Weather gear: rain, cold, heat and storms.

What the Rules allow

Rule 10.2b(5) of the 2023 Rules of Golf, in effect from 1 January 2023, lets you protect yourself from the elements, for example by wearing protective clothing or holding an umbrella over your own head. What you may not do is make a stroke while a caddie, another person or an object is deliberately placed to shield you from sun, rain or wind. The penalty is the general penalty: two strokes in stroke play, loss of the hole in match play. Rule 4.3a also allows a towel or handkerchief wrapped around the grip.

We found no governing-body rule written specifically for cold-weather clothing. The limits on clothing in general are in Part 6 of the Equipment Rules; see shoes and gloves.

Rain

Retailer American Golf describes rain gloves as designed to grip a wet club, and synthetic "all-weather" gloves as more durable than leather. Waterproof jackets and trousers are sold with waterproofing ratings, but we found no standard definition of how those figures are measured for golf clothing, so we do not compare them here.

Cold

How much distance does cold cost? Sources disagree

• Andrew Rice. Golf.com reports that the instructor, testing with a TrackMan at his 2018 Coach Camp, found golfers lose roughly two yards of carry per club for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit below 75 degrees, and gain about the same above it. The effect was smaller with the pitching wedge, about 1.3 yards.
• Other figures. The Golf News Net cites smaller numbers attributed to TrackMan, about 1 yard, or about 1.33 to 1.66 yards, per 10 degrees, and a Titleist figure of about 1.5 percent per 20 degrees. We could only find these secondhand and could not confirm them in the original TrackMan or Titleist publications.

These sources agree that cold shortens shots; they disagree on how much.

Keeping balls warm, within the rules

Ball-testing specialist Gene Parente said on Golf.com's Fully Equipped that ball performance starts to drop below about 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and advised storing balls indoors, since a cold core takes about an hour to warm up.

Be careful about warming balls during a round. Rule 4.2a forbids playing a ball whose performance has been deliberately changed, gives heating as an example, and the penalty is disqualification. Golf.com's Rules Guy column advises not keeping balls in the same pocket as a hand warmer during a round, and says warming balls before the round is not an issue. That is a columnist's reading; we found no official R&A or USGA ruling on hand warmers.

For the hands, American Golf describes cold-weather gloves and winter mitts, which are worn only between shots.

Heat

The International Golf Federation publishes Extreme Heat Guidelines for Golf Events. Version 4.0, dated 2026, is advisory rather than mandatory: each organiser decides what to do under local conditions and law. The IGF says the guidelines were first developed with its Medical Committee, medical and event staff from the European Tour, PGA Tour and the R&A, members of the IOC medical commission and players, and that the 2026 edition aligns with a 2023 IOC consensus statement and the Wilderness Medical Society's 2024 heat illness guidelines. They are reviewed every two years, next in 2028.

• The risk scale. The IGF uses a golf-specific scale based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), with colour-coded flags.
• Exposure. It notes that a round means four to five hours outdoors, and that caddies and marshals are often under more strain than the players.
• Clothing and equipment. It recommends light-coloured, loose, moisture-wicking and UV-protective tops; light, breathable trousers or shorts where the rules of the event allow; a vented wide-brimmed hat rather than a solid-top cap; sunscreen of at least SPF 30; UV-protective sunglasses; and breathable footwear.

We did not find a heat policy issued by the R&A itself. The IGF document, which lists the R&A among its original consultees, is the nearest governing-body source.

Lightning

The Rules of Golf

Rule 5.7a lets you stop play if you reasonably believe there is danger from lightning, but you must report to the Committee as soon as possible. Stopping for a reason the Rule does not allow, or failing to report, means disqualification. When the Committee suspends play immediately, for example because of imminent danger, Rule 5.7b says no player may make another stroke until play resumes, and failing to stop is disqualification unless the Committee decides the failure was justified. The USGA's guide to distance-measuring devices lists a nearby-lightning alert as information you may check during a round.

The US National Weather Service toolkit

The NWS runs a voluntary programme recognising lightning safety at golf venues, including courses, country clubs, driving ranges and golf entertainment sites. Its toolkit summarises what it expects of a recognised facility:

• access to lightning proximity data and NWS warnings;
• a written lightning safety plan;
• several ways of alerting golfers, such as sirens, messages and staff announcements;
• signed lightning-safe shelters within a short distance of any point on the grounds;
• education for golfers, including telling them before their round when storms are forecast, and showing lightning guidance and shelter locations on the scorecard or in the cart.

The toolkit states plainly that golf carts are not lightning-safe vehicles and that partially enclosed shelters are not safe.

Weather guidance changes, and each facility and Committee sets its own procedures. Follow the instructions of your course, the Committee and your national weather service.