Weather for your round

Weather guides

• Can you play golf in the rain?Yes, there's no rule against it. What actually closes a course is waterlogged ground, not the rain itself. Here's how clubs decide, and what relief you get.
• How cold is too cold for golf?There's no official limit, but golf balls go shorter in the cold, and near freezing the risk shifts from comfort to safety and frozen ground.
• How late can you tee off and still finish before dark?The latest sensible tee time for 18 or 9 holes across the year in the North West, worked back from local sunset with a 30-minute safety margin.
• How the Golf Metric Weather Score worksGolf Metric scores your tee window out of 100 from rain, wind, temperature and daylight. Here is the method, the limits and what it does not know.
• Temporary greens, trolley bans and preferred lies explainedWhat temporary greens, trolley bans and preferred lies are, why clubs use them in wet or frosty weather, and what they mean for your round and score.
• The best time of year to play links golf in the UKWhen North West links courses play firmest, when the wind picks up, and when green fees drop, with real club prices and Met Office climate figures.
• What is a frost delay, and why do courses have them?A frost delay holds golfers off frozen greens until they've thawed, because frozen grass is damaged by feet far more easily than grass that's just cold.
• What to do if there's lightning on the golf courseStop, leave your clubs and trolley, get away from trees and off open ground, and get inside a proper building or car until 30 minutes after the last thunder.
• What to wear for golf in the rain and the coldLayers, waterproofs, gloves and shoes for a wet or cold round in the North West, plus what clubs actually allow on the course and in the clubhouse.
• What wind speed is too windy for golf?There's no official cut-off. From around 20 mph, most golfers lose control of shots and putts; gusts above 30 mph make the ball hard to control at all.