Rain Gear

[askmifo]

As most players, I have severe problems with my backhand grip when playing in rainy weather. It does not matter if I have numerous towels, golf king size umbrella, and so on. I simply feel unsecure about my grip, and tend to release way too early. I often end up driving with forehand instead.

I have not found any rule that says you can't use a golf glove, to enhance the grip.

My questions are then:

-Is it OK to use a rain glove for golf ?
-If so, have you guys tried any that you can recommend? FootJoy have their rain gloves, and Fit39 have one that is fit very tight round your palm. I think the upside with better grip might be better than the downside with a slight loss of feel.

But, since I have not tried it yet, what's your advice?
(Besides keeping discs dry of course... :-) )

[rollinghedge]

802.04 Artificial Devices
A. During a round, a player shall not use any artificial device that may assist in making a throw, except those devices that reduce or control abrasion to the skin (such as gloves, tape, bandages, gauze, etc.) and medical items (such as knee and ankle braces, etc.). Items used to prevent slipping on the teeing surface are also allowed. A player is specifically prohibited from using any artificial device that changes the position of the disc in the player’s hand or artificially lengthens any of the player’s throwing levers (fingers, wrist, arm, shoulder, etc.). The use of devices which assist in determining distances over 10 meters, such as range finders and GPS devices are prohibited. Measuring devices such as a tape measure may be carried and used to determine distances 10 meters and less for the purpose of rules enforcement.

B. A player shall receive two penalty throws, without a warning, if, during any portion of a round, he or she is observed by two players or an official to be using or carrying an artificial device that is determined by the director to violate section 802.04 A. A player who uses an artificial device after it has been determined by the director to be in violation of 802.04 A has also violated 804.05 A (3) and shall be penalized accordingly.

Never tried using one before, I think Tom Monroe (#33) down in Birmingham uses one sometimes, probably just a random ball golf glove.

[gdstour]

There are 2 gloves that I have used when it is cold out that are awesome one is leather and the other is Spandex/lycra with leather pads on the finger tips.
Both are for regular golf and can be found at most high end golf shops. Nike, Titleist and callaway make great golf gloves and they retail for about $8-$12

None of them will work well if they get too wet, but you can use another looser fitting ski glove over it to help keep it from getting wet.

As long as you keep the glove dry and get over the fact that you have a glove on, I found that using a glove can really help in in climate weather,, Good golf gloves allow you to have a great feel for the discs because of how thin they are, but once they are wet they will not work so well.

There are some gloves that are made for working in the rain and other sports like goalie gloves and moto-cross that are somewhat waterproof, but they do not offer anywhere near the feel needed for putting, though you may be able to use them for driving!

here is a link to a golf glove that I have not tried, it looks like it should be fairly waterproof:
http://www.golfjoy.com/Nike/Golf_Glo...Golf_Glove.htm

[Birdie]

The problem you are having will not be fixed by using a glove.

You are uncomfortable with the rain so you think about it, or think about not thinking about it...

Wet hands/disc or gloves, I think you will still be questioning your grip. And that is the true problem.

Tell yourself that your grip is good and it will be.

Think your grip is bad and it will be.

Eliminate negative thoughts.

[abee1010]

Another thing that helps my release in the rain is to slow every thing down. You're not going to get great grip in the rain no matter what you do. If you are trying to throw as hard or fast as you normally do your disc will slip out early everytime. So, club down and take a little off it and you should be fine without a glove...

[rollinghedge]

and throw a lot of DX plastic for the best grip.

[curt]

One thing that really helps me in the rain, that I don't see many players doing is to only dry off the part of the disc that your hand is going to be on when driving. The benefit of this is that your towels will last much longer and be dryer when your using them and get the water off the discs better. Also, I totally agree that slowing things down helps a lot (I often play better in the rain actually b/c of this)

[JerryChesterson]

Just throw FLX plastic. It rocks cold and wet weather.

[gnduke]

I've used GOJO SureGrip mechanics gloves for years. They offer about the same traction in the rain as bare hands to in dry weather. Maybe a little more grip than dry hands on champion plastic.

I found them for about $12 a few years ago and bought several pairs. I would think most similar products would offer similar performance.

