Many people ask why doesn’t the ball go as far in the winter. And many people ask what should they do differently in the Winter compared to Summer/dryer months. This is not a simple answer if you look at all variables. Below is some key points I would recommend thinking about if you want to get the best out of your game in the Off-Season.
Distance
Does Distance change due to temperature? Would playing in Spain in the summer months affect how far the ball goes compared to a cold Winter’s day in the UK? To answer those questions, Yes. Yes it does. The amount it changes is player dependent and many factors can affect this:
Colder temperature - results in wearing more layers and therefore more restricted. This is likely to reduce your swing speed and overall distance.
Thicker air (air density) causes the ball to not travel as far through the air (think of a thick layered cake instead of a pavlova).
The golf ball is colder and therefore ball will not be compressed as much as when it is warmer.
Slower swing speed produces less spin on the ball decreasing peak height of the golf ball.
The ball could lose up to 5% due to the cold temperature. The ball will not roll as far either.
Lies
The grass will not stand up on the fairway but lay flat causing it to be difficult to get a clean contact. There is a greater chance strike will be low off the face and inefficient, resulting in a loss of distance. Do not help the ball up if this is the case as this could cause more inconsistencies.
As the ground is wet, some people feel it is necessary to pick the ball off the turf or even try and get the ball airborne as they know they need the maximum carry. Remember with any iron shot, we are hitting down on the ball with the intent of hitting ball before the turf. This will allow us to not have to worry about the wet ground as strike is a given if we hit ball first.
Poorer lies - we must place the ball further back in our stance to allow us to hit ball first. This helps our predictability of distance control and trajectory.
Club selection
Some may have more than 14 clubs to choose from. If this is the case, I would be swapping out your longer irons for hybrids and lofted fairway woods. Hitting a wood over an iron in the winter will allow a greater margin for error on strike as the club will not dig into the ground. A bigger clubhead, will generally produce a higher ball flight which is beneficial in the winter due to limited roll and to maximise distance.
Bare in mind, lies are not as good summer time and this club selection change will limit the distance lost when striking the ball low off the club face as they have more forgiveness on off centre strikes.
Warm-up
It is more difficult or will take you longer to warm up as internal body temperature and outside temperature is cold. This could increase the risk of injury and a huge reason why we would advocate to warm up or perform some dynamic stretches/movements before teeing up on the 1st tee.
Make sure to stretch - this will increase blood Flow and body temperature before the round.
If you are not one for warming up, maybe just get a nice hot bacon bap and coffee from the clubhouse as your warm up - to each their own!!!!
Speed of Play
Play fast - when it is cold, it is not great to stand around getting colder. Keep moving to stay loose, layer up and enjoy your game.
If you are waiting, keep moving and even swing a golf club. Make sure body extremities are warm as these areas have greatest affect on feeling of warmth.
Finally…..
The biggest improvement I see with golfers scores without having to change anything is them knowing their CARRY YARDAGES with all their clubs (Carry yardages is how far the ball will travel in the air before hitting the ground). This will improve your dispersion, distance control and scoring ability. Yes, it is great know how far in total all your clubs go but more specifically it is more important to know the carry distances with all these clubs.
Thanks, THSG