Colder temperatures and the effects on ball distance

[JerseyThursday]

Normally I walk when I play, and don’t really enjoy cold weather golf much. But our club puts covers on the carts (from mid October to Spring) and with a Coleman cart heater it makes it really nice. Don’t have to wear as many layers and muscles stay warm and loose. Nowhere near as enjoyable as strolling down the fairway in the summer...

[luckyluke699]

It won't be long before I'm practising in sub 30 degree temperatures (fareinheit) when swinging my golf club! :P

Correct that, today it was just about sub 25 degrees... and it'll probably get colder!

[gators13]

This thread got me to wondering something. Back in my softball days, people used to bake the balls to make them "hotter" would that work with a golf ball?

[Gioguy21]

was just as the range at lunch, a 5-10 mph head wind...41*F....saw a 20-25 yard decrease in my long irons (4i typically 215, down to 185) and about the same throughout my bag...however off the driver, it was only roughly 10-15% distance loss...hmmm...

[Kieran123]

I play in pretty cool temps towards the end of the season - and it messes up my game

I always play the same course towards the end of the season ( because it's cheap ) and the 2nd hole is usually a 7 iron in the Summer....first round in the cold I forget and hit 7 iron and either have a 30 foot putt or a chip

Repeat for 12 holes that I forget to club up.

That and I HATE....I mean HATE wearing a jacket/long sleeve shirt when I swing a club.

My scores decline for the last month or so of the season.

[Ernest Jones]

I think it probably has more to do with a cold body being less flexible and limber thereby resulting in significantly slower club head speed.

[B-Con]

was just as the range at lunch, a 5-10 mph head wind...41*F....saw a 20-25 yard decrease in my long irons (4i typically 215, down to 185) and about the same throughout my bag...however off the driver, it was only roughly 10-15% distance loss...hmmm...

10% of 240 is 24 yds. 15% is 36 yds. Seems about on par with the rest of them...

[R11driver]

I didn't read the 2 pages worth of replies so if I repeat something already stated, sorry.

One thing the golf manufacturers can't do is beat physics. Cold air is more dense than warm air thus creating more drag on the ball so the ball comes down more quickly.. The ball doesn't compress as much as it normally does affecting ball speed and thus distance. To a lessor degree the metal in the clubs becomes less elastic so the "spring effect" off of the club face is less also affecting distance. Plus you are just not as loose as you normally would be so you lose swing speed. 1 mph in swing speed can mean 3 to 5 yds in distance.

[camper6]

Originally Posted by gators13

This thread got me to wondering something. Back in my softball days, people used to bake the balls to make them "hotter" would that work with a golf ball?

Yes. Definitely. But it's against the rules during a round.

Warm the golf balls up in hot water.

[k-troop]

My understanding is that cold air is more dense, therefore causing the ball to collide with more air particles in-flight, increasing drag on the ball.  The air density of colder temperatures has a much greater affect on distance than ball compression.

[Blades4me]

Here in the NW during the winter there is a noticable difference in distances. Temp is usually in the 40's with "tick" air. During the good weather I'll play whatever tour ball I can get for the best price. During the winter I'll play Laddie Xtremes or the new Wilson DUO which is a hell of a winter ball. I'm getting summer time distances with them and I think they are father off of the irons than the woods. For reference, drive is 260, all fly cuz there isn't any roll during the winter and my 8i is 150.

[61 and aging]

a spinning ball will create less lift in low pressure vs high pressure, therefore will fall out of the sky quicker

[boogielicious]

a spinning ball will create less lift in low pressure vs high pressure, therefore will fall out of the sky quicker

Welcome to the site @61 and aging .