Tips for playing in the heat

[SNIPERBBB]

I like to wear arm sleeves, they seem to help cool my arms. I also have a cooling towel wrapped around my neck. Wide brimmed hat. I dont do anything special as far as hydration really...20-30z travel mug of coffee, 2 20 oz gatorade/powerades. Rarely get to the 2nd gator/powerade.

 

I also tend to wear black PANTS, black shirt and walk 27 so maybe im just weird...

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

Just now, SNIPERBBB said:

Wide brimmed hat. I dont do anything special as far as hydration really...20-30z travel mug of coffee, 2 20 oz gatorade/powerades. Rarely get to the 2nd gator/powerade.

Apologies if you've said this already, but where do you play?  That's not nearly enough fluid for me in a round. (Albeit I'm likely a fat f**k compared to you at 260)  I'm going through a 1.5L bottle of water no problem, plus a 20 oz or 2 Gatoraide Zero.  

 

And it's still not enough. 

[Soloman1]

Maybe stay home and drink high-quality adult beverages while lounging indoors or around the pool until the heat wave passes?

 

You want hot? This is where I am, and boy is it hot! 🙂

 

 

 

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Just now, Jayjay_theweim_guy said:

Apologies if you've said this already, but where do you play?  That's not nearly enough fluid for me in a round. (Albeit I'm likely a fat f**k compared to you at 260)  I'm going through a 1.5L bottle of water no problem, plus a 20 oz or 2 Gatoraide Zero.  

 

And it's still not enough. 

SE ohio. We dont get quite as hot as you all do but we get a share of 90s and 100s and 100% humidity days.   Im about 160 lol and house thermostat is set to 80, though i have the unit turned off right now and its a bit above that inside.   When I ride for 18 maybe one 20oz gatorade is all i get for the day, usually at the turn. Still have the coffee though...mmm coffee.

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

3 minutes ago, SNIPERBBB said:

SE ohio. We dont get quite as hot as you all do but we get a share of 90s and 100s and 100% humidity days.   Im about 160 lol and house thermostat is set to 80, though i have the unit turned off right now and its a bit above that inside.   When I ride for 18 maybe one 20oz gatorade is all i get for the day, usually at the turn. Still have the coffee though...mmm coffee.

I will freely admit that the upper Ohio River Valley gets hotter and wetter weather than Houston does.  Really!  We almost never, but never get dewpoints like 82-84, etc...  They will.

But it's a day or three when they do.  Then it drops to something human.

 

OTOH, our dewpoint doesn't dip below 73-74 for months at a time. This morning, (5AM, getting our roadwork in) it was 82 degrees, 78 dewpoint, felt like 90 something.  It. Does. Not. Stop.

 

Unless there's a hurricane, and then we bi#&h about that too...

 

Thermostat wise....I love my insulated decent building.  75 is usually how we roll; used to be 77-78.(It's frequently a lot colder in Houston businesses.  And then you'll see condensation on the windows.  Life in God's Ice Tea Pitcher.)

 

Go you, for staying thin. It's a lot harder to get rid of it, than to never get it to begin with.

[Canyonaro]

Central Florida last week - heat index around 100. Two waters and two High Noons a side. Wet towel around my neck at all times. Before every tee shot, I dunked the towel in the ice water in the cart cooler. Four rounds in the low 70s. YMMV 🤷‍♂️

[Sean124]

21 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

Maybe stay home and drink high-quality adult beverages while lounging indoors or around the pool until the heat wave passes?

 

You want hot? This is where I am, and boy is it hot! 🙂

 

 

 

 

I’m playing in the state am qualifier at Papago tomorrow. 🥵

[Ghostwedge]

My grandson plays on a traveling  baseball tournament team. 

It's 95° feels like 105-110°, I look.out on to the field and see him wearing sun sleeves. I said " never seen him wear them before " my wife says I gave him yours, I doubt you'll get them back. lol

[tradekid]

All good responses. Northwest valley resident here in AZ. At my home course twilight rates kick in at 11AM in the summer so that’s when I get out. The courses will usually water at night so if you go out early it can feel like you’re in Florida. I may draw the line tomorrow due to a high forecast of 117 but if nobody gets in my way I can play in 1:45hrs. You have a lot of incentive to play fast. 

