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JBJGolf

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I have been trying to figure out my club distances since both coming back from surgery and moving to Connecticut.

In Texas, average temps were from 80 degrees to 105 degrees. I had distances that I cannot come near hitting here in Connecticut and I am talking about carry not even rollout. I am on average 1.5 clubs shorter almost consistently.

So I got to reading, I found that for each 10 degrees below 80 you lose 2-3 yards of distance. So let's start there... today it was 50 degrees. so that is 6-9 yards of loss from temperature alone. That comes out to be about a club lost or so. Now you add in the thicker air (according to golf digest articles) and then the body's reaction to cooler temperatures you lose another we can call it 10 yards per club. So, if I am understanding this right, before wind I lost 19 yards per swing right out of the gate? Is this right?

I have been truly dumb founded by the distances I am getting out of my clubs right now and I am really trying to figure it out but this seems like it is feasible. The science on the ball speed and compression side seems pretty bullet proof (and I left my bag/balls in the car last night so yeah lesson learned). The body part seems to be dependent on to many factors to be reliable but I'd say it feels fair based on what I am hitting. Then today you add in the 20mph wind which is another club and a half so I was clubbing up almost 4 clubs for my irons versus what I was playing in Texas.

Thoughts?
 
Ignore your Texas yardages and go to the range to dial in new ones. For one start with no wind. It can just as easily be 20 mph winds in Texas. Cold air will cause the ball to not carry as far but there are also changes do to humidity and ball temperature. The loss will also not be as large in shorter clubs and still shouldn't be 19 yards, driver that can happen.

Cliffs: ignore your past yardages, go to range find new ones. Take a way a little for cold but not more than a club or club and a half imo.
 
Compared to texas, you're going to see a whole lot less rollout here, especially if you hit the ball high. Unless it's really dry, I've always found our fairways to be reasonably receptive up here.

I like ntanygd's suggestion - head to a range with well marked distances or at least with targets and bring a rangefinder, and just work through the bag.
 
Only thing I'll add is that the differences in total distance may not be as much as you think. I've lived in NC before moving to TX and while the rollout can be solid in TX you also that have elevation whereas NC had elevation which led to better carry yardages.
 
FWIW, I'll play in temps down to high 30's. When I do I'm a minimum 1-1.5 clubs short. I tee'd off at 7:04 yesterday in Plymouth and it was 46*. I was consistently a club short till back 9 when it got over 60*
 
Temperature and wind can do a lot up here vs. Texas. I also agree on getting to a well marked range, or maybe play a twilight round when no one's around and use some longer, more open holes to laser your distances.

Like The Dude said, even front 9 to back 9 up here can be different with the way the temps change, especially this time of year. You can see anywhere from a 10 to 35+ degree fluctuation in just a few hours.
 
Another thing to think about is that your swing will be somewhat restricted by the extra layers of clothes needed to stay warm. From my experience, it's at least one (if not 2) club shorter without wind when playing in temps from 40-60*, below 40* is 2-3 clubs shorter. Below 30*, you shouldn't be worried about golf, just prevent frostbite on your time outside and enjoy the walk/ride.
 
Thanks for the feedback, it's been something I've been trying to figure out and I was starting to feel a bit loopy because it just didn't seem to matter how clean I was striking the ball. I just wasn't getting the distance I'm used to. It's not looking like I will have a non windy day prior to my match with Stan but it should be in the 70s so that'll help. I'll have to see if I can find a day to skip out early


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The restriction of clothing certainly has an effect at colder temperatures and at age 51 it takes me longer to warm up and get flexible in cooler temperatures.

I've played a lot in cold weather and always figured 2 yards per 10* below 70*. Optimal is 70 to 90 degrees so you don't experience any distance loss dropping from 80 to 70. The average low in May here is 51 with an average high of 80. If I play a morning round where it's going to start out in the 30's or 40's I make sure my golf balls are inside so they start out at 70+ degrees to lesson the distance loss. I have an insulated pocket In my golf bag so if you have 4 or 5 balls in there that are at room temp you can negate most of the distance loss of the lower morning temperatures. Hogan mentioned in his book that his round at Carnoustie in 1953 he used hand warmers to warm his golf balls so back in the day it must have been legal.
 
Cold weather golf does take some getting used to. I find that my distances can vary up to about 2 clubs from early season to summer. Say 30ish degrees to 75-80.
Throw in some wind when it's cold and it is just ridiculous at times. Cold wind does bad things to golf ball flight, or mine at least.
Played the same course two days in a row, the Temps were the same both days 45-50. First day was calm and the second had a stiff wind, I don't know the actual wind speed , but it wasn't terribly strong. Anyways, on a 165 par 3 on the calm day and 8i put me pin high. The same hole was playing right into the wind on the second day, I pulled a few 6i and came up short. Since there was no one behind us, I hit a couple more balls. It took a full on 4i to get pin high, and it didn't seem like that stiff of a wind.

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Funny that this thread popped up as yesterday was the first day warm enough (high 60's/low 70's) to comfortably wear shorts. And between the ability to get loose, the ball carrying better and also getting some decent bounce/roll, I'd say driver was carrying a good 15 yards more and an extra 10 or so of rollout (in spots).

That does make it a lot easier to strike the ball with a more reasonable tempo. I think one big problem for me when the ball isn't carrying is that I psychologically start to feel that it is my problem and I can easily overswing which leads to be bad sequencing (shoulders and arms too early) and slices.
 
Dial it in at the range. New swing post injury and temps will make it different from your game in Tejas
 
Another thing that might be a factor is the ball. Perhaps switch to a softer ball in cold weather?

Of course, it's finally warming up to something near normal here in CT so hopefully things will be more predictable until fall.
 
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