Have you ever noticed that on some days the golf ball travels farther than on other days. It might be because you’re striking it more solidly, but it might also be due to the weather. Golf is played in many different types of weather. The type of weather affects how far the ball travels and its amount of spin. Knowing how the weather conditions affect your ball, therefore, is necessary to making correct club selections.
The trajectory of a golf ball and the distance it travels depends on its initial trajectory, speed and spin, as well as what it’s moving through (air). The air is not always the same. It varies in temperature, pressure, humidity and density. If there were no air whatsoever, the golf ball would not travel far. Likewise, if a ball is hit in air with no spin (what often happens when you top the ball), it will not travel far. Check out the graph below of a golf ball hit with a driver under 3 different conditions.
Note first of all that the horizontal and vertical scales are quite different so as to depict clearly the differences in the conditions.
The trajectory of a golf ball and the distance it travels depends on its initial trajectory, speed and spin, as well as what it’s moving through (air). The air is not always the same. It varies in temperature, pressure, humidity and density. If there were no air whatsoever, the golf ball would not travel far. Likewise, if a ball is hit in air with no spin (what often happens when you top the ball), it will not travel far. Check out the graph below of a golf ball hit with a driver under 3 different conditions.
Note first of all that the horizontal and vertical scales are quite different so as to depict clearly the differences in the conditions.
- Max Height/Distance
- Trajectory under normal conditions 38 yd – 248 yd
- Trajectory if no air 8 yd – 180 yd
- Trajectory in air with no spin 6 yd – 120 yd
The spin on the ball creates lift, which increases the height reached and increases the time of flight so that the ball travels further. If there were no air, spin wouldn’t matter at all. If the air is changed (pressure, temperature, density), the height and distance traveled will change.
Under normal conditions, the air does not change very much, but the amount can be significant and should be taken into account, otherwise your ball will fall too short or too long of its mark. Below is a table of distances for a 5- iron and Driver under different atmospheric conditions.
- 5 degrees 100% humidity
- 20 degrees 50% humidity
- 35 degrees 80% humidity
- Driver 244 yd – 250 yd – 262 yd
- 5-iron 168 yd – 175 yd- 182 yd
Note that temperature is in degrees Celsius. On the Fahrenheit scale, the temperatures would be 41, 68 and 95 degrees respectively. The distances also depend on the air pressure, which not only depends on temperature and humidity but also on altitude. Hot and humid results in the ball travelling further.
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