A relatively quiet golfing week this week in Timaru, no biblical weather events of note, good sized fields (78 players on Saturday) but some fairly average scoring if we are being honest. On Wednesday, the winning score was 36 points and that was on a beautiful sunny day with barely a zephyr of a breeze to affect the ball, and less than 10% of the players on Saturday registering a positive Par score off the yellow tees - so I thought I should have a little look into what might be behind this seemingly poor performance. Of course, the time of year does have an impact - playing in the meteorological equivalent of a semi-functioning fridge results in all of us wearing extra layers of clothing that does naturally restrict movement. The reduced temperature does also have an impact on our golfing equipment as well. As an aside, I have learnt through a recent, slightly embarrassing, episode to be very careful how I phrase this: I might have mentioned how my "cold balls" weren't going as far as they do in the summer; and I instantly became the target of various lewd comments from my fellow players (quite right too). Going back to ball temperature - it is a fact that warmer golf balls go further, a rough estimate is about 2 yards (90% of a metre, for the metric-philes out there) per 10 degrees (Fahrenheit, not Centigrade/Celsius). The average min/max temperatures in Winter are between 32 and 52 degrees Fahrenheit The average min/max temperatures in Summer are between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit Therefore, if you take the two extremes, then your ball will potentially carry approximately 8 yards less in the Winter versus the Summer. The reason for this is that colder air is denser than warm air, and as we play practically at sea-level, this means that the air is as dense as it can possibly be. We don't really notice it, but then we don't get smacked through it in quite the same way as we attempt to send our cold balls through it (darn it!). The gap between clubs for an average golfer is usually considered to be around 10 yards (for professionals it's more like 15), so at this time of year you really do need to take that extra club, or you won't clear that hazard, or reach the part of the green that you were aiming for. And that's just the carry. Another element to take into account is the lack of run when the ball does land in the soft fairways, which can take an 30 yards plus off a drive. Then there is the wind that can howl across the course, seemingly mightily miffed at the audacity of us disrespectful golfers daring to take it on. The wind a week or so ago meant that I was using a 1-iron into the green on the 8th and 9th holes, desperate to keep the ball as low as possible (my putter would never have got there, and as it turns out, neither did my 1-iron). A further influence would be the rain, but as everyone seems to be fair weather golfers over here, it's not really relevant. So, to sum up, if you take all the contributing factors into account: 1. Dressing like Antarctic Explorers with corresponding restriction of movement 2. Air that is just that little bit more resistant to letting the ball through 3. Cold equipment that acts like a sulky teenager, moving slower than expected and generally being half-a**ed 4. Inclement weather that relish the opportunity to take up the gauntlet of our foolish challenge 5. Ground conditions that apparently have an overly possessive attitude to the (cold) ball Given the underlying factors, therefore, I have come to the conclusion that the recent scoring has actually been rather excellent, so well done us! Stay safe, stay warm and continue to play well Steve PS - For those of you concerned that I am taking away excuses for poor Summer rounds, please do not be concerned, I am on it |