Playing in the rain

[Mad Scientist]

I know not everyone has one (I don't), but might a cart be helpful? It could keep your bag off the ground, you might be able to mount an umbrella or some kind of rain cover on it, and it could carry a stool and plenty of extra towels and such.

 

[RS39]

Thanks for all of the great advice.



Anyway, I will take extra towels (in ziplocked bags), take WOOL socks and take an umbrella. I will take both my trail runners and boots. Also, a stool will come in handy. I will work on keeping my throwing hand dry (I like the idea of picking up discs with my offhand.)

.

Fixed it for you

Boots can throw off you rotation a bit on tee shots, except in winter here where you get used to them.

Avoid new-to-you discs; don't rush to try a gripper/lighter version.

 

[Mr. Wick]

Thanks for all of the great advice.



Anyway, I will take extra towels (in ziplocked bags), take WOOL socks and take an umbrella. I will take both my trail runners and boots. Also, a stool will come in handy. I will work on keeping my throwing hand dry (I like the idea of picking up discs with my offhand.)

.

Fixed it for you

Boots can throw off you rotation a bit on tee shots, except in winter here where you get used to them.

Avoid new-to-you discs; don't rush to try a gripper/lighter version.

wool + wet = bad. Avoid wool and cotton. especially if it's cold as well.

 

[chiggins]

wool + wet = bad. Avoid wool and cotton. especially if it's cold as well.

Bad in what sense? I ride a bike year-round and I find wool works really well when it's wet, especially when it's cold since it continues to insulate. I find Merino wool to be especially good as a base layer too, every bit as much as capilene. (I agree on cotton: absorbs water like crazy, chafes and doesn't insulate well when it's wet, and takes forever to dry out.)

 

[Mr. Wick]

Wool when it's wet and cold it freezes. The first thing they taught me in outward bound was ALWAYS avoid Cotton (Cotton Kills) and wool as a base layer. The wool also gets really heavy when it's wet and will keep the cold in once you get cold. It does insulate better than cotton, but you will be better off with a synthetic or fleece if you want to stay warm. If you are going to wear wool you should wear something else under it.

 

[chiggins]

Hm, interesting!

I just did a little lookin' around the Internet, and comparisons between newer Merino wool and polypro as a base layer are actually pretty close performance-wise. Not to say that folks don't have a preference, but they compare pretty favorably. I rode nearly every day through last winter, which ranged between 30's and raining to single-digits and dry with wind (we didn't get a whole lotta snow last year), and my experiences with it so far are all good. Maybe my outer layers made up the difference.

(Here's one of the reviews if you're interested.)

 

[Mr. Wick]

This newschool Marino wool sounds pretty nice.

The critical change has been the use of Merino wool in modern outerwear. Merino wool has a softer feel than traditional wool, with fiber diameters of less than 20 microns (see Photo 2). Traditional wools are typically at least 32 microns, and frequently up to 80 or more microns. This explains why old wool fabrics felt like Brillo Pads against your skin. The thinner fibers of Merino wool are more flexible, hence softer and more comfortable against your skin. A few manufacturers are now producing merino wool fabric with fibers less than 18 microns in diameter, and efforts continue to produce affordable base layers with ever more comfortable fabrics. (from the article you posted).


Synthetic will still keep the moisture away from your skin better. thus keeping you warmer. I guess wool is a lot better than I thought though.

 

[RS39]

Synthetic will still keep the moisture away from your skin better. thus keeping you warmer. I guess wool is a lot better than I thought though.

And I recall when the early polypro held BO no matter how much you washed it, so it is better now too.

