The 2023 PGA Championship will test players’ ability to play in wet conditions and stay dry.
You may have noticed that the caddies are holding an umbrella instead of the player’s ball as golfers prepare for their tee shot. There’s good reason behind it.
Rain suits are excellent at keeping golfers dry. Unlike the foul-weather gear of 20 or 30 year ago, modern jackets and pants breathe, so players don’t get clammy. Rain gloves become tackier the more they are wet, and waterproof shoes keep golfers’ feet dry. Golfers can remain dry in even the heaviest of downpours.
Rain can have a very different effect on golf balls.
Iron grooves cannot grab or dig into a wet golf ball like they can with a dry one. Wet golf balls slide up the striking surface instead of compressing the ball against the face of the iron at impact. This results in a shot with more spin and a higher flight.
Carl Smith, Sahith Theegala’s caddy, keeps the ball dry at the first tee of the 2023 PGA Championship. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Even though drivers do not have grooves, the same thing occurs, albeit to a lesser extent, when players strike a wet golf ball with their driver. The wet balls skim up the face, and come off with less spinning. This makes its flight more difficult to control.
When a player is able to place his ball on the tee, or on the green, a caddie will focus on keeping it wet.
Many players will dry the club face with a towel. This is usually hung in the spokes on their umbrella. It’s all about creating the best possible contact.
Wet golf balls are more difficult to control and spin. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
It is not necessary to hold an umbrella above the ball when you are playing shots from the fairway, or near the green. The ball is already wet. Many manufacturers make the grooves on wedges wider and deeper than those found on irons. This creates a channel effect which helps enhance spin. Microgrooves or surface-roughening treatments are also used by some companies to enhance performance when playing in wet conditions. However, the main grooves do most of the work during rain.
There is no guarantee the ball will stop as it would on a normal dry green, even if players can hit chip shots and pitch shots with good spinning. Low-spinning shots can hydroplane on wet grass and reduce the effect of spin. High-spinning shots, which come down vertically, often peel back on softened greens.
Green reading is just as important on rainy days. You can gauge how the ball will react when it comes off the face, and how it will act once it hits the green.
