warm balls
Warren Murphy
it seems that balls fly farther in warm weather than cold. is that a
function of the golf ball's temperature? probably. so, that being the
case, is there any point to warming up golf balls before you go on the
course -- either in a microwave or sticking them in boiling water for a
while? or does that mess up the inner guts of the ball? or is this
whole point stupid? (god, i can't wait to be trashed by people from all
over the planet.) best, warren.
getsum
Warren,
That's not so far fetched. I seen golf ball warmers before. They are not
approved by the USGA, so I'm told. But getting back to heating up the golf
ball. Heating them prehand would do you no good. You would have to heat
them up prior to teeing up.
Someone once told me if you put the club head in ice, thus making the club
head surface harder and carry 10 more yards.
Joel
Warren Murphy <YMV...@prodigy.com> wrote in article
<5ee3ue$2n...@usenetz1.news.prodigy.com>...
mmeskenazi
Warren Murphy wrote:
>
> it seems that balls fly farther in warm weather than cold. is that a
> function of the golf ball's temperature? probably. so, that being the
> case, is there any point to warming up golf balls before you go on the
> course -- either in a microwave or sticking them in boiling water for a
> while? or does that mess up the inner guts of the ball? or is this
> whole point stupid? (god, i can't wait to be trashed by people from all
explosion. Longest drive was in frigid weather--colder=harder=higher
compression=longer, right? If you don't care to hit a rock, though,
just keep it in your pocket as long AP. Otay?
Tim Buck
Warren Murphy wrote:
>
> it seems that balls fly farther in warm weather than cold. is that a
> function of the golf ball's temperature? probably. so, that being the
> case, is there any point to warming up golf balls before you go on the
> course -- either in a microwave or sticking them in boiling water for a
> while? or does that mess up the inner guts of the ball? or is this
> whole point stupid? (god, i can't wait to be trashed by people from all
> over the planet.) best, warren.
not too warm should let the ball compress properly. Air temp may not
have much to do with anything if the ball is proper temperature.
However, the moisture in the air as related to temperature would.
Humidity and density of the air probably has the final word if the golf
ball is the proper temp.
IMHO
Timbuck
flo
getsum wrote:
>
> Warren,
>
> That's not so far fetched. I seen golf ball warmers before. They are not
> approved by the USGA, so I'm told. But getting back to heating up the golf
> ball. Heating them prehand would do you no good. You would have to heat
> them up prior to teeing up.
>
> Someone once told me if you put the club head in ice, thus making the club
> head surface harder and carry 10 more yards.
>
> Joel
>
> Warren Murphy <YMV...@prodigy.com> wrote in article
> <5ee3ue$2n...@usenetz1.news.prodigy.com>...
> > function of the golf ball's temperature? probably. so, that being the
> > case, is there any point to warming up golf balls before you go on the
> > course -- either in a microwave or sticking them in boiling water for a
> > while? or does that mess up the inner guts of the ball? or is this
> > whole point stupid? (god, i can't wait to be trashed by people from all
> > over the planet.) best, warren.
> >
good follow thru, it doesn't matter if the balls are warm or cold. Now
when the temperature drops, that makes a difference.
flo
Jim Bradley
Warren Murphy wrote:
>
> it seems that balls fly farther in warm weather than cold. is that a
> function of the golf ball's temperature? probably. so, that being the
> case, is there any point to warming up golf balls before you go on the
> course -- either in a microwave or sticking them in boiling water for a
> while? or does that mess up the inner guts of the ball? or is this
> whole point stupid? (god, i can't wait to be trashed by people from all
> over the planet.) best, warren.
Warren:
Golf balls do indeed fly farther in warm weather. While playing winter
(or cooler weather) golf, the player has to take into consideration the
ambient air temperature when making club selection. I don't remember
when or where I read it, but it has to do with aerodynamics -- something
about the denseness of warm vs. cold air and the attendant lift created
by an object moving through it.
Warming or heating a golf ball has no measurable consequence. The
aerodynamics is a function of the air temperature (and humidity, I
think), not a function of the ball temperature.
