October marks the beginning of a much-needed cooling down for much of North America. If you reside in the Southwest, where scorching heat has punished golfers, a return to temps starting with a 6 or 7 can’t come soon enough.
This is the time of the year to get in as much golf as possible before the bottom drops out and you have to reach for a beanie and hand warmers. Speaking of wild temperature swings, on the latest episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped podcast, the crew discussed how extreme temps can affect the golf balls in your bag.
“Below 55 degrees is when you start to see degradation,” co-host Gene Parente said. “And it’s not just a ball that’s suddenly in 55-degree weather. In certain parts of the country, I tell people this all the time: If it gets cold, don’t keep your golf balls in the trunk or golf bag. Bring them inside. The core gets cold and it takes an hour for it to warm up.”
How mucn distance are we talking? According to a study conducted by GOLF Top 100 instructor Andrew Rice, he found that golfers lose roughly two yards with each club in their bag for every 10-degree drop in temperature below 75 degrees. The opposite plays out as golfers gain two yards with every club above 75 degrees.
Rice’s test was conducted at his 2018 Coach Camp conference using a TrackMan launch monitor to capture the data. While the average is two yards across the board, the carry delta decreases to only 1.3 yards per 10 degrees, per the findings, with the pitching wedge.
Because we know charts are the easiest way to consume data, here’s a look at Rice’s findings for golf balls struck at 30 degrees up to 110 degrees.
| Temperature (Fahrenheit) | Driver (yards) | 4-iron (yards) | 7-iron (yards) | PW (yards) |
| 30° | 242.4 | 182.8 | 152.8 | 122.8 |
| 40° | 244.3 | 184.6 | 154.6 | 124.6 |
| 50° | 246.2 | 186.4 | 156.4 | 126.4 |
| 60° | 248.1 | 188.2 | 158.2 | 128.2 |
| 70° | 250 | 190 | 160 | 130 |
| 80° | 251.9 | 191.8 | 161.7 | 131.3 |
| 90° | 253.8 | 193.6 | 163.4 | 132.6 |
| 100° | 255.7 | 195.4 | 165.1 | 133.9 |
| 110° | 257.6 | 197.2 | 166.8 | 135.2 |
To avoid dealing with a drop in distance, leave your golf balls inside during the winter and summer months when the temperatures swing hard in either direction. It’ll save you from some headaches on the course.
Want to overhaul your bag for 2024? Find a fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
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