Myth or not? Golf ball does not travel as far on a cold day?

[PlatinumGold]

anyone have definitive evidence / proof that this is true or not true?

i went and played 18 holes today, must have been around 45 degrees, cold but not unbearably so.

everything was coming up shorter than i expected. i hit a drive and i mean i smacked it, i hit it as hard as i've ever hit it and it only went 270 yrds. usually when i hit it that good, i get 290+.


so, was it the weather? or did i just not hit it as good as i thought i did.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Yes

/thread

 

[BabaBooey]

rubber is harder be my guess

 

[SSSnail]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
anyone have definitive evidence / proof that this is true or not true?

everything was coming up shorter than i expected.

so, was it the weather? or did i just not hit it as good as i thought i did.

That's what she said, and everything is less in the cold.

 

[Ricemarine]

Colder air has a higher density, thus the ball would not be able to travel as far.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: bababooey
rubber is harder be my guess

Your guess be wrong.


Cold air is denser than warm air. Period. It's the same reason that you can hit the ball farther in Denver than you can at sea level. It's not materials and how they react to temperature changes, it's aerodynamics.

 

[BlackTigers]

I know that's the case with football. The air near the surface has a higher density on a cold day, and the balls don't travel as far.

I'd assume it carried over to golf, baseball, etc.

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: SSSnail

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
anyone have definitive evidence / proof that this is true or not true?

everything was coming up shorter than i expected.

so, was it the weather? or did i just not hit it as good as i thought i did.

That's what she said, and everything is less in the cold.

Sound travels further.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: bababooey
rubber is harder be my guess

Your guess be wrong.


Cold air is denser than warm air. Period. It's the same reason that you can hit the ball farther in Denver than you can at sea level. It's not materials and how they react to temperature changes, it's aerodynamics.

While what you said is true, if the tempeture in Denver & at sea level were the same the ball would still fly farther in Denver because of altitude causing the air to be less dense.

Also on hot sunny days there are significant updrafts of heated air rising off of fairways which help the ball fly farther.

In addition most types of rubber/plastic do tend to stiffen or harden up in colder weather, although I'm not sure what effect that would have on ball-travel.

 

[Rubycon]

How far could Tiger Woods hit a ball on the moon?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Captante


In addition most types of rubber/plastic do tend to stiffen or harden up in colder weather, although I'm not sure what effect that would have on ball-travel.

It has no effect. If you put a modern ball in the fridge and hit it on a launch monitor against a ball at room temperature the initial velocity is the same. The difference is entirely aerodynamics.

 

[SSSnail]

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: SSSnail

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
anyone have definitive evidence / proof that this is true or not true?

everything was coming up shorter than i expected.

so, was it the weather? or did i just not hit it as good as i thought i did.

That's what she said, and everything is less in the cold.

Sound travels further.

Read between the lines much?

 

[911paramedic]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
How far could Tiger Woods hit a ball on the moon?

What kind of ball?

 

[LostWanderer]

Yea, I've noticed that too. Playing in winter to me kinda feels like I'm hitting a rock instead of a golf ball. Plus swinging with a coat on is tough.

 

[Lurknomore]

Depends on the fairway conditions, outside temp, direction of wind and if the ball has been kept warm or not (let's say in your back pocket).
If kept warm, it'll make no difference and if in fact the fairways are harder from the colder temps, the ball will actually roll more. This comes from experience playing in the winter. So you may actually get more total yardage. This is assuming no tail or head wind.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Colder air has a higher density, thus the ball would not be able to travel as far.

:thumbsup:

Some of the other factors mentioned contribute to the effect, but this is major reason

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
How far could Tiger Woods hit a ball on the moon?

1.35 revolutions

 

[Mikey]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: Rubycon
How far could Tiger Woods hit a ball on the moon?

1.35 revolutions

And he would still make a hole in one.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: bababooey
rubber is harder be my guess

Your guess be wrong.


Cold air is denser than warm air. Period. It's the same reason that you can hit the ball farther in Denver than you can at sea level. It's not materials and how they react to temperature changes, it's aerodynamics.

and you'd be wrong. part of it will be materials. significantly so? perhaps not.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: Captante


In addition most types of rubber/plastic do tend to stiffen or harden up in colder weather, although I'm not sure what effect that would have on ball-travel.

It has no effect. If you put a modern ball in the fridge and hit it on a launch monitor against a ball at room temperature the initial velocity is the same. The difference is entirely aerodynamics.

It'd have some effect, and I'd wager a harder ball would go farther. Less distortion = less wasted energy.

I mean, that's half the idea behind "distance" balls vs. "spin" balls.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Mikey

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: Rubycon
How far could Tiger Woods hit a ball on the moon?

1.35 revolutions

And he would still make a hole in one.

Hopefully he gets out of the way on the second time around...

 

[spidey07]

Yes, colder = less distance. No myth.

 

[her209]

Colder air equals more gravity. This is the reason why we have snow.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: her209
Colder air equals more gravity. This is the reason why we have snow.

:laugh:!!!

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: bababooey
rubber is harder be my guess

Your guess be wrong.


Cold air is denser than warm air. Period. It's the same reason that you can hit the ball farther in Denver than you can at sea level. It's not materials and how they react to temperature changes, it's aerodynamics.

and you'd be wrong. part of it will be materials. significantly so? perhaps not.

You have launch monitors numbers to prove that guess? Nope. I do. Initial velocity of a chilled ball and an ambient temp ball are indistinguishable. They leave the face of the club traveling at the same speed. After that the entire trip is governed by aerodynamics.