BTW, I would be extremely careful about putting a golf ball in a
microwave oven. Have your ever seen what happens when an egg is "nuked?"
Come to think of it, one of those new titanium golf balls could be
downright exciting in the fireworks department.
Fairways, greens and verskriklike trutol (tremendous backspin),
Jim
Joseph N. Hall
Warren Murphy wrote:
>
> it seems that balls fly farther in warm weather than cold.
40 degrees and sun just coming up seems almost two clubs shorter
to me than 75 and sunny. Of course part of that may be me. The
balls feel totally dead (even if I'm trying to keep them warm,
they still get cold lying in the fairway), like hardened play-doh.
I wonder what effect temperature has on the flex of graphite
shafts.
I wonder if someone will make a "cold-weather" ball one of
these days, maybe with an insulating layer in it that keeps the
core warm for 10 or 15 minutes so you have a chance to play a
hole with a warm ball, then swap it with one in your pocket
or wherever for the next hole.
-joseph
Russell Patterson
YMV...@prodigy.com (Warren Murphy) wrote:
>it seems that balls fly farther in warm weather than cold. is that a
>function of the golf ball's temperature? probably. so, that being the
>case, is there any point to warming up golf balls before you go on the
>course -- either in a microwave or sticking them in boiling water for a
>while? or does that mess up the inner guts of the ball? or is this
>whole point stupid? (god, i can't wait to be trashed by people from all
>over the planet.) best, warren.
>
Actually in the colder weather I use a 90 compression ball. When it
warms up I can use a 100 compression ball. In the cold weather the
100 compression feels like a rock.
I was told a story some time ago from someone that use to play a lot
with his father. In the wintertime, and only in the wintertime the
father could out drive the son. Turns out the father kept a hand
warmer in the same pocket with his balls.
I am a believer!
Russ
F. Roh
> it seems that balls fly farther in warm weather than cold. is that a
> function of the golf ball's temperature? probably. so, that being the
> case, is there any point to warming up golf balls before you go on the
> course -- either in a microwave or sticking them in boiling water for a
> while? or does that mess up the inner guts of the ball? or is this
> whole point stupid? (god, i can't wait to be trashed by people from all
> over the planet.) best, warren.
>
You are not the only one who thinks this; I've seen golf ball heaters to
people who stick balls under their armpits to warm them up. My guess is
that the ball will be more elastic when it's warm. We've got few weeks to
try it, anyhow. Regarding microwaving them, I would stay away from the
titanium balls! :)
Frank
Ari Huhtamies
The temperature affects the player more than the balls.
If You try hitting a ball on a warm day wearing the two sweaters and
rain-gear You have on a cold day, the difference in distance would be
marginal.
Ari Huhtamies
Ari.Hu...@sci.fi
http://www.sci.fi/~arih
Trevor Critch
getsum wrote:
>
> Warren,
>
> That's not so far fetched. I seen golf ball warmers before. They are not
> approved by the USGA, so I'm told. But getting back to heating up the golf
> ball. Heating them prehand would do you no good. You would have to heat
> them up prior to teeing up.
>
> Someone once told me if you put the club head in ice, thus making the club
> head surface harder and carry 10 more yards.
>
> Joel
>
> Warren Murphy <YMV...@prodigy.com> wrote in article
> <5ee3ue$2n...@usenetz1.news.prodigy.com>...
> > function of the golf ball's temperature? probably. so, that being the
> > case, is there any point to warming up golf balls before you go on the
> > course -- either in a microwave or sticking them in boiling water for a
> > while? or does that mess up the inner guts of the ball? or is this
> > whole point stupid? (god, i can't wait to be trashed by people from all
> > over the planet.) best, warren.
> >
The ball travels further when it is warm because the air is
usually thinner. Cold air is more dense than warm air thus causing more
resistance on the ball.
If it is cold enough for the ground to freeze you may get more
distance on the roll than when it is warm. But when it comes to the ball,
warming it up will not help, other than making it feel nice in the
pocket.
Regards
Trevor
David E. Wallin
While the climatic conditions of the course have an effect on distance, there
is amble evidence to suggest that a ball loses distance when it is colder,
ireespective of the ambient temperatures.
