Let’s face it. Summer is coming to an end and cooler days are coming. But why let a little cool weather drop a bogey on your game?

Being prepared as the thermometer drops is the best thing you can do for your game. Titleist’s research shows that for every 12 degrees Celsius the temperature drops, you lose about 1.5% of normal distance on your shot. That means a 100-yard sand wedge would only travel 98.5 yards, and that’s based on air temperature alone. The optimum temperature for a golf ball is 27 degrees, so you’ll be well off that in October in many parts of the country.

Here’s a selection of cold weather-ready golf gear that will help you extend your golf season well into the fall and beyond.

Cool Weather Gloves

Keep your round uninterrupted by swapping your regular golf glove for FootJoy’s WinterSof gloves, available in both men’s and women’s. With a Weather-Shield foam fleece on the back of the glove, you’ll keep your hands toasty, while an extended knit cuff keeps the heat in.

If you prefer play with your regular glove, you can keep your hands warm between shots with COBRA’s fleece-lined Winter Mitts. The perfect accessory for a cold day on the course.

Wet Weather Gloves

If you can’t hold onto your club, then you can’t play. FootJoy’s RainGrip gloves are ideal when a fall shower passes by in the middle of your round. The QuikDry material on the back of the glove provides maximum breathability, while the autosuede palm offers a solid grip regardless of the weather.

Accessories while you ride

 The Mr. Heater Golf Cart Heater helps keep you warm between shots as it produces high-intensity radiant heat, and it fits most golf cart cup holders with its cup holder adapter.

This Tour Trek Driving Golf Cart Cover protects your golf cart against the wind, rain and other weather conditions, helping keeping you warm and dry so you can focus on your game.

The YETI Rambler Bottle is a next-level insulated bottle. The perfect addition for you on or off the course, this Rambler Bottle has the power to keep your coffee hot until the last sip.

Finding the Right Wedge

There are many factors to consider when selecting the right wedge. Loft, lie, length, and bounce to name a few. Understanding the condition you’re using your wedges in will help determine your best wedge setup for the day. Understanding bounce and its role is especially important while playing in wet conditions. For starters, what does bounce do on a wedge? Bounce helps to stop a wedge from digging into the ground excessively. Bounce is measured by the angle created on the bottom of the club that starts from the leading edge and goes to the back edge. The higher the bounce, the greater the angle created. Additional bounce is helpful for golfers with standard to steep golf swings in normal conditions.  For golfers with a more shallow swing, less bounce is normally selected to allow the club to interact with the turf more, causing a shallow divot.

It’s important to select your wedges based on turf conditions as well. During fall golf, the ground becomes softer with wet conditions so wedges with less bounce dig more and become less forgiving. Higher bounce wedges are great for wet conditions in the fairway or the rough, because it adds forgiveness to shots hit slightly behind the ball. The additional bounce stops the club from digging into the ground. However, if your ball ends up in a wet bunker then you are likely hitting out of compacted sand. This is where you’ll want to use a lower bounce wedge with additional loft. Using a higher bounce wedge here will likely cause the club to hit the sand early, sculling the shot. A higher lofted, lower bounce wedge will get the ball up quickly in these conditions.

Most players will benefit from having three to four wedges in their bag, which leads to tighter distance gaps and more full swings. Having one high and one mid bounce club in your wedge set for will create more versatility in your shotmaking for various lies and conditions that fall golf brings. The Vokey SM7 line features six different grind options to fit a variety of conditions and swing types.

Changing Your Ball

In the cold, higher compression golf balls are harder to compress, and mishits can be hard on the hands. Experts suggest turning to lower compression balls, like Callaway’s Chrome Soft, which is a 78-compression ball, or the Bridgestone e6 (a 50 compression ball) or the ultra-soft Wilson Duo, which has a compression of 29. You’ll find them easier to hit—and easier on the hands when you don’t catch the centre of the clubface.