As I watch from my window to the outside world, I'm only dreaming of the warm spring days that won't becoming to New York for at least another three months.

You see we were just hit overnight with 4" of snow on top of the snow we received from the last snow storm. Where I live today it's a balmy 17 degrees outside. Ouch!

That is why I'm thinking about bad weather conditions in golf. I'm sort of correlating between the two weather conditions of today and what it's like when you have to play in all kinds of bad weather.

Playing in bad weather is a challenge but, when you prepare yourself properly your round of golf doesn't have to collapse. All golfers find it difficult to play effectively in inclement weather. Rain, wind and cold will affect your mindset. The way you dress, your golf swing, the flight of the golf ball and the speed and breaks of the greens.

No amount of practice or instruction can fully prepare you for bad weather. Being prepared for bad weather will make it bearable for you to play when the weather turns nasty.

If you expect that your round of golf may encounter rain, then make sure you have extra towels, golf gloves, rain hood for your golf clubs, and rain suit for yourself in your golf bag. Get comfortable with how your rain suit will affect the way you strike your golf ball. Rain suits today are more flexible but, are still restrictive and will change your golf swing.

Another important factor when playing is making sure your hands and the grips on your golf clubs remain dry. You may want to consider buying golf gloves that are now made for extreme conditions. Have a golf umbrella handy at all times to keep the rain off you when you are not taking your golf shot.

One big mistake that most amateurs will make isn't taking into consideration the distance the golf ball has too travel. The rain will reduce how far your golf shot will carry and the ball won't roll far either. Depending on how wet the golf course is, you might find that your golf ball most of the time will plug instead of rolling.

Instead of choking down on the golf club with tension in order to have a firm grip from sliding try going with at least one more club than normal. When playing from the rough, the wet grass will get between your club face and the ball affecting the way the ball reacts. Consider your lie when selecting the golf club you'll use.

The way the golf ball rolls on the greens will definitely change. The water on the greens will cause your ball to roll slower, stop quicker and break a lot less than normal. Be prepared to strike your putts more firmly and plan on a lot less break than normal.

Being properly prepared for bad weather is the key to having a good round of golf. Be sure to check the forecast before leaving the house. If lightning is in the forecast, consider postponing your round. If lightning moves in while out on the course, get off the course and back to the clubhouse until it by-passes. Most public and private golf courses have weather monitoring devices and will sound an alarm when the weather dictates.

Golf has always been a passion of mine. I have spent many years playing the game, and just plain enjoy the time being outside. However, you are outside and when you see the sky changing take the necessary precautions to stay alert and safe. If you feel that you can finish the hole then go ahead and do it. That's if everyone else in your group agrees.

If not and your at your golf ball in the fairway or rough then mark your golf ball with any object that you can identify later on as being yours. Put the mark behind the golf ball like you would on the green and leave the ball as it lies.

It reminds me of a high school qualifier I had and in my foursome we were all playing great golf at the time. We could see the sky turning black and they did blast the air horn from the club house.

We decided to ignore the warning and finish out the ninth hole. The winds started howling and the rain instead of coming straight down was pelting us parralel to the ground. We were soaked and it was one of the most scariest moments of my life.

As we got to our golf balls in the fairway, the biggest lightening bolt flashed in front of us. Forget the golf balls we ran into the woods that were off to the side of the fairway.

The next thing you could feel was the ground beneath your feet actually shaking with vibrations. At that precise moment there was such a deafening crack on top of the pine trees that we were under. A huge branch that would take more than two people to move comes crashing down just missing us by inches. The branch itself was smoldering from the fire created by the lightening strike.

After about twenty minutes the storm subsided enough for us to go back out from under the trees to finish the hole. I don't believe any of us did well on the hole, because we were still shaking. At the turn we regained our composure enough to finish the round.

There has been many stories about people being struck by lightening. I personally can't imagine it, because there is such a magnitude of power that comes from lightening.