Cold Weather vs Warm Weather

[DFW75]

Question - how much does cold affect your play? I know weather has an effect - but I usually consider wind / rain with that statement - not really temperature. 

I have only been really focused on my play since about July. So this is my first winter I think of even playing. The last time I played more than once every other month was living on a tropical island where we played year round. 

I went a few days ago and it was cold - upper 30s when we started, warming up to about 45. Had a couple of layers on over my shirt. And I felt like I was learning how to play all over. My shots were not very good - and when I did feel I got a good shot, it came up a good 20-30 yards short. Was really having to take an extra club or two to have a shot. 

Then, I went out yesterday - same course - in shorts and a shirt - mid 80s. And it was like a breath of fresh air. I was hitting my shots long, they were straight, timing felt good - felt loose. 

Shot a 101 on the cold day - 83 on the warm day.

So was just wondering how many of you feel that you play worse on cold days? Or is it just in my head? Do you change your play / mechanics / expectations when it's cold? 

[Vinsk]

I dunno. It dropped down to 69 the other day and I played ok. Back to 87 degrees and still …all good. 😀

[Zippo]

  On 3/4/2022 at 7:01 PM, DFW75 said:

Question - how much does cold affect your play? I know weather has an effect - but I usually consider wind / rain with that statement - not really temperature. 

I have only been really focused on my play since about July. So this is my first winter I think of even playing. The last time I played more than once every other month was living on a tropical island where we played year round. 

I went a few days ago and it was cold - upper 30s when we started, warming up to about 45. Had a couple of layers on over my shirt. And I felt like I was learning how to play all over. My shots were not very good - and when I did feel I got a good shot, it came up a good 20-30 yards short. Was really having to take an extra club or two to have a shot. 

Then, I went out yesterday - same course - in shorts and a shirt - mid 80s. And it was like a breath of fresh air. I was hitting my shots long, they were straight, timing felt good - felt loose. 

Shot a 101 on the cold day - 83 on the warm day.

So was just wondering how many of you feel that you play worse on cold days? Or is it just in my head? Do you change your play / mechanics / expectations when it's cold? 

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Layering in a bunch of clothes to stay warm at 30 degrees has to affect your swing. Also, for me, cold just plain makes my muscles tighten up - also making a "fluid" swing more difficult. Then, there's the scotch I consumed to keep me warmer...

[DFW75]

Scotch - good tip!  I was layered up - I was so upset playing - wasn't fun. Figured I had forgotten how to play. But then yesterday just gave me confidence that maybe I didn't just forget how to hold a club - lol. 

And 67 isn't cold - lol. I'd play in 69 everyday if I could.   🙂

 

[ChetlovesMer]

  On 3/4/2022 at 7:01 PM, DFW75 said:

Question - how much does cold affect your play? I know weather has an effect - but I usually consider wind / rain with that statement - not really temperature. 

I have only been really focused on my play since about July. So this is my first winter I think of even playing. The last time I played more than once every other month was living on a tropical island where we played year round. 

I went a few days ago and it was cold - upper 30s when we started, warming up to about 45. Had a couple of layers on over my shirt. And I felt like I was learning how to play all over. My shots were not very good - and when I did feel I got a good shot, it came up a good 20-30 yards short. Was really having to take an extra club or two to have a shot. 

Then, I went out yesterday - same course - in shorts and a shirt - mid 80s. And it was like a breath of fresh air. I was hitting my shots long, they were straight, timing felt good - felt loose. 

Shot a 101 on the cold day - 83 on the warm day.

So was just wondering how many of you feel that you play worse on cold days? Or is it just in my head? Do you change your play / mechanics / expectations when it's cold? 

Expand  

This is a good topic and a good question. 

I'll say this. I don't layer up very much in the cold. I'm pretty tolerant of the cold so that works to my advantage. I can usually just add my thermal undershirt and be okay. Sometimes I'll add the Under Armor over-shirt-jackety-doom-a-hoogy. (Sorry for the technical speak), but for the most part I only have to worry about my hands. I find a couple of hand warmers in my pockets does more for me than an extra layer or two. ... Those warmers also keep my balls warm ... bud-um-ching. 

I do think there's some distance loss in the colder weather. Also the greens are often furrier and therefore slower. But if you know that going in, you can still play a good round. Another bonus is a lot of times the courses are almost empty when the weather is iffy. When the weather is beautiful, then every golfing joker is out there. 

Hopefully, somebody smarter than me will explain how the handicap system accounts for sketchy weather. I'm pretty sure it does, but me no smart enough to explain. 🤷‍♂️

[iacas]

  On 3/5/2022 at 12:59 AM, ChetlovesMer said:

Hopefully, somebody smarter than me will explain how the handicap system accounts for sketchy weather. I'm pretty sure it does, but me no smart enough to explain. 🤷‍♂️

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PCC

Read up:

 

Playing Conditions Calculation

or

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping/roh/Content/rules/5 6 Playing Conditions Calculation.htm

[NJpatbee]

My back and muscles tighten up and spasm in the cold, which for me is under 60F.  It used to be 55F but at my age (70) I am starting to understand why God made Florida.  I played 8 rounds in 2 weeks but now I am back in NJ hibernating.

