About If you're an avid golfer then you've probably experienced a time when you finally reached the weekend to play only to have the weather try to come out and ruin your fun with some rain.
Whether you're just looking to relax and have a fun game or you're practicing to play competitively golf rain suits are a great addition to any golfers supplies.
Before making your purchase check out some of our articles to get a better idea of what to look for in a good golf rain suit.
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Golf rain suits and rain gear are a fantastic addition to your golfing equipment to keep you dry and comfortable while you continue to golf in all kinds of conditions.
It’s important for golfers to understand how the rain can affect their game, and simply going inside and refusing to play when it starts to drizzle isn’t going to teach you that aspect of the game.
But before you go and purchase golf rain suits or any type of golf rain gear it’s important to understand all the different aspects that are related to them and what you will need to pay attention to when purchasing them. Have you considered the different positions you’ll be in when out on the green e.g. neck down slightly bent forward? What about the fact that if you’re not wearing golf rain suits to play golf in then your movement will be restricted? Golf rain suits are made specifically with golfing in mind so that it does not restrict your golf swing but at the same time does its job to keep the elements out as with any type of golf rain gear.
While most golf games will postponed or cancelled due to heavy rains, especially where lightning may be present, golf matches will continue to be played if it is only a light rain or drizzle. This is why it’s important to keep your golf rain suits in your bag along with your other golf rain gear at all times. Check out our site to get more ideas on what to expect from well designed golf rain suits and gear.
A good golf rain suit can be hard to find, and they don’t come cheap so you want to make sure you select the best product on your first chance. While a typical golf rain suit is waterproof believe it or not this is not always the case. If you get a cheap golf rain suit it will only protect you from very light drizzles that only last a few minutes. A good golf rain suit will be entirely waterproof and will keep the rain from sitting on the fabric and instead cause it to bead up and roll off. The pockets are especially important; the inside of the pockets should have a water release holes so that the rain cannot build up inside the golf rain suit and create a water balloon effect.
When looking for a golf rain suit make sure to find one that has high “storm collars” that stay up against your neck. When you bend over to putt you will be exposing much of your neck and over time the water will start to get down your back and onto your skin and clothes. A zip up storm collar with an inner elastic band is ideal. Gore-Tex has many good variations of this type that are comfortable and do a good job at keeping the rain out as well as the Frogg Togg line of golf rain suits gear and accessories. These are made and tested specifically for mobility and keeping the wet out and will last you a long time.
Another often overlooked aspect of purchasing a golf rain suit is the zipper. When water constantly gets inside and around the zipper mechanism you may have noticed that a sort of “pucker” effect beings to occur. When this happens the zips around the actual pulley for the zipper bubble or “pucker” out and can lead to a misalignment with the zipper and cause it to get off of the zipper track. A good golf rain suit will have a dual zipper to prevent this from happening. The zipper should also be made of plastic or stainless steel so that it does not eventually wear out and become unusable.
One of the most important aspects of a good golf rain suit is the mobility it can offer. If you buy a tight or poorly stitched golf rain suit then you will definitely notice the effects it has on your game. Because you will need full range of motion to perform your golf swings you should look for a golf rain suit that has elastics around the arms, knees, and waist. This should allow for great mobility but still help keep the rain out. You will be fighting to find a balance between mobility and protection from the rain with most of the golf rain suits you look at. Size plays a very big role in this decision.
When looking around at golf rain suits and gear you may begin to notice different variations. Some golf rain suits will come with one piece; that is that the legs and chest portion of the golf rain suits are attached together. With these golf rain suits you step into the clothing and then sip up from the crotch upward. Two piece golf rain suits are the pants, and the jacket separate. But what are the differences between the two and which is the best to get?
The advantages of one piece golf rain suits are simply that it will offer more protection for your overall body and clothing. Because it covers your entire body without any breaks in the fabric as you see with two piece golf rain suits, these one piece items are almost impenetrable to rain. When you wear two piece golf rain suits typically when you bend over or shift a certain way you expose certain “breaks” in the clothing and this is where the rain gets in. Over time it can get more and more wet eventually causing the jacket or pants to stick to your body which then exposes you to more of the elements.
Despite this distinct advantage that the one piece golf rain suits have, two seperate pieces are often preferred simply because of their usability. Two piece golf rain suits offer better mobility as you can twist and turn your body without worrying about fabric restricting it. When you wear a one piece you can feel the pull and restrictions to your movements which can greatly hinder your game. If you’re serious enough to buy golf rain suits then you’re probably serious enough to want the mobility of a two piece.
