When it’s a little nippy outside balls don’t perform up to snuff. Golf spheres’ equivalent of shrinkage is yardage loss and for scratch studs that can be just as embarrassing.
Most golf balls are benchmarked to perform optimally in warm weather so when the air gets brisker dipping below 15 Celsius/60 Fahrenheit territory their performance begins to diminish and they don’t fly as far as they would on a balmy afternoon in July.
In his tome Answers to 100 of your Golf Equipment Questions by Frank Thomas, the former technical director of the United States Golf Association writes that the rule of thumb is you lose 2.5 yards for every ten-degree drop in temperature.
The old school solutions to alleviating cold weather yardage loss were decidedly low tech: blow hot air on your ball before hitting it, warm balls in insulated jacket pockets between holes, or the less tactful rub the ball in your hands to get it as toasty as possible method.
ColdFusion, an innovative outfit out of Cary, North Carolina, marries a low 70-compression cold powered core with an elastic ionomer cover to carve out a little niche for itself in the frigid weather golfing market. They also make the only ball that comes with instructions: “Store the ball cold to optimize performance.” Seriously, for best results treat your Coldfusion balls the same way you do a beer. Chill before enjoying.
