Evening sundown golf

[JML22]

So i played a round a few nights ago started at about 5:30
i live on the west coast and we were on the 15 hole at about 8 830 ish and it was getting pretty damn and i landed a solid shot with a PW from 100 out about 15 yards short.
Am i just delusional of the contact i made or does the moisture in the air really make that much of a difference?

[sacm3bill]

It's counter-intuitive, but moisture in the air actually makes the ball go farther. That's because humid air is less dense than dry air, so there is less drag.

So if infer correctly that you're saying you usually hit a PW farther than 85 yds, then your contact probably wasn't as good as you thought it was.

[Harmonious]

Had the temperature dropped? That could have some effect, though not 15 yards. You probably caught it a touch chucky.

[mn723]

  sacm3bill said:

It's counter-intuitive,

I'm not sure, but this statement sounds incorrect.

[Paradox]

that statement isn't incorrect, but temperature also plays a role in air density, as does altitude.

[sacm3bill]

  mn723 said:

I'm not sure, but this statement sounds incorrect.

Yeah, that's the very definition of counter intuitive. Trust me, it's correct. (You can google "humidity effect on golf ball" if you don't believe me.)

[Fairway_CY]

  sacm3bill said:

Yeah, that's the very definition of counter intuitive.

Hahahahaha... indeed it is, Webster.

CY

[JML22]

well it dropped from about 23 to about like 8? celsius of course

[Paradox]

In 3 hours your temperature dropped almost 30 degrees(farenheit)? Thats a gigantic temp swing and if true, would definitely make a difference in distance.

[JML22]

yea once the sun goes down its FREEZING

[mrmiller8]

Yes the ball does travel farther when it is humid. Think of it this way; When the air has all the water molecules in the air the molecules make the air heavier and this makes this harder for the ball to fall. Its almost as if the water molecules hold the ball up in the air. Temperature has very little to do with distance as well. It is mostly the moisture in the air. People do think that in colder weather they don't hit is far which is true probably for two reasons; The first is for the one above; the second is typically the body is not as warm or as loose as it would be in warmer weather so you often times have a restricted swing....just my two cents...

[jlh1508]

  mrmiller8 said:

Yes the ball does travel farther when it is humid. Think of it this way; When the air has all the water molecules in the air the molecules make the air heavier and this makes this harder for the ball to fall. Its almost as if the water molecules hold the ball up in the air. Temperature has very little to do with distance as well. It is mostly the moisture in the air. People do think that in colder weather they don't hit is far which is true probably for two reasons; The first is for the one above; the second is typically the body is not as warm or as loose as it would be in warmer weather so you often times have a restricted swing..

What happened to your other senses? I will give you two cents to tell me

[mrmiller8]

Touche sir touche....it was 7:30 in morning...give me a break...

[tws1098]

Although I agree that the density of the air and the temperature play a role in how far your ball goes, it will not take 15 yards off of a 100 yard shot. Perhaps the ball got up higher than you realized which may have felt good off the club face and looked good but ultimately hurt your distance. I could understand losing 10-15 yards on a drive due to air density and temperature, but there was not a change in either of those capable of making that big of a difference while staying in one location during a relatively short amount of time hitting a PW. Playing at a different altitude or even just a different day during the week could cause a decent difference in how far a PW goes when hit well, I am just not seeing it in this situation.

[Yukari]

  mrmiller8 said:

Yes the ball does travel farther when it is humid. Think of it this way;

Okay, let's not propagate this error.

Water molecule has molecular weight of 18 g/mole whereas air (78% Nitrogen gas) has molecular weight of 28 g/mole (just assuming pure nitrogen for the sake of brevity). At a constant temperature the number of molecules per volume is constant. Let's just say 1 mole of molecule per volume (let not get bogged down in details. If you want the true volume use the equation PV=nRT, where P is pressure, V is volumne n is number of moles of molecule, R is the universal gas constant and T is temperature in degrees Kelvin, i.e., celcius + 273.15). So as you can see since 1 mole of water molecule weighs 18 g and 1 mole of air (assuming nitrogen) weighs 28 g. Therefore, humid air weighs LESS and is LIGHTER not heavier. If it was heavier, it would create more friction or loss of momentum (remember momentum = mv, so heavier gas will STOP the ball more than lighter gas, think of it this way: if a running back (american football analogy) hits 100 pound guy vs. 300 pound guy, which one would stop the running back more effectively? Temperature has a LOT to do with distance since it effects the number of molecules per volume (PV = nRT). More molecules it runs into, less it travels. And finally water molecule does NOT hold the ball up in the air. We are talking about gaseous water NOT liquid water which causes buoyancy due to the surface tension. Gaseous water has NO surface tension and therefore causes NO buoyancy. Let's get the scientific facts straight...

[Crey23]

  mrmiller8 said:

Yes the ball does travel farther when it is humid....

Holly carap so that means that what i perseived as improvement, is just the effect of the summer heat is south Florida!!!!

  Yukari said:

Okay, let's not propagate this error.

And who ever said you don't leaen new thing sin this forum????? Nice Explanation!!!!

[bplewis24]

Forget the explanation...who is in his avatar?

[sacm3bill]

  Yukari said:

...We are talking about gaseous water NOT liquid water which causes buoyancy due to the surface tension. Gaseous water has NO surface tension and therefore causes NO buoyancy.

Well, to clarify... Buoyancy is not caused only by surface tension - those are two separate forces. You *can* have buoyancy in a gas, without surface tension. If surface tension was a necessary condition for buoyancy, you'd have a hell of a time getting a hot air balloon off the ground.