[Rob G 89]

All I have to say I never knew what dry heat was till I moved to NV. 105 in nv is nothing like 85 plus in Indiana with high humidity. In the humidity you just sweat so much and dehydrate easy. Where as the 105 NV doesn’t bother me one bit. 

[Soloman1]

53 minutes ago, Sean124 said:

I’m playing in the state am qualifier at Papago tomorrow. 🥵

 

Ouch. Best of luck. Play well.

 

When I played in ridiculous heat like we're having, I would freeze washcloths in ziplocks the night before and keep them in the cooler. Put them around my neck to cool off quickly. Also drench my hat in cold water and dried it enough so it didn't drip. That did wonders for me.

Edited July 15, 2023 by Soloman1

[tatertot]

2 hours ago, SNIPERBBB said:

I like to wear arm sleeves, they seem to help cool my arms. I also have a cooling towel wrapped around my neck. Wide brimmed hat. I dont do anything special as far as hydration really...20-30z travel mug of coffee, 2 20 oz gatorade/powerades. Rarely get to the 2nd gator/powerade.

 

I also tend to wear black PANTS, black shirt and walk 27 so maybe im just weird...

I wear long sleeves and long pants all the time. Keep the sun off ya.

[Philpug]

We get heat here in Reno, when it gets hot, 100* plus there is usually a wind/breeze. Sure, its a dry heat, like a convection oven. I will take this 11 out of 10 times over the 90* and 90% humidity I had in the east. 

[blades_are_life]

5 hours ago, Kai Slater said:

Lifelong southerner here; living in Florida and Tennessee/Georgia.  My advice would be to keep doing as you mentioned with the gatorade/electrolyte drinks and simply don't think about it; keep your mind on other things.  The heat discomfort is largely a mental game.  Learn how to subjugate the feelings of being hot and instead, just enjoy the golf and turn your attention to aspects of the game, golf course, etc...  The more you focus and dwell on being hot, the more it seems to wear you down.

This is absolutely true. The key I've found personally is to turn off sharp focusing in the mind, embracing an edge of hazy torpor and trusting the instincts to carry through.

[TexasTurf]

I'm in the minority, I love the heat. You have to embrace it and understand that it is the reason for all life on earth. Heat is life and cold is death for almost everything on this planet. It is like nature's warm life bearing hug all day long. I work 14 hours per day literally every day in the Texas summer outside and I can't get enough. Heat is pleasure, cold is pain and death.

 

It is all about getting used to it. Heat fuels and feels good, cold is painful and makes me want to die.

[Mike_C]

I will also second the rain gloves, sun sleeves, and wide hats.

 

On electrolyte replacements, I try to avoid anything with artificial sweeteners, especially sucralose, doesn't agree with me.  I just drink water and use these:

 

https://www.amazon.com/SaltStick-Electrolyte-Replacement-Capsules-bottle/dp/B002IY96B0

 

Avoids the sweeteners altogether.

[RoyalTroon]

15 hours ago, Greenie said:

I drink a bottle of Gatorade Zero on the way to the course. I drink 8 oz of water or more per hole. Making the turn I'll start on another bottle of Gatorade Zero and switch back to water when done with the Gatorade. I usually drink another bottle of Gatorade Zero when done.

 

Sounds like a good idea, one of several within this great thread.  Will try your routine.

 

15 hours ago, Jifmoli said:

Don't preload on electrolytes. Those drinks work to replace what you have lost. Not good to stuff your kidneys with them. Bring it during the round or bring a salty snack. I often have some salted peanuts with me.

 

So no Gatorade the night before or after round, but Greenie's in-round routine sounds good to you?  So Gatorade AND salted peanuts not the best idea? 

