Kelly and Terry Kratky have been caught in one too many downpours to know you can never be too prepared at the Memorial Tournament.

That was the Dublin couple's rationale for making sure to pack their umbrellas for Thursday's competition at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

"We've gotten stuck out here in the rain before and gotten drenched," Kelly Kratky said. 

The Kratkys brought two umbrellas out on the course with them: a golf umbrella and a collapsible umbrella small enough to fit in Kelly's purse.

Memorial Tournament: Will weather this weekend be hit by the curse of Chief Leatherlips?

Dozens of golf fans toted umbrellas around the course during Thursday's opening round, with overcast skies and a lingering threat of rain until early afternoon.

The Kratkys remembered one particularly stormy Memorial they attended where lightning delayed the tournament for several hours, and the two were out in the rain with no coverage.

"There's always the chance you could get stuck in a downpour," Terry Kratky said. "If you're out in the middle of the course, it could be a mile-and-a-half walk back to your car."

But whatever the weather is out on the course, Memorial Tournament patrons said bringing a golf umbrella is essential.

The golf umbrella is ubiquitous with the sport. It is a staple of golf bags, pro shops  and the iconic logo of golf legend Arnold Palmer and his iced tea-lemonade empire.

Golf umbrellas, according to British menswear brand The Cotton London, are different from other umbrellas mainly because of their size. Most measure between 60 and 70 inches, twice as large as your typical umbrella. 

That large canopy is ideal for any golfer carrying their bag to keep everything as dry as possible. It's also big enough for two people to easily share — whether it's a caddie keeping a player dry or a pair of spectators like Krista and David Ellsworth.

The Dublin couple usually sits out near the green at the 12th hole, and they're sure to bring their enormous golf umbrella each year they attend. It's not only great when the heavens open up, but it's also a relief on those scorching hot days with no cloud cover.

"Rain or shine, out here you just get blasted," David Ellsworth said.

Golf umbrellas are truly a multipurpose tool.

Patrons have used them as walking sticks up the infamous hills of Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin. Others lean onto their umbrellas waiting for players to approach their balls. Some umbrellas even had a small seat attachment to take a quick rest near the putting green before moving onto the next tee box.

One man used his umbrella to mimic a golf club, showing a young boy how to follow through on his swing.

"You can even use them for self-defense," Justin Evans, of Dayton, said in jest.

Evans, along with his buddies Chad Petrusch, also of Dayton, and Mike Cruea, of Huber Heights, held their golf umbrellas in one hand and a beer in the other on their way around the back nine Thursday morning.

Petrusch said he does think his golf umbrella holds up better in the rain than his wife's compact umbrella. But it's really more about reverse psychology than anything, he said.

"If we didn't bring them out," he said, "then it would definitely be raining."

Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter at the Columbus Dispatch. You can reach her at shendrix@dispatch.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @sheridan120. Sign up for her Mobile Newsroom newsletter here and her education newsletter here.