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Rainy Day Golf Ideas

3 October 2026 · 5 min read

When the course is waterlogged or the tee time is cancelled, a rainy day doesn't have to be a lost golf day. You can still practise, tidy your kit, learn something and even play a round, all without leaving the house.

Here are ten ideas for one wet afternoon, from five minutes to a couple of hours.

Quick ideas (under 15 minutes)

1. Clean your clubs and grips

Fill a bowl with warm, soapy water, scrub the grooves with an old toothbrush and dry everything properly. Wipe the grips with a damp cloth too: clean grips are less slippery. It's a dull job on a sunny day and a satisfying one on a wet one.

2. Sort out your bag

Empty every pocket. Throw out the broken tees, old scorecards and the energy bar from last spring. Restock balls, tees, a pitch-mark repairer and a towel so you're ready for the next dry day.

3. Play a quick browser round

A browser golf game scratches the itch in a few minutes. Look for one with real club choice and wind so it still feels like golf. Our list of best free golf games online is a good place to start.

Half-hour ideas

4. Putt on the carpet

Lay two books a ball's width apart and roll putts through the gate. Then try putting to a coin from different distances, aiming to stop the ball on it. Carpet is slower than most greens, but it's ideal for working on a straight stroke. Putting drills at home has more.

5. Learn one rule properly

Pick a rule that confuses you, such as what to do when your ball goes into a penalty area or out of bounds, and read about it until you could explain it to a friend. The current Rules of Golf are the 2023 edition from the R&A and the USGA, and both have official websites that explain each rule in plain language.

6. Check your grip and posture in a mirror

Take your stance in front of a mirror with a club. Look at your grip, ball position and how straight your back is. You can't hit a ball, but you can build good habits.

Longer ideas (an hour or more)

7. Watch a classic round

Find highlights of a famous final round or a major championship and watch how the players plan each hole. Notice where they aim, not just where the ball goes. Our famous golf holes post suggests a few holes worth looking up.

8. Plan your next round

Look at the scorecard of the course you play most. For each hole, decide which club you'll hit off the tee and where you want the ball to finish. A plan made indoors is easier to stick to than one made in a hurry on the first tee.

9. Host a golf quiz

If friends were meant to be playing with you, move the get-together indoors. A quiz with a round on rules, a round on famous players and a round on golf words fills an hour easily.

10. Play a full 9 holes online with friends

Everyone plays the same course on their own phone or laptop, then you compare cards. Agree a format first: lowest total, Stableford points, or a hole-by-hole match.

Which idea for which kind of rain?

A word about playing in the rain

If you do go out, bring a waterproof jacket, a spare glove and a towel on the inside of your umbrella. Leave the course if there's thunder or lightning: no round is worth the risk, and many clubs sound a siren or horn to stop play.

Try it in Mashy

Mashy is a free pixel-art pitch & putt you can play in the browser, so it's a handy rainy day round. It has five 9-hole courses with irons, chips and putts, and the daily course gives you and your friends the same pins and wind, so you can compare scores even when you're stuck in different houses.