I live in northern Michigan. My playing partner promises me that if I leave my new golf balls in a place where they will freeze this winter I will lose some of their playability. Is there any truth to that?
Thanks to Golf World Equipment Editor and Hot List judge Mike Johnson, here's an answer from Bill Morgan, VP of golf ball R&D at Titleist:
Bill Irish, Saginaw MI
All balls lose some distance in the cold, but with cold and slower swings,
wearing cold weather gear, wind and all the other hazards of cold weather
play; I'm not sure loss of distance in the ball is the biggest concern.
But distance loss from cold golf balls is real. Distance loss from cold
air is too small to worry about. Whenever I speak to golf professionals I
urge them to advise their members to start their cool weather rounds with
room-temperature balls, and to remind them that balls in bags left in
the trunks of cars are much colder than the balls in the shop. It doesn't
need to be a complicated answer; just play golf with room temperature
balls.
In other words, the balls will be all right if they are room temperature by the time you play them.
Bob Carney
