Slippery grips… Holding on too hard to the club… Short swings due to restricted motion… Rushed golf swings to get out of the rain quickly. Golf is hard enough without pouring down rain!
If you choose to play in the rain, at least invest in the best women’s rain gear for golf! I’ll break down this article into many different sections to make sure you are covering all of your bases.
Keep in mind that I always go for the best VALUE options on the market. I don’t like cheap items, but I don’t like overpriced brands that aren’t any better than their lower priced alternatives.
Best Women’s Rain Jacket: Columbia Switchback III
Columbia is the best value option for women’s rain gear. All of the lower priced options are packed with bad reviews touting broken zippers, weird/bulky fabric, or just an ugly look.
The Columbia Switchback III jacket is a lightweight waterproof rain coat designed to keep you perfectly dry without breaking the budget. They are about $40-$60 and are much higher quality than the cheaper off-brands.
It can be stored into a very tight spot (it packs down into its own pocket) for you to keep in your golf bag. It’s got two pockets, which is all you need. I really like the adjustable cuffs, too.
Just a high quality, light-weight, comfortable, attractive, water-proof jacket for women.
Best Women’s Rain Pants: Columbia Storm Surge
Along the same lines as the jacket, Columbia offers the best value waterproof pants for women golfers. The Columbia Storm Surge women’s golf pants are breathable, comfortable, attractive, fitting, and most importantly… COMPLETELY water-proof.
There’s a very simple sizing chart, and the reviews are all incredible. I’ll warn you that there are lots of cheaper options out there that may seem like better value options. Nope. Nearly all reviews of golfers that have used them for longer than a year have talked about poor quality regarding some aspect of the cheaper pants (bad zippers, split fabric, uncomfortable linings, etc).
Non-slip, Water-proof Gloves: FootJoy RainGrip Women’s
Gloves play the most important role in playing good golf in the rain. Using standard golf gloves in the rain simply doesn’t cut it. When water is involved, they simple can’t hold onto the grip well enough, leading to losing your grip during a golf shot. Then you hold onto the grip really tight, which results in poor shots. That’s where the FootJoy RainGrip women’s golf grips come in.
The competing gloves don’t even come close to the performance of the RainGrip gloves. The FootJoy RainGrip gloves perform better in the rain, as they get tackier and stickier when water is involved, which is exactly what you want.
I’m assuming that you are used to buying women sized gloves (which come smaller than gloves for men). The same is the case for rain gloves, so make sure you are getting the women’s sized rain gloves if that is what you normally buy.
I’d encourage you to ALWAYS keep a pair in your bag. You never know when you’ll need them, as the weather forecast seems to be wrong more often than not. Don’t be caught with just standard golf gloves when it pours and you have more holes to play. Golf with wet hands is no fun. Golf with FootJoy RainGrip gloves in the rain is still (mostly) fun.
There’s not many MUST-BUY golf rain gear items for women. But this is without a doubt one of them.
Tacky, Sticky Grips: Grip Master Kangaroo Leather Grips
There’s no question about it: if you want the tackiest, stickiest grips on the market, you need leather grips. They probably sound a little excessive (that’s fair to assume), but they are so worth it. Yes, they are pricey, but you’ll save that money by not needing to regrip your clubs every year.
And, like I mentioned, they are far more easy to control in wet, rainy conditions. Leather grips allow you to grip the club softly, even in the rain.
The Grip Master Kangaroo Leather grips are the best grips for women golfers who frequently play in the rain. The more moisture the grip has, the more tacky the grip gets. You could easily play these without gloves on (which many do), but I still recommend the Footjoy rain gloves for extra control in the rain.
Umbrella Holder: Bag Boy Umbrella Holder
You may not be thinking much about umbrellas… but that would be a mistake. I don’t feel like talking about pros and cons of different golf umbrellas. I’ll assume you already have a sturdy, big one that you can use on the golf course. But trust me you do not want to be holding that umbrella with your hand while you are walking. You need an umbrella holder.
Golf umbrella holders are not the same. Most are cheap plastic sent from overseas made with cheap slave labor. The Bag Boy Umbrella holder is the only one that I would buy. It’s sturdy and will last on your push cart for many, many years to come.
Let’s Talk Golf Towels
Most golfers have spent hundreds on “golf” towels. I don’t recommend doing that. The importance is on QUANTITY here, not quality. When you are playing golf in rainy weather, you need LOTS of towels – it doesn’t matter the kind. I like big bath towels, as you can use them tons of times before they are completely soaked. Just make sure you are keeping them 100% out of the rain whenever possible.
A quick cleaning of your grips and hands off before each shot and you’ll be able to play golf without much impact from the weather. If you are serious about golf, I’d highly recommend keeping lots of spare towels in your car in case a rain comes up. You don’t want to carry them around in your bag at all times, but having them handy in the car is the perfect solution.
