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How Weather Affects Your Golf Ball – Dispelling the Myths
There’s a lot of misinformation out there amongst golfers. For example, you don’t need to keep your head down in order to hit a great golf shot, despite what your friend keeps telling you at the range.
Something that I wanted to clear up in this article is how the weather actually affects your golf ball. Over the years I’ve heard statements like, “my ball isn’t flying as far because it’s humid.”
I’d like to set the record straight on a couple of myths about the weather, and how it can change your ball flight. I did a bit of research, and found some great information out there (notably from Trackman).
Spoiler: It’s not as much as you think.
The main issue at hand is air density. When the air is denser, it creates more resistance and the ball will fly a bit higher and not travel as far. The key factors for air density are humidity, air pressure, and temperature.
Let’s take a look at how each of them will affect how far your golf ball is flying.
Humidity
The conventional wisdom is that if it’s extremely humid the ball will not fly as far because the air feels heavier. Just last week I heard a broadcaster on TV talking about this during a tournament when a player’s ball landed short of the green.
This is actually completely backwards. The more humid it is, the farther your ball will travel.
There’s just one catch…
The difference is almost negligible. According to Trackman’s data, a change from 10% to 90% humidity will account for less than a yard of difference on a 6-iron.
Air Pressure
I’ve actually never heard a golfer refer to a low-pressure system as the reason their approach shots landed short of the green, but hey I’m sure it’s occurred somewhere.
All of us golfers are full of excuses.
Air pressure has pretty much no effect on your ball flight either. It will account for less than a yard of difference.
Temperature
This is the one that is the most important. Personally I think I have noticed considerable differences in the distance my ball is traveling in cold weather.
Let’s find out the truth…
Temperature changes do have the greatest affect on ball flight, but it might not be as much as you think. Going from 40 to 100 degrees will increase a 6-iron carry by 8 yards and a driver by 9 yards.
The rule of thumb is that for about every 10 degrees you can expect a change of about a yard.
Typically you won’t be going through radical changes in temperature between rounds that are going to change the distance your ball is traveling so I believe anyone’s perceived changes are a bit overblown (myself included). You’re not likely to see anything more than 2-3 yards at most.
What’s Really Going On
OK now that we’ve established you can’t really blame the weather for your distances, what can you blame?
Wind and altitude have a much larger impact on your ball flight, and for most golfers wind is really the culprit.
The other culprit is honesty.
Most golfers aren’t realistic with their distances. Let’s face it, most of us are overstating how far we hit the ball. That’s why I wrote this article, and it’s not a surprise that GAME GOLF has found that on average 94% of golfers miss greens on the short side because of this.
To me this continues to be one of the most important skills of a smart course manager. Being honest with your distances on the course, and selecting an appropriate club based on how far you will likely hit the ball, not how far you will hit it on your best swing. Check out my free eBook on course strategy to learn more.
In summary, I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on changes in weather and how they will affect your ball flight. The quality of your ball striking, and how honest you are about your distances are the main factors you should take into account.
How about an article on how the wind affects the ball (x amount of mphs produces x yardage lost/gained or left/right)?
good suggestion, will definitely do that!
While not weather-related, golfers adjust their yardages for elevation. Is that not due to air pressure (thinner air at altitude negates some of the effects of ball spin)?
Altitude has a much larger effect on air density (the most important thing for ball flight). When you go to higher altitude the air density decreases, which will make the ball travel farther.
Jon, I don’t doubt that you know more about the game and how the conditions affect ball flight and distance than I do, but my game does not reflect your conclusions on this.
I live on the coast in Florida and during the summer months I lose distance not gain. Oh, I might gain a bit sometimes when I do silly things like play in a hurricane and have the wind behind me, but in general, I need an extra club on every shot this time of year.
