popular What have you done today in the Garden?

It can be quite difficult playing golf when it's raining and there's a lot of water on the course at the moment, with some "small lakes" on a few fairways.
We have a lot of lateral streams draining the fairways through a lot of pipes under them that flow into the Mersey. The water passes through sluice gates.
If the Mersey rises, the force of the river water pressing on them is greater than the water trying to get out. So the gates close, so no water leaves the streams. But the plus side is that no river water can get onto the course. Once the river level falls below the height of the gates, they open and the course will quickly clear.

You can stay reasonably dry wearing the right waterproof equipment and I also wear golf boots instead of golf shoes. Like most of my friends, I've an electric trolley which has a socket on the handle for a golf brolly and attachments to hold a thermos flask and another a scorecard holder, with a protective cover and a rack under it for a couple of spare balls.

The club also make concessions in competitions in bad weather to make play a bit easier, after all, they want people to use the course.
The usual one when it's quite wet, for your ball, is "lift clean and place within 6 inches on the fairway." Quite often, after teeing off, your ball can land and be stuck in its own pitch mark, or bounce out and be covered with mud.
If the conditions become worse, as it has been for a few weeks, then this is extended to "anywhere on the course" which will include the rough.
This year, they've gone further and we are now allowed to use mats in competitions. A lot of other courses allow them. They sell them in the pro shop.

When you reach your ball after teeing off, you can place your mat next to the ball, pick your ball up, clean it and place it on your mat. I'd never used one before.
One of my partners had been using one for a couple of weeks. So my other partner and I, bought one each yesterday.
I have quite a bit of money in my pro shop account, built up over the year for a few wins or second places in our regular Wednesday club competitions. So I used some of that.
I found it an immediate help, certainly hitting a 4 rescue wood, which, "goes a long way" on a fairway. It has a small head and is quite unforgiving is the ground is wet as it could easily dig in with just a slight error. It's OK if the ground is dry, as then it doesn't.

Of course, it's really "sanctioned cheating," as it's an artificial aid.

The rules of golf are quite strict. A professional in a major competition was once penalise when he considered it was necessary for him to kneel down to reach his ball to hit it with his club, so he's put a towel on the ground and knelt on it to protect his trousers. That was considered illegal, as it was deemed he was, "making a stance."
But in our club, if we don't use a mat through the winter, we will be at a disadvantage, compared with those who use them.
You just place on the ground with the spikes facing forwards. then press it down with your foot. You have remember, to pick it up after you've played your shot and hang it on your trolley, with the supplied cord!

 

They were leaking unfortunately @Pacnorwest . I happened to go into one of our son's bedrooms ( yes I know ..all 3 left home 20 years + ago but they still have their rooms here ) and saw a damp patch on the corner ....we were lucky that our friend could come over the next day and sort it out for us.