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What is the toughest scenery change to adapt to?

echico

echico

#MOIJacking
Albatross 2024 Club
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Location
Gilbert, AZ
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So I golfed in Marco Island the last couple of days and the change from dry and elevated (1000 ft) to humid and coastal really messed with my mind for a bit on the golf course. I expected the ball to go shorter but I was not expecting the very little roll I got from my normal shots. The fairways were a little moist on these resort courses so I had to recalibrate where the ball position was to insure I had good contact. I didn't light the world on fire but I started to play better in the 2nd round after I spent some time on the range trying not to fat shots and taking a little height off of the driver and 5w shots. I started to see some roll out but not a lot. It would take a couple more rounds to really adapt but I think it was a success.

It also reaffirmed that fact that my AZ handicap shouldn't travel well, this is just for me not all AZ golfers. I play a lot of wide open courses and get a lot of extra distance with rolls. I don't have super heavy rough or that many shots where I have to avoid trees or water. I take advantage of this and really need to start playing for a tighter dispersion.

So is it easier to go from sea level to elevated or vice versa?
Is it easier to go from humid to drier conditions?
If you have never played in serious wind how much does it suck to play in very windy conditions?
Are you someone that needs roll out so you like more of a baked out fairway situation.
 
I have an easier time adjusting to more distance. Elevation or roll just makes it more like a day where I’m striping it. Conditions where I lose distance is where I suffer. I get into the mentality that I should hit my 6i x yards and anything short of that is because of my swing. Then I start playing golf swing.
 
Serious wind really messes with my swing. I'm used to playing at or near sea level and playing courses that are wet and lack roll. I don't have a problem adjusting to elevation and more roll.
 
Is there that much difference at 1,000ft than sea level? We’re at like 600ish I think and I see no difference between here and sea level. High elevation for me would be a much bigger adjustment with the ball going further.
 
This article states the following:

  • Every 10* increase in temp provides a 1.3-1.6 yard increase in distance and vice versa for temp decreases
  • Every 1000 feet of elevation increase allows the ball to fly about 2% farther
  • Desert to Humidity will give about 1-2 yards of extra ballflight and vice versa (and yes that's right, humid air is less dense than dry air)

thegolfnewsnet.com

How do temperature, humidity, elevation affect how far the golf ball flies?

How do temperature, humidity and elevation affect how far the golf ball flies? All have different impacts on golf ball distance
thegolfnewsnet.com thegolfnewsnet.com
 
I think the easiest is pretty individual. Kind of depends on your game. Dry elevation to soft sea level seems like it would be the toughest overall. That's a big change.

In the end it's just exposure to things and adjustments. I had a really hard time adjusting for how far my wedges were flying in AZ. Was long with everything on approach until the last couple of holes. Had that figured then though and the next day was good.
 
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Elevation, humidity, ambient temperature, can have significant impacts upon ball flight, but they are consistent shot to shot. One should be able to quickly adapt. Wind on the other hand my be considerably different from the start of the balls flight to its end. I love playing in wind.
 
DataDude said:
This article states the following:

  • Every 10* increase in temp provides a 1.3-1.6 yard increase in distance and vice versa for temp decreases
  • Every 1000 feet of elevation increase allows the ball to fly about 2% farther
  • Desert to Humidity will give about 1-2 yards of extra ballflight and vice versa (and yes that's right, humid air is less dense than dry air)

thegolfnewsnet.com

How do temperature, humidity, elevation affect how far the golf ball flies?

How do temperature, humidity and elevation affect how far the golf ball flies? All have different impacts on golf ball distance
thegolfnewsnet.com thegolfnewsnet.com
Click to expand...
That article and website are brutal for trying to read.

Missing piece and a major one...What happens when the ball hits the ground.
 
baylrballa said:
Going hard/dry to soft/moist is the hardest transition.
Click to expand...
I will go with wide open to tight tree lined. Being forced to hit the directionally can really get in your head.

The area I disagree with for going dry to wet is that the greens are usually softer too when it’s wet which means better ability for approach shot to hold the green and wayward approach shots generally stay near the green. I think it kind of evens out.
 
I had a hard time going from 7K elevation down to the desert at 2K. Had to learn to hit the ball higher to hold greens here.
In the past 20 years I've lived at sea level ( So Cal ), 8k ( Sierra ), super wet sea level ( Puget Sound ), then 7k (Colorado Front Range) and now 2K (Tucson).
It took a little bit to adapt to the PNW wet, had to change my wedges to higher bounce, and of course the ball went nowhere
 
tequila4kapp said:
I will go with wide open to tight tree lined. Being forced to hit the directionally can really get in your head.

The area I disagree with for going dry to wet is that the greens are usually softer too when it’s wet which means better ability for approach shot to hold the green and wayward approach shots generally stay near the green. I think it kind of evens out.
Click to expand...

ball contact is so much harder on soft fairways.

it's like hitting out of a bunker for every shot, can't get away with any strike behind the ball.
 
baylrballa said:
Going hard/dry to soft/moist is the hardest transition.
Click to expand...
this is the hard part for me. I don't know carry distances, I know total distances that I have from using Shotscope for almost 3 years now. Playing Briggs Ranch last week and having the ball stop and even back up kept leaving me 10-15 yards short of flags all weekend.
 
I don't see huge differences. So far my cap has traveled to Bandon, Florida, North Carolina, England and Michigan.
 
Never played desert golf sadly so I can’t compare. I did notice I was about half a club to a club short when we played Kiawah a couple years ago being at sea level.

Wide open to tree lined is most difficult for me. When you have to punch out often it can really start to balloon the scores
 
Going down to Myrtle You have to add a extra club the Ball def doesn't go as far as it does up north.
 
I've never played in the desert or the mountains, so I couldn't say...maybe with the exception of winter golf when the greens are frozen.
 
I wouldn't consider 1,000 ft elevated since I played at 4,500 feet for a long time, but I will say that scenery-wise, going from playing hot desert golf to cool, thick tree-lined golf has been an adjustment.
 
Would also suggest , if you play in places that have , variable wind ..
That’s a non predominant direction .
Where we are on coast , it can be hot Northerly wind . Then a cool
Southerly. And warm West . Etc all variable in speed . And it’s not uncommon to have two different directions in same day.
 
baylrballa said:
Going hard/dry to soft/moist is the hardest transition.
Click to expand...
This most likely. Going from fast greens to slow greens also is incredibly difficult for me.
 
As for scenery , would be bush land heavily vegetated … to a more open and links style golf .. that exposes the ball to the weather element more so and contrast is more severe .
 
When the course is just insanely dry it’s tough especially like any wedge shots. But then if the greens are totally different it messes with your mind a bit.
 
Going from regular grass to Bermuda. Final answer
 
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