Mark_UK
Legal Alien
All I know is a cold ball will hurt if you thin it LOL.
A warm golf ball will fly up to 10 yards further?
Way back when before balls became universally pretty good.....In cold conditions....pulling out a Top Flight and miss hitting it would sting like crazy....Nowadays you young folk have no idea about bad balls....Ha
Guy In Lyon
Active member
I'll ask the the wife and get back to you.
The last two posts summed up what I was thinking as I got caught up on the thread - mishits really sting a lot more in cold weather! I caught a couple bad ones on the range the other morning during warmups and had to look to make sure somebody hadn't switched blades into my bag. 
A chill in the air also affects the ball after it is struck. Cold air is denser than warm air and creates additional drag on the ball. Former USGA technical director Frank Thomas has said the difference is about two yards of carry for every 10 degrees change in temperature. Going by Thomas' math, you're looking at a loss of six yards if you're playing in the 42-degree temps they had at the Match Play as opposed to 72 degrees -- or the difference between Day's ball finding the green on the first hole or finding the bunker.
Dean Snell, [former] senior director of R&D, golf balls for TaylorMade, thinks Thomas' figures are about right. "When the golf ball gets colder, it can lose a few miles per hour in ball speed, which can mean distance loss due to speed," said Snell. "[The] optimum temperature range is 70 to 90 degrees. At 40-degree temps the ball can slow down and be shorter by 5 to 10 yards. But the balls are not 40 degrees when played. It takes a while for them to completely get to 40."
Snell added that cold temperatures also have an effect on other elements of the game. Players usually wear bulkier clothing and their bodies are not as flexible, further reducing swing speed that can result in fewer yards. How good a job golfers do at keeping their ball out of the frigid air also plays a role. For tour pros, that is often not an issue. Everyday players, however, tend to leave golf bags -- and balls -- in the trunks of cars, meaning they head to the first tee with golf balls considerably colder than room temperature
Dean Snell, [former] senior director of R&D, golf balls for TaylorMade, thinks Thomas' figures are about right. "When the golf ball gets colder, it can lose a few miles per hour in ball speed, which can mean distance loss due to speed," said Snell. "[The] optimum temperature range is 70 to 90 degrees. At 40-degree temps the ball can slow down and be shorter by 5 to 10 yards. But the balls are not 40 degrees when played. It takes a while for them to completely get to 40."
Snell added that cold temperatures also have an effect on other elements of the game. Players usually wear bulkier clothing and their bodies are not as flexible, further reducing swing speed that can result in fewer yards. How good a job golfers do at keeping their ball out of the frigid air also plays a role. For tour pros, that is often not an issue. Everyday players, however, tend to leave golf bags -- and balls -- in the trunks of cars, meaning they head to the first tee with golf balls considerably colder than room temperature