[mikeP]

Another thing that helps my release in the rain is to slow every thing down. You're not going to get great grip in the rain no matter what you do. If you are trying to throw as hard or fast as you normally do your disc will slip out early everytime. So, club down and take a little off it and you should be fine without a glove...

This has worked for me. I make sure I have lots of microfiber towels (they last 3-4 times longer before saturation) and I use a golf umbrella. Besides the advice given in the quote, I also make sure to stay AS DRY AS POSSIBLE. Never stand in the open, always keep under whatever cover there is.

One last thing: gloves don't work at all. Ever. At least not for me. At least if my hands are wet I can feel that the disc is going to slip. With gloves on you can't feel anything. I used golf gloves, baseball gloves, and tackified football gloves. None worked well, and the ones I liked best wore out too fast to be feasible.

[DOC65]

Use a chamois leather towel. The wetter they get the better they work. It's amazing how much water they will soak up from the disc and your hand leaving them as close to not being wet as anything you'll find.

[tokyo]

Buy a Under Armour football glove that is used by recievers, that thing gives you mad grip on disc, I just dont know if i could play with it or not.

[ChrisWoj]

After playing in a downpour yesterday, and doing okay...

1. Have an umbrella. I used to think I could get by without one, figured everything would get wet anyway. BIG mistake.

2. Have MICROFIBER towels. Not shammys. The shammys don't get the water off the disc as well, and they deposit any dirt or grime on the shammy onto the disc. Microfibers pull off dirt, grime, and water. Especially helpful if your disc ends up in the mood. For my money, shammys are worthless.

3. Have extra towels in a plastic bag. I used 5 (!!) yesterday in one round. Though if you're using a supercrappy-shammy they do seem to last the longest without becoming saturated.

4. Blow on your fingers. Blow lightly on them, nice and even across your grip. Halfway through the round I had a hole where I realized my own hands were saturated with moisture, finally thought to blow on my fingers and it did the trick right away.

5. Trust. As was said already, trust your grip. Whenever I thought about my grip it failed me.

[askmifo]

Thanks for all replies and interesting thoughts!

I have played ball golf for many years, and some of my tournament wins has come when the weather has been absolutely soaking wet. I tried to think positive as you say, knowing that everyone struggles with the weather. Those who accepts a slight loss of grip, discomfort from the rain, more complicated handling of umbrella, towels, scorecards etc, they usually prevail and place high in the results.

Now I need to find a way to adapt to slower smoother release, and mentally accept I will throw shorter, besides the work with keeping things dry.

Oh, one more tip from me, it is so much easier to handle things in a competition if someone is kind enough to caddie for you... :-) It is not that easy to persuade my girlfriend to carry my backpack in pouring rain, but it sure make things easier when I can concentrate on drying discs and writing scores, without clinging the umbrella between my shoulder and chin, kneeling on the ground... :-P

Here in southern Sweden the Winter tours wiith unstable weather will begin in a few weeks, I'll better be prepared then!

Again, thanks guys, good advices and an interesting discussion!

[mikeP]

Once you have your confidence in the rain it will be more fun. I used to hate playing in the rain. This spring at a tournament I had a really bad first round. When the rain clouds showed up on the horizon instead of getting anxious I thought "man, if I keep it together I could gain a lot of strokes as other people will be making mistakes". Sure enough I adhered to my ritual and it brought more focus to my game than I had before it was raining. I birdied 4 holes in a row while everyone else on my card took 3s, 4s, and 5s. The next round it rained again and again I tore it up. I ended up going from last place after the first round to 5th place in the end. Now I look forward to rain even though I still honestly do not enjoy getting wet.

[DOC65]

2. Have MICROFIBER towels. Not shammys. The shammys don't get the water off the disc as well, and they deposit any dirt or grime on the shammy onto the disc. Microfibers pull off dirt, grime, and water. Especially helpful if your disc ends up in the mood. For my money, shammys are worthless.

Can't disagree more, use your towels for cleaning off the mud and grime and the Chamois for drying. I've played in multiple tournaments this year that had rain, lots of rain. And when everyone on my card would start complaining about not being able to get a disc dry with their microfiber towels I'd laugh.