[Jifmoli]

17 hours ago, BALLYBUNION said:

 

Sounds like a good idea, one of several within this great thread.  Will try your routine.

 

 

So no Gatorade the night before or after round, but Greenie's in-round routine sounds good to you?  So Gatorade AND salted peanuts not the best idea? 

Hmm, when I googled 'greenies' it gave "dog dental chews"...not sure that help against the heat!

Anyway, I did not say no gatorade after the round. I said replace what you lost. During round, after round is all good. To me drinking that stuff the day before makes little sense (and probably just makes you thirsty) - it's  a bit like "I don't want to be hungry during the round so will eat a huge dinner now".

 

Ok, a bit of an extreme example, but a guy I used to know on his first mission to Africa was so worried about dehydration, he would drink ORS (the solution you drink when you have severe diarrhea) every morning as a preventative. 4 months later he got medivacced out with kidney failure. Because he wouldn't sweat that much every day of course but loaded his system with salt.

 

ORS is alot more potent than gatorade so having one of the latter on your way to golf when it is a hot day isn't a problem. Drinking it the day before just sends the excess salt to your kidneys. A normal diet has enough salt in it already. And salt is the main thing that will make you feel weak when you sweat a lot, not the potassium, magnesium, calcium and sugar etc that are in these drinks.

 

Gatorade AND salted peanuts? Up to you really. Salted peanuts have LOADS of salt in it - enough for me to feel better quickly when sweating a lot. Plus it keeps the hunger away too.

 

I have tried rounds with sports drinks instead of salty snack thinking it may be better, but didn't notice it. Maybe just used to eating something salty. My wife really likes having those drinks after exercise though.

 

Anyway, this is what i have been doing for the 25 years or so living in the tropics, whether it is playing golf or hiking the tropical rainforest,  a salty snack during and/or after works for me. Plus drink water often.

[RichieHunt]

Towels are your friends in the heat.  You will want a good absorbing microfiber towel for your sweat and towels dipped in cold ice water.  Important to keep your neck cool and some people find it beneficial to keep the back of your knees cool as well.  

 

You can use rain gloves they do a decent job, but best to have 3 gloves.  Mark them so you can distinguish them.  Use first glove on holes 1-3 and 10-12.  2nd glove on holes 4-6 and 13-15 and the last glove on holes 7-9 and 16-18.  When you're not using a particular glove, best to keep them in a ziplock bag, flattened out and remove the air from the ziplock bag.  Also the package that PXG gloves comes in works well.

 

Big thing is if you know you're going to play a round in heat is to start hydrating a couple days before the round.  Sports drinks are a little helpful, but it's mostly water.  Body Armor Sports Water is probably the best water to drink, but it's expensive.  Do NOT over-hydrate...it's just as bad for you.

 

Obviously shade is a big thing.  If you're walking, invest in one of those umbrellas with a stand that allow you to walk in the shade.

 

 

 

 

 

RH

[bluedot]

I’ll be 71 this week; I walk year round here in NC, which is critical. Being acclimated is a much bigger deal than most understand.

 

Wide brim hat, sun sleeves, light colored shirt, and a ton of water before and dui g play.  I carry a big Yeti thermos, and take 5 gulps on every tee box and in every fairway.  The old cliche that says that if you feel thirsty it’s too late is true.

 

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned unless I missed it is a reflective umbrella if you’re using a push cart, plus having a seat attachment on the cart.  Forget how you think the umbrella looks; I promise you it’s 10 degrees cooler in the shade, if not more.  

[SNIPERBBB]

Another thing too about the heat... You cannot go from the air conditioning straight to the tee box.  See above post about acclimation. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by SNIPERBBB

[rainkingjr]

Played in some pretty good heat and humidity yesterday and decided to wear some light weight summer pants instead of shorts.  I noticed no noticable drop off in how it felt vs shorts. It was nice not having to lather up SPF 50 on my legs. I also wear arm sleeves most of the time. From my experience, I find it best to be well hydrated before hand. Drink plenty the night before rather than trying to play catch up.

