I’m a fair weather golfer, but that’s just a bit uncomfortable for me. My other limits are below 45°, raining more than 0.2" forcast & wind above 15 mph.
Got me wondering … What are your limits weather-wise?
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I played once in Phoenix when it was 115…and once in southern Utah at 117. (Obviously in a cart)
We get quite a bit of winter here in Northern Utah (most courses close Nov-March) but occasionally we have less or little snow….so I’ve been known to play on frozen ground with golf mat tees as well (circa 30-35 degrees).
But……if the wind is howling, I don’t care what the temp is….it’s not worth it to me to play.
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When I was in college in upstate NY, before I became any serious at all about the game, we went out with orange golf balls and played 9 holes in snow with about an inch or so on the ground 
. My limits, because I play the game for enjoyment… I will not play with winds of 25mph or higher, below 45F is a no go! Rain prior to a round is a no go, I will play on if it starts after we teed off, I do have wet gear in the bag JIC. Any kind of lightning I see is immediate—I’m Out!—. Yesterday was 98F, very high humidity, when we finished, but as long as we can use a cart, it’s not so bad. Lots of towels and water. We played 27 yesterday… I drank 1 gal of water and 2 bananas before we finished. It was a straight 6 hours. 85 and high humidity is my cut off for walking 18. It’s nice to have weather apps on your phone in todays world.
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We played golf through all kinds of weather when we we were younger
Wind, rain, wind+rain ( the best), snow, hail, over 90 F walking the golf course… except for, when the lighting is in the forecast.
Nowadays, too hot or too cold out side of our comfort zone of 45degree-85 degree F, or when humidity over 85% ( rarely happens here). Or when the grip start to spin in our hands with misting rain, or when a tee shot buried in the fairway…
I know, we’re probably too picky for a purist golfer.
But, Hey, we have been through all of it and some times multiple elements all in one day.
I think it’ll be time to let the aging body enjoy a little better condition while we could still walk the golf course.
Yes, 80% + in my group still walk the golf course, even on a hilly terrain.
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92 degrees…OK, whatever. And 80% humidity…Nope.
With those numbers, I get 121 degree Heat Index at NOAA’s calculator. I might play in 115-120 when it’s dry, (and look like Gunga Din, carrying 3 gallons of water.) No way am I doing that when sweat won’t work.
You can golf the other 350 days of the year when it’s not behaving that way. Or get a simulator 9 in, like I tried yesterday. (42 at Pebble 1-9 from the back. No wind though.)
Houston, I’ll play pretty much any combo of weather. The course will close before I do. (Just bring lots of water, and dress for the Sun.)
But we don’t get 92/80, here. More like 85-95, 80-35. Currently, it’s 86/76%. And distinctly uncomfortable, though I could play in it. A few degrees and percentage points really matter here. Maybe the dewpoint gets to 80. Maybe. Not like the 85+ dewpoints the MidWest gets a few days a year.
Love the cold and wind. Just dress for it. Nike makes some nifty, warm form-fitting sweaters for golf. Or they used to. I remember Sutherland being who you used to go to for golf gore-tex rain gear. I’m sure there are lots to choose from now.
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I play anytime unless it is raining constantly. Teed off today at 0757 in thick fog. We had about 4mm of rain in showers. Would have been about 10degs. Fog finally lifted on the 12th to reveal sunny blue skies. I don’t mind wind and play on 40 deg days as well. Cold isn’t an issue here with the coldest day this year having a max of 11
Way too humid. It reminds me of the Eastern States of a few summers when I went to school there. Somedays, I’d wet my tee shirt sitting in a shaded room with electric fans on. Very few back then had the air conditioning in a private setting. Mostly just electric fans.
This is one of the reason why I “encouraged” my wife to move West, when my wife and I were engaged. She lived in Virginia close to D.C. and only took me one visit in the July to decide that’s not a place for golfers. Couldn’t deal with only 3-4 months out of a year of golf weather for walkers. Luckily ( for me) , she agreed to abandon her established career and moved out West to us.
I golf once under triple digit heat near Phoenix one late July, during one of my conference meeting. First time i encountered golf carts with a misting curtain to cool down the golfers.
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I played yesterday when heat index was over 100. I didn’t think it was too bad, but it was fairly windy which helped a lot. The humidity is the killer as I’ve played golf in AZ at 105 and was comfortable, but 85 and humid here can be brutal. I play in the rain if the course is open. If I didn’t play in the rain my # of rounds would drop by a third.
I hate the cold. I have Raynauds and my hands just get cold to the point it’s painful. I won’t pay below 40* here as the wind will make it feel like 30* and honestly my hands are frozen below 50*. I should be living in the desert, but my wife’s temp tolerance is like 62-72*
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It’s definitely different than a lot of places. Your ball will sail in 110F+ conditions.
Scary place if you don’t have water. When I was in Death Valley in July, with a car that we had to run the heater on, to keep the temps down—it wasn’t that bad. Really. But we were constantly drinking water. Like always having a water bottle in our hands.
Never been to the Death Valley, no interest of going there in the future.
hydration works only if the humidity is relatively low. Phoenix had this kind of dry heat but not as bad as the Death Valley. at just over triple digits, it felt like in a dry sauna or small oven. Hydration is a must. We were supplied with a large bandana, soaked with ice water and wrap it around our neck. Ice chest with bottles of water and supply for ice water to wet the bandana was at every tee box.
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The day I played in Phoenix at 115-ish we also had plenty of water, carts, and mango scented iced towels too. I was one of 2-3 people on the course…my buddy from Phoenix wouldn’t even play with me…just rode in the cart telling me I was an idiot the whole time. I’d definitely do it again!!!
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When one could actually “feel” the body getting hydrated when replenishing with fluid, that’s, hot ( dry heat).
When I ingest cold water during my round near Phoenix, I could feel my body opened up like plant dose with hydration. It was an amazing feeling.
Probably won’t do it again but, a very nice experience.
BTW, there were no one on the golf course except for this other guy from the conference sharing a golf cart with me.
I have no real data on this, but in my experience people that live in places where they can play golf all year will NOT play in any sort of “bad” weather. Those of us that are forced to take 5 months off will go out whenever we can lol.
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On the low end, anything mid-40s and lower is a show stopper. Rain - forecast of 50% (or higher) precipitation, I stay home. On upper end, anything mid-high 80s and accompanied brutal RealFeel is a no go. As a septuagenarian, I’ve no need to punish myself at this point in my life. I still get out 2-3 times per week.
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113 at NWC China Lake, 105 in Scottsdale AZ, 93 Walking in San Diego, 38 at the start in SD about 45 at the end. Not fond of rain, played a few times. Played high winds (25+) at China Lake and boy was THAT interesting. The winds can gust there and you can get 100 yards off the tee, 2 fairways over or the best drive of your life. I normally play in shorts so upper 30s is about as cold as I would go unless there is wind, then no bueno. I am OK at 105 and below (cart) and 90 and below (walking) but that depends on the course. At 70+ I need to be reasonable. Ha!!
Snow that rolls up on the ball when putting. Any temperature, rain standing on greens, any wind. But we’re seniors and learned to deal with weather cleaning ice out of the guides while steelhead fishing.
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Rooster tail on a wet green surface?
grip won’t stay put in the hands ( gloved or not )?