Most golfers will agree that the two piece golf rain suits are the best overall for golfing in the rain simply because they prefer movement over dryness. This is understandable and with some underlining clothes you should be able to keep the rest of the wetness out even if you’re wearing two piece golf rain suits. Some level of rain is epected to give in, you just have to find the balance between what you want in dryness, comfortability, and mobility.
Before you go and purchase a golf rain suit that fits you just right, take into consideration what we spoke of before about mobility. With golf, mobility is everything as you will need access to full range of motion; if you purchase a golf rain suit that is too small then you will constantly be fighting the stitching when you swing. However, if you purchase a golf rain suit that is too large then you’ll feel the underarms and chest area get in the way when you go to swing. The best answer for this is to purchase a golf rain suit that has very thin material. Some of the golf rain suits on the market today have heavily padded or thick material which decreases your movement ability. Also make sure that your golf rain suit is made of some sort of nylon or other special material that isn’t going to shrink. Obviously since this item will be getting wet it will be very susceptible to shrinking.
If you happen to find just the right rain suit but it is created with material that will shrink, you should consider purchasing at least one size over what is comfortable. Typically, depending on the clothing, how it was created and the materials used, you can expect through a wash and dry process an aritcle of clothing to shrink one full size. If you feel that your golf rain suit has shrunken too much you can make small changes to the suit in order to have it fit better. When you are golfing, feel do a few practice swings and feel where the clothing is pulling at. Typically this will be at the mid range of the swing or towards the top of the swing when you create follow through. When you feel the golf rain suit pulling, this is where you will need to loosen it up. This can be done in one of two ways.
Most pieces of clothing can be stretched to a certain degree. By simply pulling the golf rain suit in all directions at the pull location you can stretch the material about half a size (in the respective area). If the golf rain suit is still too tight and pulls in that area, you can consider cutting a slit at the location. This should be done with care as if you do it incorrectly the hole will gradually get larger. The key to is is to either do it at the bottom of the clothing so that it splits the area into two pieces (only cut about an inch) or to do it in the mid section of the pull area. Also, try and stay away from the stitching when you do this as that will be the beginning of the end for your rain suit.
If you have purchased a very nice golf rain suit then you should consider taking it to a tailor. This is ideal as it opens up the possiblity for the perfect fit. If you’re going to do this then the idea is to purchase a golf rain suit that is plenty large, then wash and dry it a few times to shrink it as much as it will go. If it is still too large then you can take it to a tailor and have them fit the shrunken (but still too large) golf suit to whatever measurements you prefer.
The size of your golf rain suit and how it fits is one of the most important factors to consider when purchasing it, so make sure you take your time and consider all your options.
Most golf rain suits you come across will not have a hood on the back. This seems counter-intuitive because obviously you don’t want water running in your face. However, if you’ve ever tried to golf with a hood on you will know the reason for leaving this element off of golf rain suits. Because of the bending over motion the rain tends to slip onto the inside of the hood. The hood also lowers visibility and neck movement which is important to have with a good golf swing.
The good alternative to golf rain suits that don’t use hoods is a rain hat. A rain hat has a brim that covers the radius of your head and does an excellent job of keeping the water out of your face but without restricting movement. When used with golf rain suits it can be a great overall addition and is really a must have. If you’re going to purchase some golf rain suits be sure to pick up one of these rain hats to add to your gear, visibility and movement is key to your game.
Another alternative is the spandex cap. You may have been at the golf course and seen some golfers wearing this and laughed to yourself as they do look pretty funny. Basically, imagine a speed skaters outfit but on a golfer. This does an excellent job of allowing full range of motion, as well as keeping the majority of water out. These suits can be very expensive at around two hundered dollars for just one. These should be worn under your other golf rain gear as a sort of water insurance so that if it gets past your outer layers it won’t pass the inside. This allow you to skip purchasing golf rain suits and just go with traditional rain coats. This isn’t suggested as although you are doing an excellent job of keeping the rain out, once agian this falls into the “no range of motion” effect we spoke of earlier. What good is a spandex cap or suit if you then put a regualr rain jacket over it? But at the same time who wants to golf in a full spandex outfit? Save yourself some time, money, and embarrassment by sticking to golf rain suits.
The Umbrella Caddie
If you decide to golf at higher end golf courses you may have seen some people with a little extra money to throw around being escorted by a caddie who carried a giant umbrella around to shield them from the rain. Although this can be expensive, admittedly this is the ideal situation to allow you to golf in rain with full range of motion and having to worry very little about the rain. However, if you don’t have the money to afford your own personal umbrella caddie but would still like to go the route of the umbrella there are always other options to consider!
