Let’s dive into the last piece of the USGA golf ball roll back one last time. There are a couple takeaways that are worth noting. Most of the current “tour balls” do not conform to the proposed new testing, but about 30% of the balls on the market today will conform. Why? Because if you hit some of these balls with a driver at 125 mph, they will compress too much. There will be too much energy lost in the collision, and the ball will not get as much energy in that type of strike. As the swing speed slows down, however, the ball doesn’t compress as much, so the energy transfer is proportionately higher, thus allowing for MORE ball speed than the player might otherwise get with a firmer “tour ball”. Interesting to ponder that. The good news is that MOST players should be playing balls that are already on that list.

Here’s a fun one for you. Did you play golf this weekend? 45* and sunny in Upstate NY on Saturday. Mid 50’s on Friday. It was tough to pass that up. I played on Saturday. We walked 18 holes on a dry golf course, and got to putt on slow, bumpy greens. But, we walked 18 holes and got to play golf barely a week before Christmas in Upstate NY.

As I was throwing different clothes in my golf bag, I thought should I play a different ball today? The answer is YES, I should. So, I took the trusty Chrome Soft’s out of my bag and replaced them with a a couple sleeves of ERC’s. I thought about Supersoft, but then thought it won’t be cold enough for that. Candidly, the thought of playing a RED Supersoft with my Santa putter headcover was almost too much to pass up, but I relented and left it in the bag.

Of course my brain took a sharp right hand turn with this one. We’re playing in the cold. How similar is this to the new ball rule? Let’s dive in!!

Typically, for every 10 degree drop in temperature, a ball will fly about 2 yards shorter with driver through mid irons and closer to only 1 yard with wedges. Hold on… I heard it was a half a club. I heard it started at 60 degrees. There are a ton of theories. This 2 yards per 10 degrees is pretty accurate, but here’s the deal… It doesn’t have a starting temperature. So, if you “club yourself” at 80 degrees, or you do it inside in a simulator where it’s heated to 72 degrees, the results WILL be different. Warmer air (yes, even humid air) is less dense, so the ball will fly farther. The reverse is also true – if you club yourself at 80*, but it’s90 degrees out when you play, the ball will fly farther.

This means that if your ball speed is 150 with a driver (like mine), you’ll hit it about 250 when you hit it perfect on a 70 degree day. If it’s 45 degrees, you’ll hit it closer to 245 (minus 2 yards to get to 60*, minus another 2 yards to get to 50*, and minus another yard to get to 45* = minus 5 yards in total).

What else happens?

Cold air is more dense than warm air, so this will create more drag and more lift. Hmmm… slower ball speed with more height. Sounds like the USGA’s test. Hold that thought.

Do cold balls compress less? Yes, as the materials become less resilient, they don’t behave as they would at “normal” temperatures. But… f you keep one or two in your pockets (or in your pocket with a hand warmer), you shouldn’t notice much difference in performance. It will, however feel firmer. Playing a softer ball will feel more like it does when you play in the summer.

Did you dress like Santa Claus? Or have tight muscles? Expect both of these to slow your club head speed. Both of these will probably have more of an effect on how far the ball goes than the temperature, but, rest assured, BOTH will make the ball go shorter.

At the end of the day, the ball is going to go a shorter distance in the colder months than it does in the warmer months. This is a surprise to no one. The interesting thing though? This amount shorter is almost exactly the same amount shorter as the proposed roll back. I know, interesting…

You know, we moved up a tee box from where I normally play, I shot the same score I normally shoot and I still had fun. Perhaps it’s not the end of the world… Haha