The short answer: two things change when it gets cold. The air gets denser and pushes back harder on the ball, and the ball itself firms up and comes off the face slower. Launch monitor tests by instructor Andrew Rice, published by GOLF.com, put the air effect at about 2 yards of driver carry for every 10°F below 75°F. A cold ball costs more: in Golf Monthly's 2026 test, a three-piece ball chilled to 5°C (about 41°F) carried 10 yards less with the driver than at room temperature.
This article goes with episode 9 of HYTON Golf, our video series that cuts golf open in 3D. Every fact below is linked to its source at the end.
Key numbers
| Number | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| About 2 yd per 10°F | Driver carry lost for every 10°F drop below 75°F | GOLF.com (2023) |
| 250 vs 244 yd | Driver carry at 75°F vs 45°F in the same chart | GOLF.com (2023) |
| About 8% | How much denser air is at 40°F than at 80°F, same pressure (our arithmetic from the gas law) | NASA Glenn Research Center |
| More than 21 yd | Driver carry lost by balls kept in a freezer, 100 mph robot | MyGolfSpy (2021) |
| 273.5 vs 283.5 yd | Driver carry, three-piece ball at 5°C vs 17°C | Golf Monthly (2026) |
| 7,883 vs 9,983 rpm | Pitching wedge spin, four-piece ball at 5°C vs 50°C | Golf Monthly (2026) |
More numbers from the series, each with its source: Golf by the Numbers.
Watch the episode: Why Does Your Golf Ball Go Shorter in the Cold? on YouTube (5:43).
How much shorter
In December 2023, GOLF.com published temperature tests by Andrew Rice, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, run on a launch monitor. In their chart, a drive that carries 250 yards at 75°F carries 244 at 45°F and 242 at 35°F. The rule of thumb that comes with it: about two yards of carry lost for every 10-degree drop below 75°F, and about two gained for every 10 degrees above it.
From a warm summer day to a cold fall morning, 40 degrees apart, that is about 8 yards with the driver. And that is only the air.
The air
Cold air is denser: the same space holds more of it. At the same pressure, the ideal gas law (p = ρRT) makes air density go up as absolute temperature goes down. Air at 40°F (277.6 K) is about 8% denser than air at 80°F (299.8 K). That ratio is our arithmetic from the gas law, not a measured figure.
The drag on a flying ball is ½ × drag coefficient × air density × speed² × area, so at the same speed, air that is 8% denser pushes back about 8% harder. Rice put it simply in GOLF.com: "As the temperature decreases, the air becomes denser, increasing the air resistance."
Thin air works the other way. In Rice's earlier tests, reported by GOLF.com in 2018, a driver gained about 2.5 yards for every 1,000 feet of altitude, and humidity had almost no effect on carry.
The ball
The ball cares about temperature too. In 2021, MyGolfSpy kept some balls in a freezer for most of a day, left others in the Arizona sun and kept a set indoors, then hit them all with a robot swinging a driver at 100 mph. The sun-baked balls carried about one yard less on average. The frozen balls came off the face more than 6 mph slower, launched lower, spun about 500 rpm more and carried more than 21 yards shorter.
A freezer is extreme, so Golf Monthly ran a milder test in 2026, chilling balls in a fridge to 5°C (about 41°F) and comparing them with balls at room temperature (17°C) and balls heated to 50°C. With the driver, a three-piece ball carried 273.5 yards cold and 283.5 yards at room temperature. With a 7-iron, a four-piece ball carried 170.2 yards cold and 179.3 at room temperature. A softer two-piece ball held its 7-iron distance, which Golf Monthly put down to its lower compression.
The spin
Cold changes spin too, and not the same way with every club. With the driver, MyGolfSpy's frozen balls spun about 500 rpm more, and more spin with less ball speed is a bad mix for distance. With a pitching wedge, Golf Monthly saw the opposite: the cold four-piece ball spun 7,883 rpm, against 9,983 rpm for the same ball heated to 50°C. Their explanation is that cold firms up the cover and the core, so the ball grips and squashes against the face less.
Spin is what stops a wedge shot, the subject of episode 6, so on a cold morning a wedge shot with a cold ball may release a little more after it lands.
The rules
Warming your golf balls is allowed, up to a point. Rule 4.2a(2) says a player must not make a stroke at a ball whose performance characteristics have been deliberately altered, and it names heating the ball as an example. The penalty is disqualification.