 

[mark12b]

yeah, merino wool is warm when wet and in my experience is more comfortable in a wider range of conditions than synthetics (less clamminess). here in seattle i've found the best way to have warm feet in cold, wet conditions is to wear breathable, *non* waterproof shoes over thin smartwool socks. works great as long as i'm reasonably active. otoh with "waterproof breathable" shoes, my feet sweat once they warm up, and the goretex can't keep up, so i end up with wetter, colder feet (like, actual squishy puddles in my shoes).

this combo has been great for me in all conditions this year (and now i'm thinking of getting the mid-height version for winter and rougher courses)... not positive on the socks but the ones i have are the thinnest crew-height smartwools rei had when i was there:

http://www.rei.com/product/748515

http://www.rei.com/product/759983

 

[JR]

FLX plastic, Discmania P1 Maniac, Whitler, clear E Wizard and Timberwolf won my wet without drying at just above freezing temperature test for grippyness yesterday. A Good try award to Star Kite that even at this temperature is too soft in the flight plate. At least partially above the wing thumb placement is mandatory. TP 173 Cyclone is grippier but shorter and flippier in mild headwind than Timberwolf so no contest. Even the lower power requirement of the Cyclone to the Timberwolf when standing still didn't make the Cyclone straighter or longer for me. As an anny and roller it's great for me. Otherwise we don't see eye to eye. Because for restricted space escape shots with the eed to get good approach D a Comet is just fine (better) although slippery when wet.

Major props for FLX because it's available in so many different molds and for different purposes. One could do with little limitations to performance with FLX plastic only. Gonna add a light FLX Surge SS and heavy FLX XL and heavy FLX Pred to my current winter setup of FLX 173 Buzzz and 169 FLX Surge. And other stuff I've not thrown out like Star Roc and probably Timberwolf, Zero Spike, Zero Sinus AP replacing Rhyno once the Rhynos get too slippery. My arm is obviously better so Whitler is appearing more often. Max D is probably still Pro Boss and RR depending on te size and state of the tee and how encumbered and tired I am.

I had to change grip to avoid slipping early with distance annies. I blew my mind with a distance anny with that Pro 170 Boss worn to flippy by throwing higher and finally managing serious wrist down and added initial grip tightness (getting tighter in the end) without added slowing down arm muscle tightness. Throwing higher getting 390'+ in mild headwind in this weather. Way way farther than my previous cold weather D. I want to throw my 145 R-Pro Boss in warm dry weather!!!!

 

[Cruz Duck]

A report from my round:

I played in my first disc golf tournament yesterday at Aptos High School. The weather forecast predicted a moderate storm with gusts up to 32 MPH and occasional thunder! So I packed up my umbrella, rain coat, extra towels, boots and headed for the course. When I arrived, there was a light drizzle. I went to an open area and took a few practice throws with my raincoat on. The discs flew ok, but about 20-30 feet shorter than my normal throws. I took a few practice putts and then the rain started getting heavier.

After registering and attending the players meeting, I went to the first hole and met my playing partners. It turned out that this was the first tournament for them and it was the first time they had played in the rain. Both were pretty cool and played about the same level as I do. We had a fun round. One of the guys was throwing an epic overhand. He was having trouble controlling it, but it was fun to watch it fly.

We started on hole four which is 288 feet with a slightly elevated tee. It is straight with about a 50 foot wide fairway. The fairway is bounded on both sides by gravel parking lots which are out of bounds. Anyway, I have on this bulky raincoat and I don't really know what my drive is going to do. I throw it and the drive makes a bee line straight at the basket. It hits the ground about 10 feet in front of the basket, skips about a foot left of the basket and stops 10 feet past for an easy birdie put. I am stunned. A foot to the right and I would have had my first ace on my first throw in my first tournament! My partners are congratulating me and I am just speechless. Wow, tournaments are easy!

Over the next 8 holes reality sets in. Bogey, bogey, par, bogey, par, double bogey, par, bogey. After 9 holes I am 5 over par. In dry conditions, I average 3 to 4 over par for 18 holes. Sigh. My original plan was to ignore my score, just try to make solid throws and have fun. At this point, I am having problems not thinking about my score, I really don't want to end up 10 over par. I can't seem to get consistent drives. The weather keeps changing, my coat will come off for a few holes and then go back on for a few holes.