This year seems worse than the past. I attribute that to a swing change I made at the end of last summer. My nice little draw had become a nasty hook and I had to get help from a pro to correct. Now I hit a little fade. It travels higher and gets a bit less roll out on my drives which accounts for some of the lost distance with my driver. A better example though is a short par 3 on my home course. It’s 125 yards and all year long I hit my pitching wedge on that hole and have to watch that I don’t overdo it and go off the back. About a month ago when the weather got really hot and muggy I had to change to a 9 iron to get there. Same swing, same everything as two months back when it wasn’t quite so oppressive out. This isn’t me lying to myself about distance. This is just simple truth.
Now maybe there something I can’t see like a bigger breeze or something effecting the ball. I don’t know. All I know is where I am, summer has always meant a bit less distance. Not more.
Why did I hit a pitching wedge 100 yards in pittsburgh, pa and hit the same club, same ball 75 yards in atlanta, ga 2 years later. Did I lose that much strength? I’m also about 10% shorter with the driver.
Thanks for your insight,
John
Elevation to sea level change?’
First off, I use a Garmin golf gps watch and track the distances that I hit all of my clubs with it (except the putter!).
As we are transitioning out of the winter months into spring, I have noticed a very pronounced increase in distance that I am hitting the ball (I use no-wind conditions for my baseline). I have picked up 15 yards on my 7 iron and 20-25 yards on my driver. I live in a desert environment, so humidity is low and we hardly ever play in the rain.
Based on the numbers shown here, there must be more going on other than effective air density (in flying, we call it density altitude). I believe that temperature significantly affects golf ball dynamics – they compress less as it gets colder, which, in turn, reduces the energy transfer from club to ball. Some golfers keep their balls warm before they tee off (but, then, they cool off pretty rapidly). Then, there are the physiological changes in our bodies and clothing. I believe our flexibility is less in colder temperatures.
But, nonetheless, it is very interesting to read about actual measurements of weather effects. I’ve grown tired to explaining to golfers that humid air is actually LESS dense than dry air (humid air includes a hydrogen atom that is 16 times less dense than oxygen)!
Phil Mickelson says that on a hot day his 8 iron will travel 10 yards further, temp effects 80% and humidiy and air pressure each effect about 1%. Its great to know about the hydrogen atom I have never thought about that before but since dry air contains more Nitrogen and Nitrogen weights more than Hydrogen that makes sense.
Wind speed will play a huge factor into this as well, also I think that if we begin to look at ball flight path and landing angle which can change from golfer to golfer, the effects will be quite profound and rapid. It’s good to think about, especially as I look to improve my knowledge of my game.
Humidity definitely affect distance a great deal. When it is so humid, you ball has to travel through a bucket water (for that amount of water in the air that you ball has to go through for 250 yard drive).
Not sure how trackman works. Does it measure the club speed and initial ball speed, launch angle, an spin, to calculate the yardage? If so, of course humidity does not affect anything.
I think the humidity affects your body more than the moist humid air. Balls should travel farther in warmer(less dense air). However,humid air is harder to breathe and body does not function as well.
I think, that if person knows how to play golf , he will play good no matter with which weather will be. Here is a great story about how weather can affect on your game, but damn, people, professional can play golf no matter what happens!
Well, there’s humidity, and there’s fog. Pro drives at Harding Park and the Olympic Club are routinely some of the shortest on the Tour … even when the wind isn’t blowing. The difference is actual mist in the air.
When the weather gets “cold”, more layers of clothing go on, the hands start to get numb, the body cannot move/turn as well and the golf balls are cold (because bag is in back of SUV parked outside). More difficult to play good golf, yes?
Warm weather golfing in 70 to 88 degrees farenheit is good!
Any info on leaving the balls in the bag in winter? Heard years ago, take them in the house. Northeast Indiana can see -10°.
Thanks for the article. I googled “does a golf ball go further in cold weather” because I played yesterday on a very clear, cold day (25 degrees). I was hitting the ball 30 yrds further on every hole. There was no wind and I was still crushing it on holes that go the opposite direction (so I know it wasn’t the wind). Maybe I was having a good day. We’ll see if it keeps up when the weather gets warmer..