 

Lots of responses from Southerners in this thread. I can't believe no one has mentioned pickle juice for hydration.

[Asics10]

Umbrella if you walk. 

[ShortGolfer]

Take a rest in the shade.  A foursome invited me to play through.  I told them after the next hole.  Sure enough they were waiting in the shade of the trees at the top of the hill!

Edited July 17, 2023 by ShortGolfer

[PedronNiall]

Lots of good advice. Found this when looking around:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6188914/

 

 

ICE is an ice slurry or cold water & ice mix. TTE is time to exhaustion. TRE is rectal temp. Long story short from the study and others mentioned in it is:

 

• Crushed ice or a crushed ice & water mix cool better than water alone even at the same temp, likely due to the extra heat energy the body transfers into melting the ice

• Those cooler temps reduce time to exhaustion

• It's possible to pre-cool your body slightly before engaging in activities and this can also increase time to exhaustion and stave off unsafe body temps for longer.

 

Don't want to overdo it, but cold fluids and cooler indoor temps before heading out is more beneficial for the body than trying to acclimatize by sleeping in a warmer room, hanging out in the heat, etc., as mentioned by someone earlier in the thread. Just have to tough out getting used to the warmth once heading outdoors. 

 

Also, there is mild risk of dizziness, fainting, and even less likely actual shock from drinking too much ice water if you're warm. Best to stay hydrated & cool throughout than try and rush it. Just something to keep in mind if you're in competition as actually getting dizzy may see the organizers have you sit out rather than risk anything. 

 

Edited July 17, 2023 by PedronNiall

[bluedot]

8 hours ago, PedronNiall said:

Lots of good advice. Found this when looking around:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6188914/

 

 

ICE is an ice slurry or cold water & ice mix. TTE is time to exhaustion. TRE is rectal temp. Long story short from the study and others mentioned in it is:

 

• Crushed ice or a crushed ice & water mix cool better than water alone even at the same temp, likely due to the extra heat energy the body transfers into melting the ice

• Those cooler temps reduce time to exhaustion

• It's possible to pre-cool your body slightly before engaging in activities and this can also increase time to exhaustion and stave off unsafe body temps for longer.

 

Don't want to overdo it, but cold fluids and cooler indoor temps before heading out is more beneficial for the body than trying to acclimatize by sleeping in a warmer room, hanging out in the heat, etc., as mentioned by someone earlier in the thread. Just have to tough out getting used to the warmth once heading outdoors. 

 

Also, there is mild risk of dizziness, fainting, and even less likely actual shock from drinking too much ice water if you're warm. Best to stay hydrated & cool throughout than try and rush it. Just something to keep in mind if you're in competition as actually getting dizzy may see the organizers have you sit out rather than risk anything. 

 

Good post; thanks.

 

It’s counterintuitive, but water that’s too cold causes you to drink MUCH less without really cooling much better.  I LOVE ice water, even in the dead of winter, but I’ve had to make myself really reduce the amount of ice I put in my water bottle for summer golf.  My course has a water cooler on every even numbered hole on the course, and I do a better job of staying hydrated with their cold water than I do with my ice water.

[larrybud]

On 7/14/2023 at 3:33 PM, ae1985 said:

How about dealing with high humidity? Clubs feel like they twist in my hands on impact even with a glove.

 

Rain gloves.

 

[larrybud]

11 hours ago, PedronNiall said:

Lots of good advice. Found this when looking around:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6188914/

 

 

ICE is an ice slurry or cold water & ice mix. TTE is time to exhaustion. TRE is rectal temp. Long story short from the study and others mentioned in it is:

 

"What is that in your bag?"

"Tour issued rectal thermometer. Want to try it?"

 

[North Butte]

1 hour ago, larrybud said:

"What is that in your bag?"

"Tour issued rectal thermometer. Want to try it?"

 

Hard pass!

[PedronNiall]

2 hours ago, larrybud said:

"What is that in your bag?"

"Tour issued rectal thermometer. Want to try it?"

 

You wouldn't offer up the booty for science?