For the rest of the round, I decide to concentrate on getting pars. Play it safe and make my throws. The highlight is hole 18. We are throwing into a steady headwind. Both partners put their drives off to the right out of bounds. I see this and aim to the left. My drive heads dead straight towards the basket, but ends up about 40 feet short. I am feeling pretty good about keeping it in the fairway. I walk up my lie and nail my 40 foot putt! My partners and the group back on the tee start cheering! Very cool. The high lasts for the final 3 holes. I ended up playing the last nine holes at 1 over for a total score of 6 over.

I am pretty happy with the results. I ended up taking 31st out of 54. As I mentioned before, my average in dry, non-tournament conditions is 3 to 4 over. So I ended up 2 to 3 strokes higher, but considering that it was my first tournament and first time playing in the rain with a heavy raincoat, I am pretty happy. The winning score was 7 under.

I learned several lessons about playing in the rain:

1) I think I did a pretty good job of keeping dry and warm. The only time that I was uncomfortable was after the round waiting for the results. We were one of the first groups to finish. We probably waited 30 minutes for the final group to get in and then another 10-15 minutes to tally and announce the results. The rain was fairly heavy and the wind picked up. However I am thankful that I was comfortable during the round.

2) I ended up wearing my trail runners rather than my boots. My shoes and socks kept my feet warm and dry. I was able to get good traction and I felt pretty light on my feet.

3) My raincoat kept me dry and warm, but was pretty bulky. I never felt comfortable throwing in my raincoat. If I play in the rain much in the future, I think I will need to look for a light weight shell. I also took a small umbrella. This was very handy for keeping the rain off of my head and for covering my bag while throwing.

4) I took 6 small towels in a ziplock bag. This worked well, I only ended up using 3 of them, but I was able to keep my discs pretty dry. I think if the rain had been steady for all 18 holes, I might have used all 6 towels. I never really had problems with my discs getting wet.

5) At the last minute I decided not to take my stool. It just seemed like with my umbrella and my rain jacket, the stool would be too much to be messing around with. I think this was a good decision. I like to dry off my discs while walking to my next shot. When it stopped raining, I would be carrying my jacket and my umbrella. Carrying a stool in addition would have been too much.

6) Almost everyone (including myself) complained about putting. Everyone's putting suffered from the rain, the wind and bulky clothes.

All in all, I had a blast and I can't wait for my second tournament.

One of the competitors posted pictures of the round here:

http://frisbeebrain.shutterfly.com/338

 

[tigel]

I had a charity tournament yesterday while it was 20 degrees and raining. I actually didn't know about this event until friday night. Sadly I don't own a rainproof or windbreaker thats "slim" enough to be throwing in so I just had to bring a couple hoodies .

Overall it went well. I were knee socks, good shoes, shorts under my wind breaker pants, under armor, wife beater, T-shirt, long sleeve shirt, and my jacket. I also wear random beanies too, but kept replacing them because they would get SOAKED. Which I brought 6 so it wasn't a big deal. With that being said, I wasn't cold at all. I forget my gloves (mostly for my non-throwing hand) so my hands were cold. I actually have a blood blister on my pointer finger from forehand and overhand throws. It was so cold and brittle those throws that produced a lot of friction on the skin weren't even viable because of the pain. Luckily I throw backhand and have a confident anny line

The rain mostly misted (almost snow) most of the rounds. Each round there would be a 15-20 minute period of showers destroying everyone. The biggest problem for most was the cold. However, for me it was the WIND. The course even on a non windy day is windy. I think its from the hills near by, or even just the layout of the course makes for windy rounds 24/7 I don't know. So when there were 20-30 mph winds all day it made for some SHITTY throws. Even with my Xcal, throwing a hyzer flip It would flip over on every headwind. overhands were out of the question, and rollers no way. I mostly just went for huge anny lines (wheres my katana when I need it!). I played awful BUT it was for charity so I personally didn't care how well I played.

My discs stayed dry. I use a normal backpack for my disc golf bag because I'm too cheap to buy a 50 dollar bag so I kept the flap closed. My towels got wet fast, but I brought a lot and didn't really have issues with slipping. It was just the wind that raped my game. Oh well. Good times