I live in Southern CA where we can play golf all year. I find the course plays much longer in the winter for me and my playing partners. A typical day in Summer has temperatures is mid 80’s. In winter it may get down to high 50’s. Possible reasons are:
1. Air is heavier in winter.
2. Coefficient of restitution of the ball is lower.
3. Cold muscles are weaker than warm muscles.
4. Muscles are less flexible when cold
5. My home course does not overseed in winter. Fairways are rough and often wet. Roll is reduced.
I would welcome any comments about which factors make the most difference.
Hi Jon,
I am curious if wet conditions effect the spin rates of the golf club…. all else the same, do golf balls spin less when wet? And by how much?
Yes, it’s been shown that moisture on the clubface will generally decrease spin because you limiting the amount of friction. Determining how much is very difficult because there are so many variables involved. If you are playing in wet conditions it’s best to wipe your club face before you swing (obviously you can’t clean the ball).
The differences in absolute and relative humidity could be causing some confusion. A 40F day with 90% relative humidity would have less water vapor, higher air density, and more drag on a golf ball than an 80F day with 50% relative humidity. The 40F day with 90% relative humidity would have denser air because the air is cooler and because the air has less water vapor. It’s like saying which is more water: 50% of a 5-gallon bucket or 90% of a measuring cup? Adding water vapor to air at constant pressure and temperature decreases the density because a water molecule occupies the same volume as an oxygen or nitrogen molecule but it weighs only about 60% as much. Even when it’s a hot day and the air is saturated, there is not a lot of water vapor in the air. For example, at 83F, which is the highest temperature in the psychometric chart I’m looking at, air can only hold about 2.5% water by weight.
I read your explanation about the effect of temperature and it may be true that a ball already in flight (for example shot out of a cannon) may have a tiny effect on flight distance but what about the effect of temperature on compression and speed off the club. Also when it’s cold the ground is usually wet and/or soft so there’s much less or no forward roll.
The problem is that you put too much faith in trackman. I have never trusted what that machine reads. I am 71 years old and in the summer time (80 deg) I average 180 to 220 yds on my drives. During the fall/winter 55-60 deg my drives are between 160 and 180 yds. There are so many variables in real life that a machine can’t possible cover every one. At the golf course where I play there’s a (~145 yd) par 3 with a pond between the tee and the green. I have to go from a 6 iron in the summer to a 4 hybrid to reach the green in cold weather. Also, I have to use a low compression ball. So your comments may be appropriate for people with swing speeds of 95 mph and up, but not for slower swing golfers.
The rule of thumb is 2 yard per 10 degree change in temperature per the former technical director of the usga
Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful article.
Many thanks for supplying this information.
In my opinion the air density is the main factor for the carry distance of a golf ball. The two factors determining the air density are height and temperature. So, on hot day your ball should carry further because the air is thinner. The same goes for height, on a higher course your ball will carry further. Unless the water in the air condensate (rain drops), moisture is of very little effect I would say. Rain drops will slow down your ball a bit and decrease the carry distance I think. When I flew into Quito airport, Ecuador in 10 000ft, we had to fly with 25knots more speed to get the same lift because of the thin air.
Could be one thing you’re leaving out–in colder temperatures–and it’s not the ball’s performance. Could we also be swinging slower? That could be another myth you’d want to dispel but with the layers and layers of clothing, the freezing cold hands and the way we all know cold affects our movements I would be quite surprised to find that I swing the same speed at 40 degrees as I do at 100 degrees (say 80 so heat exhaustion isn’t a factor.)
My personal guess is that with the 6 yard ball difference between 40 and 80 I’d factor in a 5 mph slower driver swing. At about 2.3 yards (for a perfect strike) per mph we’re now talking about almost 18 yards. This makes more sense to me as a 95 mph driver swinger.
So egat you are saying is my 6 iron will go about ten yards further if its hit and humid with a little help from the wind.