Rain benefits the amateur golfer possibly even more than the professional, as not only are those shorter irons going to stop quicker once they land (meaning you don’t have to take roll-out into consideration as much on your approaches), but you’re also far more likely to hold the green with a shot from further away …

The grooves on the clubface grab the golf ball more and impart more backspin. When the clubface is more wet, there’s less friction, so the ball slides up the clubface. As you can see, a dry golf ball takes off with less height and more spin.

Spin is basically what makes your golf ball go up in the air. When the air hits the dimples on a golf ball, it create a low pressure area which makes the golf ball go up in the air – lift. The faster the spin, the higher it will go!

If you take a brand new, never hit golf ball and submerge it in water, you will get a very different result than a ball that has been played for quite some time. A new golf ball has no cuts or scratches in the cover. For a new golf ball to be affected by water, it needs to stay submerged for quite some time.

The ball goes further because less spin equals less drag. When this happens it is know as a flyer. Typically when the club is wet it produces slightly less spin and slightly higher shot then when the golf ball and golf club are both dry. We see very minimal differences between the club being wet or dry.

Rain increases air humidity creating thicker air which leads to more resistance to the golf ball in flight. The golf ball will therefore not travel as far in the rain and even more so in cold wet weather.

On a rainy day, the greens will be slow. Hit your putts harder than you do when the sun is shining and remember that the ball won’t curve as much. If you hit a ball in the bunker, the sand will be firmer, so you won’t have to swing as hard to get the ball out. The golf course will play longer because it’s so soft.

For about every ten degrees, the average golfer (90 mph swing speed) will see a difference of 2 yards in distance. So, if you hit your 9 iron 130 yards in 90 degree weather, you’re only going to hit it about 122 yards when it’s 50 degrees.

You can expect to lose about five yards of distance (for every 100 yards) when it starts raining. If you happen to hit your seven iron about 150, it will go closer to 143 or so when it starts raining. Although this is not a significant decrease, it is worth mentioning.

Cold air is denser than warm air and creates additional drag on a ball. According to Trackman, the difference is approximately one yard of carry for every 10-degree change in temperature. So theoretically, you’re looking at a loss of four yards if you’re playing in 40 degrees as opposed to 80 degrees.

Humidity has minimal effect on your golf ball during flight. While humidity can decrease air density, which allows the ball to travel farther, the overall impact is negligible. Raising humidity from 10 percent to 90 percent will increase distance by barely one yard with both driver and 6-iron.

Wet surfaces have a tendency to slow down the green speed, which also reduces the amount of break. Because of this you’ll need to hit your putts a little harder and factor in less movement. Be sure to keep a close on each green independently as some greens, due to their sloping or runoff, may drain better than others.

Fat and thin shots are caused by the same problem: The club bottoms out before the ball. The cause often is that the swing is out of sequence. The momentum of the swing pulls the club down to the ball. If you start with the club on the ground, you’re setting up for a fat shot.

To ensure that you hit the ball first and minimize the wet turf’s effect, aim for a spot on the ground an inch in front of the ball. Make sure the clubhead and your right knee reach the ball simultaneously. Time it right and you’ll hit all ball—and be putting for birdie.

A bogey is 1-over par on a hole. An eagle is 2-under par on a hole. A double bogey is 2-over par on a hole. A double eagle (very rare) is 3-under par (also called an “albatross”).

condor

What we can say with certainty is that no round of 54 has ever been recorded in golf but that at least four rounds of 55 have been recorded.

The term “ostrich” is used to describe the completion of a hole using five less strokes than the par. In other words, the golfer must place the ball in the hole on the very first shot attempt.

Three consecutive birdies during one round of golf.

Has anyone ever made an ostrich? No, not that we’re aware of. Golfers have scored condors (a condor means scoring 4-under on a hole — making a hole-in-one on a par-5 or holing out in two on a par-6), but condors are exceedingly rare.

The United States Golf Association defines a par 6 as any hole longer than 670 yards for men and 570 for women, although we all know that par is a very arbitrary number. Some championship courses are happy to keep holes longer than 700 yards as par 5s from the tips. Making par is hard, let alone a birdie or albatross.

Tiger Woods’ Lowest Round Ever Has Woods ever shot 59? The answer is yes, but it didn’t happen in an official tournament round. And Woods carded a 59 that day, 13-under par on the Isleworth course. He scored 32 on the front nine and 27 on the back nine.

The perfect round (score of 54 on a par-72 course) is most commonly described as scoring a birdie on all 18 holes, but no player has ever recorded a perfect round in a professional tournament.

Supposedly, this is the name assigned to completing a hole having struck the ball five fewer times than par. In other words, this is what happens when you hole-out a Par 7 with two strokes or shoot a Hole-In-One on a Par Six. Frankly, this is a case of folklore. I don’t mean that making an ostrich is folklore.

The lowest officially recorded round is 55 by Rhein Gibson (12 birdies and two eagles on a par 71) on May 12, 2012 at River Oaks Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma. This score is recognized by the Guinness World Records.

F wedge (also “Fairway wedge, A wedge, Approach wedge, Gap wedge” and others) typically the same thing as a gap wedge, around 52 degrees of loft (names of clubs and specifications vary between manufacturers – see also wedges and their names)

Tiger Woods

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