Timing matters. As the Metropolitan Golf Association's magazine, The Met Golfer, explains, warming balls before the round is not an issue; the rule applies once the round has started. During the round, keep hand warmers away from your golf balls: GOLF.com's Rules Guy suggests simply keeping them in a different pocket.
What you can do
Store your golf balls indoors, not in the car; both tests landed on room temperature as the sensible place to keep them. Then plan on fewer yards: with the driver, about two yards for every 10 degrees below 75°F, and more if your balls start the day cold. If your wedge shots run out more than usual on a cold morning, the cold ball may be part of the reason.
Illustrations by HYTON; air particles, ball squash and the bar chart starting points are illustrative. Not affiliated with or endorsed by GOLF.com, MyGolfSpy, Golf Monthly, NASA, the USGA, the R&A or the Metropolitan Golf Association.
Sources
- Zephyr Melton, GOLF.com (December 6, 2023), Here's how temperature affects carry distance with your driver: Andrew Rice's launch monitor tests; driver carry 242 yd at 35°F, 244 at 45°F, 246 at 55°F, 248 at 65°F, 250 at 75°F, 252 at 85°F, 254 at 95°F; about 2 yd lost for every 10-degree drop below 75°F; colder air is denser and increases air resistance
- Luke Kerr-Dineen, GOLF.com (December 14, 2018), Here's how much heat and altitude affects your golf shots, according to new research: Andrew Rice's launch monitor tests; about 2.5 yd per 1,000 ft of altitude with a driver; humidity had almost no effect on carry
- NASA Glenn Research Center, Equation of State (Ideal Gas): p = R r T: pressure equals the gas constant times density times absolute temperature. The 8% figure (299.8 K ÷ 277.6 K ≈ 1.08) is our arithmetic
- NASA Glenn Research Center, Drag on a Soccer Ball: drag equation D = ½ Cd ρ V² A
- MyGolfSpy Labs (November 30, 2021), Hot vs. Cold Golf Balls: driver on a swing robot at 100 mph; balls in a freezer for most of a day, in the Arizona sun, or indoors; sun-baked balls about 1 yd less carry on average; frozen balls more than 6 mph slower, lower launch, about 500 rpm more spin, more than 21 yd shorter; advice: keep balls out of the car, at room temperature
- Sam De'Ath, Golf Monthly (September 25, 2026), How Does Temperature Affect Golf Ball Performance?: balls at 5°C, 17°C and 50°C on a launch monitor; driver, three-piece ball 273.5 yd cold vs 283.5 yd room; 7-iron, four-piece ball 170.2 yd cold vs 179.3 yd room; two-piece low-compression ball held its 7-iron distance; pitching wedge, four-piece ball 7,883 rpm cold vs 9,983 rpm hot; cold hardens the cover and core
- R&A and USGA, Rules of Golf, Rule 4.2a(2): a player must not make a stroke at a ball whose performance characteristics have been deliberately altered, such as by heating the ball; penalty: disqualification
- Chris Gaffney, The Met Golfer, Metropolitan Golf Association (November 2025), Warm Regards: warming golf balls before the round is not an issue; the rule applies during the round
- GOLF.com Rules Guy (December 3, 2019), Does a hand warmer near my golf ball violate the rules?: keep golf balls out of the pocket with the hand warmer
Sources last checked October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much distance do you lose in cold weather?
With the driver, about 2 yards of carry for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit below 75°F from the air alone, according to Andrew Rice's launch monitor tests published by GOLF.com. In their chart, a 250-yard carry at 75°F becomes 244 yards at 45°F. A cold ball loses more on top of that.
Why does cold air make a golf ball go shorter?
Cold air is denser, and the drag on a ball in flight goes up with air density. At the same pressure, air at 40°F is about 8% denser than air at 80°F, so it pushes back about 8% harder at the same speed.
Do cold golf balls go shorter?
Yes. In Golf Monthly's 2026 test, a three-piece ball chilled to 5°C (about 41°F) carried 273.5 yards with the driver against 283.5 yards at room temperature. In MyGolfSpy's 2021 robot test, balls kept in a freezer carried more than 21 yards shorter.
Is it legal to warm up golf balls?
Before the round, yes. Rule 4.2a(2) bars making a stroke at a ball whose performance has been deliberately altered, such as by heating it, and the penalty is disqualification. The Met Golfer explains that the rule applies once the round has started, so keep hand warmers in a different pocket from your golf balls.
Where should you store golf balls in winter?
Indoors, at room temperature. Both MyGolfSpy and Golf Monthly advise against leaving golf balls in the car.