Then I'd wring out all the water in my chamois and grab there disc and give it a quick wipe down and hand it back. They couldn't believe how dry their disc was when I handed it back. Some guys would see what I had and would say why didn't I ever think of that those things suck up water like nothing else!! Just don't buy cheap imitations get the real deal.

Now I will concede that if you carry enough (5 in your case I guess) microfiber towels they might be as effective as a single chamois.

[jmc2442]

it says right on the package, "the soft touch thats tough on wetness".. it even comes in a nice plastic carrying tube. These things work wonders on autos, household cleanups, basically anything involving large amounts of water. I have never carried a chamois playing disc golf. After last weekend, I am absolutely putting an Absorber in my bag.

Dirt/muck/grime with towel, wetness with the chamois. thats the way to go.

[abee1010]

Or you could use a cart with plastic boxes to keep your discs dry. 1 cotton towel is all I need, and I always do the final wipe on the inside of my T-shirt. Then if it's rainging really hard I hold the disc (in throwing hand) under my shirt until I actually begin the runup...

[JerryChesterson]

All I have to say is one word .... SHAMWOW!!!!

www.shamwow.com

[RhynoBoy]

^^^Almost posted that last night! SHAMWOW!!!

[DOC65]

I've wondered about those Shamwow's. Are they better than Chamois Leather? Give me some real world testimonials.

[anita]

I was told the adage of: Dry disc, dry hand. Wet disc, wet hand. Basically keep the friction coefficient the same. I have actually rubbed my hand in wet grass to get it wet when I have played in the rain.

[ChrisWoj]

Now I will concede that if you carry enough (5 in your case I guess) microfiber towels they might be as effective as a single chamois.

Except for the fact that a single Innova "SUPER" shammy (however it is spelled) didn't get a single disc dry? I tried using it for a few holes and all it did was deposit dirt and grime on the disc, and leave moisture on the disc. The microfibers wicked away any water, dirt, whatever. Sure, they get saturated quick which is why I needed more than one... but the shammy didn't get anything off the disc in the first place. It sucked.

[ChrisWoj]

All I have to say is one word .... SHAMWOW!!!!

www.shamwow.com

Had one of those in my bag as well this weekend. lol. It used to work, but I mostly used it to stop up my rockstar while I kept it in my bag. :P The only problem I have with a Shamwow is that after a few years they lose their absorption ability somehow. Awesome as hell when you first buy them though!

[DOC65]

Except for the fact that a single Innova "SUPER" shammy (however it is spelled) didn't get a single disc dry? I tried using it for a few holes and all it did was deposit dirt and grime on the disc, and leave moisture on the disc. The microfibers wicked away any water, dirt, whatever. Sure, they get saturated quick which is why I needed more than one... but the shammy didn't get anything off the disc in the first place. It sucked.

Maybe that's the problem. I'm talking about Chamois Leather, Big Difference!!!

[ChrisWoj]

Maybe that's the problem. I'm talking about Chamois Leather, Big Difference!!!

Yeah, I meant to specify in my first post that it was the Innova things they just came out with. That's my bad.

[drdisc]

I use a baseball batting glove when it gets cold, They don't last long in the wet. The aforementioned towels are great. You can not beat a Birdie Bag. Helped me win a Worlds in the rain one year.

[switzerdan]

I play in Switzerland and we get a lot of rain. I'm curious to know what other people are using for rain jackets and rain pants. I'm in the market for a new set and I just wanted some opinions. Thanks!

[discgolfstaJR]

Breathing rain gear is a life saver. You don't even need to be in the mountains where it can be sunny one minute and rain coming in horizontally the next minute to have problems with non breathing rain gear. Clothing manufacturers have given very different numbers to how much quicker you lose body heat when the clothes are wet. I've seen numbers between 20 and 60 times faster. If your clothes do not allow the sweat to go through them and it condenses in the jacket or trousers that are cold on the outside that condensed sweat will make your lower layers wet quickly and then the cold air on the outside conducts to your skin quickly. If you look at the numbers that manufacturers claim 3000-5000 in water evaporation are pretty useless for keeping you dry. 10000 helps some 15000 is ok 20000 and more are good. Naturally prices are outrageous usually with the higher numbers so i'd look for very durable fabrics on the outside at least so that you'll get years out of that piece of clothing.

