Lee Trevino
Certified Professional Golf Clubfitting and Clubmaking
Local Weather Link
"In case of a thunderstorm, stand in the middle of the fairway and hold up a one iron.
Not even God can hit a one iron."
Not even God can hit a one iron."
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, it will not travel far. Check out the graph below of a golf ball hit with a driver under 3 different 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, it will not travel far. Check out the graph below of a golf ball hit with a driver under 3 different conditions.
Weather Affects Golf Ball Flight
| 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 |
Note first of all that the horizontal and vertical scales are quite different so as to depict clearly the differences in the conditions.
You need to know the ups and downs of the weather!
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 travelled 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.
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.
|
41° F. 100% humidity |
68° F. 50% humidity |
95° F. 80% humidity |
|
| Driver | 244 yd | 250 yd | 262 yd |
| 5-iron | 168 yd | 175 yd | 182 yd |
Note that the distances 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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