As some of you know, I play golf in Colorado, at about 5300 feet above sea level. And this means my golf ball will carry farther than it would at sea level. But how much farther? This is a good question, and there doesn't seem to be a good answer. I've read some different numbers for the percentage increase. From 7 percent to as much as 12 percent. These numbers are from the tour pros that came to Denver for the 2008 Senior Open, as well as the LPGA Open and Internationsl of a few years ago. Seems the pros can't agree on an exact percentage.

What I just learned, is that high humidity will do the same thing for distance. It seems a golf ball will carry farther in humid weather then it does in dry air.

I've always believed that the ball goes less distance in heavy humid air, but the truth is it goes farther. The infromation I just heard of says as much as 10 to 15 yards farther in high humidity.

So it seems I'm not the only one playing in conditions that allow the ball to go farther. All you guys and gals back east with your high humidity of over 90 percent are getting pretty much the same benefit as I'm getting here in Colorado. For those of you that aren't aware of the weather in Denver, humidity is usually well below 30 percent, and 10 percent is fairly common in the summer heat.

So next time someone picks on my about playing at altitude and how it effect my distance, I can now say the same thing for most of the rest of you playing in humid weather.

Maybe if the humidity is really high, like over 90%, but everyone here finds in our usual summer humidity (at sea level) the ball definitely does not go further. Perhaps the ball travels and skips along the microscopic water molecules in the air if it is saturated...
I do remember when I played in Arizona in the dry desert air how far the ball went...

Actually this question comes up a lot, if you look around online. This is probably the most concise answer, the short version is that the humidity may add 1 yard to a drive. http://en.allexperts.com/q/Golf-1834/Golf-Ball-Distance-Flight.htm
From what I read on comparing high altitude to sea level drives, that has a much greater effect on overall distance, more like 20 yards.

I'll amend my original statement to say I think we don't swing as well when it's hot/humid due to exhaustion!

Having played in both conditions, I can assure you Don, it's not the same. I hit at least one club less in Denver every time I've played plus hit many 300+ yard drives uphill into the wind. So I'd say that the thin air there is worth at least 1 to 1.5 clubs. I remember hitting a 6I over a green there, where the GPS said the back of the green was 190 yards. So that meant I was hitting that 6I about 195+. I typically hit a 6I here in NC (humid or not) about 175-180. So whatever source you heard touting these as the same, I'd be skeptical. It gets very humid here but I've never come close to hitting a 200 yard 6I except on the GolfGalaxy video game hitting screen

Don, you're our buddy, there's no need for justification.
We don't care if you think it's long, but, in reality, it sure is short.
We understand. But then, that's what friends are for!

Bill

I didn't say it was the SAME. just that hitting balls in high humidity give you more distance, same as playing at high altitude. Not the same amount for sure, just the same effect.

My interest in this started a month ago when the local weather guy stated that the ball does in fact fly farther in humid weather. He said this to shut-up the news reporter when he complained about not liking humid weather. Since the reporter was a big golf nut, this shut him up on the spot.

But I later talked to a scientist about this, and he gave me numbers off the top of his head to confirm that it's completely true. Reason is when the air is humid, the air is made up of more water VAPOR atoms, And since water vapor is made up of H2O. you have two Hydragen atoms and one Oxygen atom. If you look at the atomic chart, you will see that Hydragen atoms are the LIGHTEST atoms in the world. And Oxygen atoms are also lighter then Nitragen, which makes up around 75 percent of air. Bottom line is when the air is humic, there are more Hygragen and Oxygen atoms in the mix, so the effect of this is the air is LIGHTER. When the air is lighter, the ball flys farther due to less resistance. All of which has been proven with scientific testing.

I can't say what effect Scott sees, but when I played in Cabo, at see level. I noticed my ball going about 1/2 a club less down there, or about 7 or 8 yards less. The humidity in Cabo is between 60 and 75 percent when we were down there. so that means it might have been even less if it had been over 90 percent. like it is most of the time on the east coast. I remember from when I lived back east, it was normal for it to be in the high 90's most of the time.

Aimee; I read the post by Ken Tanner, and he mentions less resistance, and less LIFT. both providing more distanct. I have a big problem with his answer when he says less lift means more distance. Truth is LIFT is what helps KEEP the ball in the air longer, it helps overcome the downward pull of gravity. And more lift, not less, keeps the ball in the air longs, so it travels farther before it lands, and that means MORE distance from MORE lift. I've talked about this a lot with a bunch of the tech reps for the major OEM's. and they all agree with me. This is the main reason a higher loft driver is needed when playing at high altitude. You need to launch the ball at a higher angle with more spin to counter the lack of lift due to the thinner air at altitude.