As shopping online becomes more and more popular people look for deals and the best prices on the products they love. Because it’s so easy to search for items online quickly many people also end up purchasing online as well. You can now even resell your own items online through sites like ebay, craigslist, or other personal sales listings. Because of this there are major factories in and out of the country who’s main business is to create rip-off items in order to convince consumers to purchase them at a lower price. This may sound like a decent idea but the issue with this (specifically with golf rain suits) is that these items are made with much lower quality.
When you’re looking for golf rain suits and gear it’s important to understand that any major name brands like Adidas, Nike, Under Armour etc are going to be big targets for sweat shops to produce mass quantities of knock off products. Typically when you purchase golf rain suits and gear online from a major retailer you can know you’re getting the real deal. The problem comes in when people start purchasing from e-bay and other places that are individually owned. These people can purchase their knock off items in mass quantity for a very cheap price, and then end up selling you a golf rain suit and other golf gear at such a low price when it seems to be the identical item. These sweat shops deal with creating items that appear to be exactly like the real golf rain suits; don’t be fooled just because it has a Nike logo on it as these places do not care about copyright infringement. They will even go as far as to make the tags on the outside and wash tags look identical. This can be very confusing to people.
The main difference you will be looking for when avoiding knock off golf rain suits is the material. When compared to the material of offical golf rain suit clothing and gear there is a noticeable difference. If you can, try and compare it to golf rain suits at retail stores of the same type, if it feels different then it’s most likely fake and you will want to persue getting your money back.
On the other end of the consumer side of this we have people that actually don’t mind and prefer knock off golf rain stuis. They like the way they look and although they don’t perform nearly as well as real golf rain suits would they still go for it. This is an untold agreement between the seller and the purchaser, so if you are looking online for golf rain suits on ebay, be sure and message the seller and ask them if it is “100% authentic” and see what they say. Often they will give you clues that it is not real because they don’t want to mess with someone who will give them a bad rating. Golf rain suits and golf rain gear are really best purchased in person at a reputable retailer; because golf rain suits cost so much you want to try them on and feel good that your purchase is the real deal.
If you’ve played golf in the rain then you know that simply having good golf rain suits isn’t enough to keep your game at its top and keep your body dry and mobile. You’re going to want to expand on just having a good golf rain suit and start looking for some golf rain gear that can be ready any time the weather starts to interfere with your game. One of the biggest pieces of having effective golf rain gear will be the type of shoes you’re wearing. Having regular golf shoes will help, especially if they have some good cleats or spikes at the bottom. When performing your golf swing your feet need to stay planeted at all times and the wet ground can definitely interfere with that portion of your game.
Many golf shoes will be pure leather which is great because it’s flexible, durable, and looks nice as well. But when we’re talking about golf rain gear your shoes should be something that can withstand the constant beat down of rain and wet ground touching them. Believe it or not, but over time your cowhide leather golf shoes can beging to shrink, not to mention that it will eventually destroy the leather unless you have some heavy duty protectant on it, and even then you run a high risk of ruining your expensive shoes.
If you’re looking to add some shoes to your golf rain gear then look into getting some high durable rubber golf shoes. They may not look as pretty as your leather shoes that you’ll wear on game day, but they’re going to last you for a very long time. The rubber is flexible and comfortable, and typically the inside of golf rain gear shoes will contain an inner “sock” that will help keep your feet dry. When looking for golf rain gear you may also notice that many of the shoes offered will have high tops like boots or basketball shoes. This seems like a good idea, especially when looking for golf rain gear as you think that it would help keep the rain out, and it would; but something that you may not have thought of is the restriction of movement and the possibility of forming blisters on your ankles from the twsiting movement made when performing the follow through of your stroke. If you have high ankles on your golf rain shoes then when you twist and follow through upward your ankles will be rubbing on that over and over. After eighteen holes of golf you may find it to be a painful experience.
Another important item to add to your golf rain gear are gloves. Most players prefer a golfing glove when playing, but how well does it maintain its grip during the rain? There are specific golf rain gloves that are made for withstanding the wetness so that you can hardly tell there is rain or condensation on the club. There is also the fact that over time rain can shrink gloves and you will end up purchasing more and as time goes by. Again, rubber is often the answer and a good alternative will be polyester. Polyester and rubber will not srhink but is durable and very flexible which offers many advantages over a mainly leather glove. Overall any golf rain gear will not be as comfortable as your regular sunny day golf gear but the advantages it gives you are well worth the money.
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