[Denny Bang Bang]

Colder weather will impact the performance of golf balls as well.

[Vinsk]

  On 3/5/2022 at 2:32 AM, Denny Bang Bang said:

Colder weather will impact the performance of golf balls as well.

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Lol.

[saevel25]

  On 3/4/2022 at 7:01 PM, DFW75 said:

Question - how much does cold affect your play? I know weather has an effect - but I usually consider wind / rain with that statement - not really temperature. 

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Not that much. My temperature range is like mid 40's (with no wind) to 100+ degrees. I've played where I had hand warmers in my pockets versus having a drenched shirt on the 9th hole from walking league night during 95+ degree temperatures. (Welcome to Ohio, where we can get nearly any weather in the world). 

I can't say for sure if either extreme effects my game more. I might say, cold because it's tougher to get warmed up (limber). You can lose feeling in your hands a bit if you don't keep them warm between shots. You may have to wear extra layers of clothing that can interfere with how you normally swing. 

If I can get away with just wearing a light wind jacket or vest, with under armor cold wear, then the layers do not bother me at all. 

[Esox]

  On 3/5/2022 at 2:32 AM, Denny Bang Bang said:

Colder weather will impact the performance of golf balls as well.

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I find that cold weather (like 35 degrees) will require at least one more club on a 200 yard shot than at 80 degrees. I don't know how much is ball and how much is air density, but my swing speed doesn't change much.

[cdh79]

I play in any type of weather, and while it hardly ever snows here, it does get below freezing in the winter (and yes, we play).
In the past I have just added more layers of clothing and that definitely affected my swing by quite a bit. For a while, I just took off a jacket to do my swing, and then put it back on right away, but nowadays I carefully select my layers (proper base-layer, good mid-layer depending on the temperature and then a proper upper lay) and while it still makes a difference compared to great weather, it's not as hindering anymore as it used to be.

What usually affects me more are the changing ground conditions. I live below sea-level so drainage is not that great in the winter and the ground is usually extremely wet when it's not frozen, which makes the game much more difficult when you don't hit the ball perfectly well. Also there's a lot of plugging and no rolling at all, so carry distance mostly equals to total distance.  That is, if you're able to still find your ball when it's fully plugged. 

[DFW75]

Thanks folks! Good discussion. 

I was chalking it up to layers - didn't have a bulky coat - but a few layers still. I felt my timing was off and causing mis-hits - and that's on me. But then even when I felt I hit it solid - it'd fall well short (a club or more) of where I wanted. So was looking for tips for playing in the cold as some of our events, particularly teeing off at 08:00 are still in that upper 30 / lower 40 realm. So I have to get better at playing in that cold. 

When it's warmer, things just felt looser and faster.   

 

[mohearn]

  On 3/5/2022 at 2:32 AM, Denny Bang Bang said:

Colder weather will impact the performance of golf balls as well.

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This came up today at the range, made me think of this. Was about 50 degrees. Player next to me, a legit scratch golfer, told me that the cold temps affect slower swing speeds more than faster, because faster swings can still compress cold balls, whereas slower swings cannot. I'm not sure, could be true.

[Denny Bang Bang]

  On 3/7/2022 at 10:32 PM, mohearn said:

This came up today at the range, made me think of this. Was about 50 degrees. Player next to me, a legit scratch golfer, told me that the cold temps affect slower swing speeds more than faster, because faster swings can still compress cold balls, whereas slower swings cannot. I'm not sure, could be true.

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I don’t know the physics behind it, but I don’t notice much difference at temps 80s vs 50s.  But 80s vs 30s I definitely do.

Here are some thoughts from Dean Snell.

Does temperature affect golf ball performance?

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Our FAQ series continues with one of the most commonly asked questions during the autumn/winter golf season: Does temperature affect golf ball performance? Our own Dean Snell...

 

 

[mohearn]

That's interesting, Snell says below 70F they are slower.  Makes me feel better, definitely had less distance. (But of course there are many reasons for that!)

[DrvFrShow]

So combine golf balls at 48 F, me at 48 F who was not happy about especially at my age, soft turf of which I'm not a fan, golf shoes which were not especially comfortable and the scores go up about 10 strokes.

Fortunately the weather will be getting warmer as the days get longer. And... as of Mar 12, I can go back to the gym.

[woodzie264]

  On 3/9/2022 at 3:19 AM, DrvFrShow said:

So combine golf balls at 48 F, me at 48 F who was not happy about especially at my age, soft turf of which I'm not a fan, golf shoes which were not especially comfortable and the scores go up about 10 strokes.

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If you were wearing SQAIRZ, you’d only go up 1 stroke