How does temperature affect golf ball range?
The ball will fly less far at cooler temperatures for two reasons. Firstly, since the ball and club are cooler, the transfer of energy is not as efficient so ball speed will be less. Secondly, cooler air means more dense air so air friction will slow the ball down more and thus it will carry less far.
The denser the air, the less the distance. Imagine a ball moving through water, which is almost a thousand times as dense as air. The ball wouldn't go very far before stopping. When one compares hot air to cool air, the difference isn't as large as comparing water to air, but it is still enough to make a difference.
For an average golfer with swing speed around 90 mph, here are some comparisons between playing at 40 degrees F (4 deg C) and 80 degrees F (27 C).
Driver |
5-iron |
9-iron |
|
40 deg F |
203 |
157 |
108 |
80 deg F |
211 |
165 |
115 |
For a 9-iron, the difference is 7 yards, or about a full club. The same for a 5-iron. For a Driver, it's about 8 yards of carry, and then of course the difference in roll. Most courses at this time of year are much damper and thus there is very little roll, instead of the 20-40 yards roll one gets in the summer.
I'd recommend you hit one full club more on your shots. Most amateurs under-club to begin with. And, so that you don't get really frustrated, play a shorter set of tees during the late fall, winter and early spring months. That way, you'll be hitting similar approach irons to greens as you do in the summer.
Longer hitters lose even more distance on their shots. The penalty for not compensating is coming up even shorter.
In cool weather, you could also use a softer golf ball - men can go to ladies balls for lower compression. A low compression ball at lower temperatures will "feel" about like your normal ball. ie - the low compression ball cools and gets harder. Playing your "summer" ball will feel quite hard. Of course, your distances will still be shorter due to increased air friction drag.
If you'd like to send me your summer club ranges, I'd be happy to calculate your winter club ranges at for a range of temperatures (or vice versa). The fee is only $15.99. Use the Paypal link below and I'll email you for your yardages.
There has been some scientific testing to measure how much the "cold" effect is on your drives. Watch the youtube video below. The experimenters hit "cold" balls and "hot" balls. However, the balls were hit in warm air with warm clubs.