I could see if humid air is less dense then the ball should go further, but from my experience the thinner air is a larger resulting distance gain than playing in humidity

Have any of you ever had the pro shop put you with a group you didn't know, and through conversation you learned they were scientists?
After reading Don's posts comparing the effects of altitude and humidity on distance, I now know why I've met very few scientists on the course.
Non of them can get a "grip" because they all have brain lock.

BTW, speaking of scientific stuff........A lot of people believe the extra distance in Colorado has to do with the air being thinner because of the altitude. Although altitude does make a difference, science has now determined, minds with highly intelligent thought throw heavy molecules into the air, whereas sub par, no thought minds discharge very light molecules. So, it appears, the Colorado golfer, not the altitude, is the major contributor to the thin air of The Colorado Rockies.

Bill,
How do think up this stuff? You may have missed your calling.

About the article that Aimee sited I have not read it yet but my experience tells me the ball should travel farther. But what are the conditions? We all know if it is cooler the ball will compress less and so will the club and that alone will cause the ball not go as far. In warmer temperatures the equipment will react differently and the ball will go a longer distance. So temperature is on factor the more heat the more pressure creating more gas less liquid and less density. But there are other variables. So as other molecules are introduced the conditions change. Geography is also a factor what is the elevation of the location? So thinner air with more humidity is the optimum condition for golf ball flight? It is not that simple of an answer. Like most physics questions the best way is to determine your theory by compiling the basic principles and then making a model and then test it. The problem is no matter how arduous the effort the answer will usually be wrong because something was missed. Like in this example how fast are conditions changing, is the water vaporizing or is it transferring back to liquid while the ball is in flight? If it is transferring back to liquid while the ball is in flight would it act like rain and force the ball down sooner? The thing is air pressure is most likely the biggest influence and less air pressure will cause less aerodynamic drag or air resistance. The more liquid present will have the opposite effect very simply because the fluid is heavier and will cause more drag. So less air pressure will cause the ball to travel farther . So knowing this I played at the Grand Mayan in Puerto Vallarta Mexico last summer and the elevation is 27 feet and the weather was about 92 with enough humidity to make you wish you had a drink. So did my ball go farther? No the opposite. I asked my Fore Caddy if this was normal or was I having a bad day. He said the ball travels about 20 yards less on that course for most visiting golfers. Why would that be?

Tony, what was 20 yards less? Carry + roll or just Carry? If you're near sea level, seems like could everything be softer so you'll get no roll but about the same carry?

If it is a seaside course, there is actual water droplets (actual visible tiny droplets like fine mist rain) in the air which will cause more drag. Humidity, as a factor of the amount of water vapor in the air (microscopic particles) wouldn't create that kind of drag. That's why birds shake water off their feathers before they take flight, they know about it!

20 yards less on drives but I was about 30 yards less. It was not roll though I even tried changing trajectory to improve distance.
Aimee I don’t think the answer is that simple. Maybe just me though. If that was the case then Newton’s law would not be correct. That when water or vapor is introduced to dry air the number of air molecules must reduce by the same number in a given volume without the pressure or temperature increasing. Hence the mass per unit volume of the gas (its density) decreases. Which should make the ball travel a longer distance in the air. I have been talking to different people about this for a year almost and no one can explain. I am thinking it might be a foreign substance like a salt that has a higher liquefaction point. But I don’t know

If you are doing to go by driver distance, you really NEED to only go by CARRY yardage, not total yardage. We all know roll is just as much a factor of fairway conditins as it is anything else. so only CARRY yardages should be used. And it can be really hard to tell exactly how far you hit the ball in the air, since most of the time we can't tell exactly where the ball lands. If the course Tony played gets a lot of RAIN, then the fairways may be rather soft most of the time, and the grass msy tend to grow faster, and there fore be longer than average most of the time. Both of these factors would mean less roll, and therefore less TOTAL distance.

So if we play in a heavy rain, the ball will go even further?

That is water in vapor form or humidity.

Well, I admit, I'm just a little country boy from Carolina so once you guys figure this out, tell me. Till them I'm just going to hit it and go try and find it

Don, I live at sealevel with temps in the 90's and humidity in the 80's and up. I know when I go to the rockies that I can drive about 10-15% further. It's an ego builder for a high handicapper and a relief from the miserable heat. I did play golf in Vail 3 weeks ago and for my ability I was driving the ball 260+ yds which is 20-30 yds further than what I can do in the South. I walked the 2 times we played and didn't even sweat( yes I was shortwinded)due to the dry air. Here I have to ride a cart to keep cool or play before 9am and after 5pm. I know of a fellow memeber of our club who drives an enclosed golf cart with AC. Others have fans installed in from of the cart running to keep cool. BTW, some courses advertise that you will gain 10-15% in the Vail Valley.
Racine

Vail is more like 10,000 feet up, which is about twice as high as Denver. so I'm not surprised you gaine 20 to 30 yards. You also have to remember that dry Colorado air means Dry and Fast fairways, so that also means more roll and longer drives.