Beating the Summer Heat

[BogeyNoMore]

One of the guys that stayed at my place for the USADGC this year gave me a cooling towel that was part of a players pack for an event he TD'd at The Canyons...

OMG, I LOVE THIS THING! <3

Kept it draped around my neck, and kept wipling my face and head with it. Makes playing in sweltering heat/humidity a lot more tolerable. One of those things I don't know how I managed without for all these years. :thmbup: :clap:


By the way, he finished tied for 10th in the tourney - pretty damned good for a field of that size and caliber. Must have been good kharma for hooking me up with what I now consider essential hot weather DG equipment. :thmbup:

 

[hiflyer]

Yes!! I whole heartedly agree with he awesome which is a "cooling towel." I've a few of my own, in a couple sizes for the course, at home, at work, or at home at work.
When it's really hot and dry, one does need to find a source of water for the towel because once it's dry, it no worky no more. I'll bring along my personal mister sometimes as well. They aren't as effective in high humidity (it works via evaporation of the water) but is still one of the best choices for cooling off. Plus it helps protect yo' neck from the evil bulb in the sky.

 

[Streets]

One of the guys that stayed at my place for the USADGC this year gave me a cooling towel that was part of a players pack for an event he TD'd at The Canyons...

OMG, I LOVE THIS THING! <3

Kept it draped around my neck, and kept wipling my face and head with it. Makes playing in sweltering heat/humidity a lot more tolerable. One of those things I don't know how I managed without for all these years. :thmbup: :clap:


By the way, he finished tied for 10th in the tourney - pretty damned good for a field of that size and caliber. Must have been good kharma for hooking me up with what I now consider essential hot weather DG equipment. :thmbup:

Wife got me one last year and is indispensable on rounds in 85+ temps.

Another benefit: keeping it draped around your neck in direct sunlight kind helps shield it from the sun.

 

[jeffmonty]

It's been hovering in the upper 60's/low 70's here for the last week or so. We have natural air-conditioning here much of the time!

 

[dysmike]

Cooling towel and an umbrella for the sun.

 

[air show]

I semi-freeze all my beverages and for those extremely humid days I carry 4 tee shirts for towels and spare shirts. Though the heat can really suck I don't mind getting out and sweating and cleaning out some toxins. Just another reason to play disc golf.

 

[RFrance]

The cooling towel was looking promising until I saw that it worked by evaporation. With the heat and humidity here the past month my shirt is soaked by hole #4 and that's playing in the morning. Not much chance for evaporation there. And we are just entering the steamy part of the Florida summer. For now my dri fits have been replaced with tank tops until probably October.

 

[Orioles_Lefty]

I wear a (3-day disposable) insulin pod and am pretty sure I "baked" the insulin in it playing in 95 degree heat yesterday with 100+ heat indexes. I don't know of a strategy for preventing that in hot weather. Glow golf?

Those cooling towels are nice. As someone else said, having ample source of cold water is key for it to work for any long period of time.

When the course is not busy, I find myself taking a break on shady tees or putting for awhile on shaded greens. Sometimes slowing down helps the body out.

 

[sisyphus]

By the way, he finished tied for 10th in the tourney - pretty damned good for a field of that size and caliber. Must have been good kharma for hooking me up with what I now consider essential hot weather DG equipment. :thmbup:

Congrats to your buddy!

...as far as cooling off goes, I've not found anything that works for me yet (including cooling towels). I generate enough heat to bring them to body temp inside of five minutes. You played with me at zero degrees on January 1st. I was comfortable then. But then, I could always consider just reducing my self-impose blanket of thermal insulation... :\

 

[BrotherDave]

I just finished playing 117 holes this weekend in NC and VA. I didn't mind the heat or humidity much. It's the one thing Nature and I agree on. There are some must-dos though:

1. Hydrate (duh). You gotta do this habitually, not just "pre-game"
2. Get in it early. The less of a shock to your system if you get outdoors early and let the heat gradually build up.
3. Don't get acclimated to A/C. Feeling comfortable indoors makes you soft. It just does.
4. Seek shade. If there isn't any, bring your own in the form of a wide brimmed hat or umbrella.
5. Wear cotton. This might be a personal one but dri-fits feel like I'm wearing burlap when it's humid. Old-fashioned, light colored cotton just works so much better.
6. Lose weight. Easier said than done, though, right?
7. Hydrate some more (cooler full of beverages is easy prep-work plus in addition to cold beverages supplies a source of cold water you can dip hats/towels into apply to your head/neck).

