The title says it all. Your marquee event of the season is coming up, and you finally check the forecast. Are you kidding me?? you mutter. This can’t be happening. Rain. Snow. High winds. 110 degrees. It all stinks…

But here’s the truth: the conditions stink for everyone. EVERYONE has to deal with the same things. The wind doesn’t pick favorites. The rain doesn’t care about your tee time. But here’s the twist — maybe it’s not a disadvantage. Maybe it’s your edge.

The right mindset changes everything.

If you tell yourself, “I LOVE playing in (insert any condition here),” and truly embrace the challenge, you’re already ahead of half the field. Minimum.

Now you might say, “Coach, come on… you can’t love the nice days, the windy days, the humid days, rainy days, snowy days, foggy days, aerified greens, no sand in the bunkers… all of it?”

Why not?

Every day presents a different puzzle. If every round was sunny and 75°, golf would be easy. But it’s not. And I like it that way. I’m mentally tougher than the next guy, and I believe these conditions give me the edge. Nice days? Even better — I’ll beat you there too.

If you think you’re great in bad conditions, you have a chance to be. If you think you struggle in them, you will.

Coming next: How to prepare to thrive in tough conditions — what gear to bring, how to practice, and how to swing when the wind is howling.

Preparation makes you dangerous when others are defeated.