Trevor Critch
Warren Murphy wrote:
>
> it seems that balls fly farther in warm weather than cold. is that a
> function of the golf ball's temperature? probably. so, that being the
> case, is there any point to warming up golf balls before you go on the
> course -- either in a microwave or sticking them in boiling water for a
> while? or does that mess up the inner guts of the ball? or is this
> whole point stupid? (god, i can't wait to be trashed by people from all
> over the planet.) best, warren.
Trevor Critch Wrote:
The reason the ball travels further in warm weather than in cold
because the air is less dense. Cold air, being more dense, creates more
resistance between the ball and the air.
Ragards
Trevor Critch
Kevin E. Bertsch
Trevor Critch wrote:
> The reason the ball travels further in warm weather than in cold
> because the air is less dense. Cold air, being more dense, creates
> more resistance between the ball and the air.
Well, yes and no. Cold dry air is more dense than hot dry air, yes. But
I'd suggest that outside of Vegas, Arizona, and other desert locales,
hot conditions means humidity, and hot moist air can be considerably
denser than cold dry air due to all the water vapour.
As for the ball - the impact between ball and clubface is an elastic
collision (high speed photos show the ball being squished against a
driver) ((lovely technical term, 'squished'!)). There is a curve of
hardness of the struck object versus total energy imparted to it, and
that curve has a hump - that is, a ball that's too soft absorbs a lot of
the energy and doesn't fly as far, and a ball that's too hard also
doesn't fly as far as a ball that's 'just right'. So, on a cold October
morning with frost on the grass, and your bag has been in the trunk
overnight, your balls at 40 deg. F will not go as far as they will on a
hot July day at 80 deg F.
And if you don't believe me, put a dozen balls in the freezer some day
this summer, and go out and try it!
Kevin
Dave Tutelman
[ Posted to RSG and E-mailed to Kevin ]
In article <5f6tmp$k...@news.istar.ca>,
Kevin E. Bertsch <kber...@istar.ca> wrote:
>Trevor Critch wrote:
>> The reason the ball travels further in warm weather than in cold
>> because the air is less dense. Cold air, being more dense, creates
>> more resistance between the ball and the air.
>
>Well, yes and no. Cold dry air is more dense than hot dry air, yes. But
>I'd suggest that outside of Vegas, Arizona, and other desert locales,
>hot conditions means humidity, and hot moist air can be considerably
>denser than cold dry air due to all the water vapour.
I agree with what Kevin says later about the actual temperature of the ball,
but I have to disagree with his statement on air temperature.
Look at the molecular weight of Oxygen (32), Nitrogen (28), and water vapor
(18). (My office is packed in boxes, so I'm working from memory and I'm
sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. But I know the trends are right.)
As I understand the Boyles Law stuff I took in college, a gas at a known
temperature and pressure have a known number of molecules per unit volume,
REGARDLESS of what kind of gas. That means its weight is proportional
to the molecular weights of its components. So:
- Dry air (80% N2, 20% O2) is .8*28 + .2*32, or somewhere around 29.
- The more you mix in water vapor, at a molecular weight of 18,
the LIGHTER (LESS DENSE) the atmosphere becomes.
Hope this helps.
Dave
brett
In article <33170E...@plato.ucs.mun.ca>, cri...@MORGAN.UCS.MUN.CA says...
>
>Warren Murphy wrote:
>>
>> it seems that balls fly farther in warm weather than cold. is that a
>> function of the golf ball's temperature? probably. so, that being the
>> case, is there any point to warming up golf balls before you go on the
>> course -- either in a microwave or sticking them in boiling water for a
>> while? or does that mess up the inner guts of the ball? or is this
>> whole point stupid? (god, i can't wait to be trashed by people from all
>> over the planet.) best, warren.
>
>Trevor Critch Wrote:
>
>because the air is less dense. Cold air, being more dense, creates more
>resistance between the ball and the air.