 

[VictorB]

5. Wear cotton. This might be a personal one but dri-fits feel like I'm wearing burlap when it's humid. Old-fashioned, light colored cotton just works so much better.

Your advice, except for this one, is solid.

Once cotton gets wet - and for people like me it will be soaked within 15 minutes of starting a round this time of year - it's absolutely miserable, and heavy to wear. There's tons of dri-fit material to choose from out there, most of the ones I buy are quite soft and keep me much cooler than cotton (Russel athletic brand from walmart...don't have to spend a ton of money for good dri-fit clothes)

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Agree with everything Vick said.

Dave's spot on with all of it, but...

In weather that's particularly hot or humid, nothing holds sweat like cotton. I've had regular cotton tee shirts that felt like I'd gone swimming.

There are a bunch of wicking, quick drying materials that are more comfortable when I sweat like a pig. The thing for me is they have to be loose fitting - probably even oversized. I just can't be comfortable with anything remotely snug fitting in sweatbox conditions.

That said, it ain't like Dave's locale makes him a foreigner to heat & humidity. If he's more comfortable in cotton, win for him. Maybe he doesn't sweat as much as I do.

Personal preference is... well... personal.

 

[zontar]

sorta with the above. cheap Russell dri-fits are good if you're out there for 5-6 hours at a time. you can even soak them, squeeze them out, and put them back on if you want.

 

[BrotherDave]

Dri-fits feel awful to me because they don't breathe. I'd much rather have a cotton shirt soaked in sweat. That's not necessarily a bad thing and why desert people wear turbans because keeping sweat against the skin gives a full cooling effect and reduces your water loss. As a historical side note, the Spanish conquistadors felt the same way. When they came to the New World they abandoned their woolen tunics (wool is an excellent wicking material like Dri-fits) and adopted these newfangled cotton tunics (especially cotton armor) the natives were wearing b/c the wool was making them itchy and miserable in the jungle (which is exactly how I feel in dri-fits). Plus Dri-fits smell awful.

 

[PMantle]

in 85+ temps.

85? Haha

 

[Shamis]

Dri-fits feel awful to me because they don't breathe. I'd much rather have a cotton shirt soaked in sweat. That's not necessarily a bad thing and why desert people wear turbans because keeping sweat against the skin gives a full cooling effect and reduces your water loss. As a historical side note, the Spanish conquistadors felt the same way. When they came to the New World they abandoned their woolen tunics (wool is an excellent wicking material like Dri-fits) and adopted these newfangled cotton tunics (especially cotton armor) the natives were wearing b/c the wool was making them itchy and miserable in the jungle (which is exactly how I feel in dri-fits). Plus Dri-fits smell awful.

I agree that most Dri-fits suck because they don't breathe. The best shirts for golf in sweltering temps are loose weave synthetic or blended shirts. Some traditional golf polo's have this loose weave. They resolve the breathability issues that most dri-fits tend to have, and they never get soaking wet.

 

[joecoin]

I agree that most Dri-fits suck because they don't breathe. The best shirts for golf in sweltering temps are loose weave synthetic or blended shirts. Some traditional golf polo's have this loose weave. They resolve the breathability issues that most dri-fits tend to have, and they never get soaking wet.

The best shirt in high heat and humidity is no shirt at all.

 

[Jowie]

I agree that most Dri-fits suck because they don't breathe. The best shirts for golf in sweltering temps are loose weave synthetic or blended shirts. Some traditional golf polo's have this loose weave. They resolve the breathability issues that most dri-fits tend to have, and they never get soaking wet.

:thmbup: I swear by golf polos with UPF 50 protection.

Those cooling towels are terrific. Broad-rimmed hat, solar sleeves, umbrella are also super helpful here where UV and high heat is more of a problem than humidity. Solar protection clothing is definitely worth trying, if you haven't given it a shot.

When it gets hot here, I have to break out all the tricks, breathing through my nose, start hydrating the day before, rests in any shade, etc. But, maybe the most helpful thing is a positive, non-conceptualizing mindset.

 

[VictorB]

The best shirt in high heat and humidity is no shirt at all.

Must be nice to live somewhere that mosquitos won't kill you if you aren't covered up.

 

[BrotherDave]

Anyone ever tried a fishing shirt, with the open slat in the back?