I have outrageously expensive hunting pants from Chevalier with 25000 and the seller said Gore Tex has one model that is more breathing but i have no trouble with 25000 in the fall and winter when wading in the snow makes you work hard. Those pants are warm but not the most wind proof but good still and they have an extra layer of fabric in the knees. Hunters need it for shooting from the knee but it is great for doing just the same in disc golf if you don't want to put a disc upside down or a towel under the knee. I avoid it if the ground is not gonna mess up the trouser. Why bend a disc or dirty up the towel? you never know when it's gonna rain so having as much dry clean towel area without carrying a lot of towels is a nice safety margin.

Look for clothing that have zippers so that you can boost the ventilation. At least under the arm in the jacket and on the inside in the legs.

For the summer i use North Face Circadian pants without problems and those don't allow wind to get through and they are almost totally comfortable on hot summer days for sweaty old me. They are thin and fold into fairly small space so they aren't a problem to carry just in case if you have a large bag.

www.chillcheater.com makes very tightly bundling up jackets and trousers from nylon that gram saving mountaineers use. My jacket does not breathe as well as the trousers from North Face and Chevalier. It is too sweaty if the zipper is up until it gets below say 10 C. It has a built in pouch and the jacket can be rolled into a ball inside the pouch and it is the diameter of my palm so it is very easy to carry. It won't stand up to a hard rain or hours in moderate rain though but it weighs nothing so it is easy to carry. Carrying the jacket and their trousers should not be hard just in case. I don't have their trousers. They are great for blocking wind but being so thin material they don't warm you. The same goes for the North Face pants in colder weather.

Were it not for the zippers in my Patagonia rain jacket (thicker but still not warming) it would not breath much at all. I don't recall the model name and it is worn on the jacket. They aren't cheap either so i'd go with something else armed with the knowledge i've gotten since. It is very durable though.

I bought a used British rain jacket in a military surplus store for peanuts and the MVP (possibly not the disc manufacturer) lining looks exactly the same as the material in the Patagonia jacket. No ventilation zippers but it has insane shapeability from having so many adjustments for size and shape and shaping it to be snug in the stomach area and looser up top allows the jacket to not touch the lower layers of clothing in many places. While the jacket is moving some in the upper part it also ventilates the lower layers. But the real benefit to that jacket is the way it is closed. Judging from the blue color it is meant for the navy or harbor use and there's a lot of wind to contend with in those applications. As a consequence the zipper is protected by several overlapping flaps of fabric closed by velcro. Thus you can open the velcro just as much as you like and if wanted you can adjust with how many velcro patches the flaps are closed so you have a lot of wiggle room for adjusting how well the venting works. This jacket is warm. So it is so good that i'm thinking the unthinkable and possibly taking a needle in the hand and putting vent zippers to the arm pits as well because the center line venting gets shifted in use and at times it gets too cold in the fall from being too open and the ventilation from the zipper area hits the one place where you should maintain warmth the heart and the lungs. I'm not too keen on sowing work though :-D

So look for as many adjustments to the size and shape, venting zippers and breathing water and wind proof materials that are tough on the outside. Generally soft shell clothes breathe better than dedicated rain gear that isn't priced astronomically. Some soft shells might stand up to heavy rain for hours but it probably means added price. Many soft shells have too soft outer skin to stand up to normal disc golf abuse like getting needles and branches trying to abrade or puncture the fabric.

I think the North Face Circadian pants are soft shells and they are the toughest soft shell fabric i've encountered and short of sliding down a rocky hill i can't see it breaking from disc golfing. They haven't ever gotten wet even in horizontal rain but they are pricey.

Shoes need to be water proof or you'll be miserable. Vivobarefoot Off Road shoes have the best traction i've encountered in any shoes but the sole is on the hard side so it will slide on wet hard surfaces. Running fast in any shoe has the chance of uprooting grass under the shoe and surfing on the turf patch anyway. So i'd move slower on wet ground. Puddles make you slip and there's always the chance of muscles tearing then and aquaplaning is a real issue so it depends on your style what happens in wet weather. That means your technique dictates what you need from a sole.

[DemAmazins]

http://www.gore-tex.com/remote/Satellite/home