>
probably don't have on several layers of restrictive clothing compared to
when it's cold. it would seem to me this makes a difference. though living in
sydney i'm not really an expert on cold weather golf. :-)
peace
brett
Stefan Tik
I live in Austria - I have experience with cold weather golf - and I can
tell You: loose muscles and less clothing does make a big difference,
despite the fact (it's rather experience as well) that 20 deg Celsius adds
about 10 percent length.
I've once played with a guy, who took the ball into his mouth for about a
minute before he teed off to warm it - looks ugly, tastes ugly, is ugly.
Stefan
Ron Garner
In article <33170E...@plato.ucs.mun.ca>, cri...@MORGAN.UCS.MUN.CA
says...
>Warren Murphy wrote:
>> it seems that balls fly farther in warm weather than cold. is that a
>> function of the golf ball's temperature? probably. so, that being the
>> case, is there any point to warming up golf balls before you go on the
>> course -- either in a microwave or sticking them in boiling water for a
>> while? or does that mess up the inner guts of the ball? or is this
>> whole point stupid? (god, i can't wait to be trashed by people from all
>> over the planet.) best, warren.
> The reason the ball travels further in warm weather than in cold
>because the air is less dense. Cold air, being more dense, creates more
>resistance between the ball and the air.
True. Colder air is more dense, thus giving better lift and less drag.
This is given the same inital spin and velocity off the face of the
club. However, therein lies the rub.
A colder ball has lower elastic properties. A cold rubber ball doesn't
bounce as high as a warm one. A warmer golf ball comes off the face of
the club faster and with more spin, as it compresses more upon impact.
The best case is a warm ball on a cold, dry day. (Humidity decreases
air density, thus decreasing performance.)
As a personal practice, I carry an extra ball in my pocket and switch
every hole to keep them as warm as I can. On really cold days, I'll
slip a handwarmer in. <To keep my hands warm, of course. Not that I'd
intentionally try to gain an advantage, you understand! :)> As a
casual, unsubstantiated observation, I've noticed that performance
begins to decrease around 50 degrees F and below.
Cheers! <BTW, whatever happened to the RSG spring golf thing?>
--
Ron Garner, C-130J Flight Test Engineer | Opinions expressed are
Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems | mine and don't reflect
E-Mail: rga...@rtm0.mar.lmco.com | my employer's.
brett
In article <01bc27b2$405f9880$2195aec7@tik>, 10063...@compuserve.com
says...
man!! you ever see those guys spraying greens in full enviro hazard suits.
you want that in your mouth?? i'm no expert but it can't be healthy.
peace
brett
Dave Tutelman
In article <331ACF...@rtm0.mar.lmco.com>,
Ron Garner <rga...@rtm0.mar.lmco.com> wrote:
>In article <33170E...@plato.ucs.mun.ca>, cri...@MORGAN.UCS.MUN.CA
>
>>because the air is less dense. Cold air, being more dense, creates more
>>resistance between the ball and the air.
>
>True. Colder air is more dense, thus giving better lift and less drag.
Partially true. Denser air gives more lift and more drag. So it's not
obvious on the face of it whether denser air gives more distance or less.
Here are a couple of data points to show that it's not a trivial question:
1. At higher altitudes, balls travel further. This has been observed
consistently enough that it's attributed to less-dense atmosphere.
(No reference. This is "well-known", and I'm citing it even though I'm
generally skeptical of information, especially in golf, that is "well
known" but not verified in cold blood. :-)
2. Balls travel further in normal atmosphere at sea level than in a vaccuum,
because there's enough to be gained from lift. (Cochran & Stobbs)
So distance vs air density must be:
1. A decreasing function at normal atmospheric density.
2. An increasing function at some point between complete vaccuum and normal
atmospheric density.
Not a simple answer.
Sorry!
Dave
J .H .PENN
The practice of warming balls in a microwave is very educational .They
explode ;cover the microwave with gunge which can't be cleaned off .Its a
thing i'm told you only do once!!..I would be interested to hear what
happens to you after you have tried this one out .
Trevor Critch <cri...@MORGAN.UCS.MUN.CA> wrote in article
<33162...@plato.ucs.mun.ca>...
> getsum wrote:
> >
> >