How Do Extreme Temperatures Effect A Golf Ball?

Golf balls are designed for golf, and golf is an outdoor sport, meaning they must contend with the elements, including hot and cold temperatures, just as much as we do.

But what actually happens when a golf ball is exposed to extreme temperatures, like those found in the trunk (or a "boot" for those outside of North America) of a car left out in the sun on a hot day? Or, a sleeve left in your freezing car the day before you head to play some simulator golf?

Well, because my mind wanders to unusually curious places, I decided to, with the help of a golf ball compression testing machine, actually find out what happens to a golf ball's compression when it is exposed to extreme temperatures that could change performance.

Understanding The Results

The control Titleist ProV1 was kept at an ambient room temperature of 70° and came in with a compression of 95.

With the hot golf ball having reached a temperature of 125° - well within the realm of possibilities, considering a car out in the sun can reach internal temperatures of 150°, the compression came out to a much lower 82, 13 points softer compared to the control and room temperature.

On the other hand, the frozen golf ball, which was tested at a temperature of -9° came in at 99 on the compression scale, making it just 4 points harder than the control using the Rimac Compression testing machine.

Now, without testing these golf balls immediately after removing them from their temperature-controlled environments, it's impossible to say how they would exactly perform on various shots, but we can make an educated guess that the hotter golf ball would produce less ball speed and feel softer than the frozen one and vice versa.

This would also likely mean that the hotter ball will produce less potential distance off the driver, while the frozen one could likely produce slightly more based on the compression numbers. The reason these results don't typically get displayed on the course in the form of lost or gained distance is that in hot, humid weather, a golf ball will fly further than one in a cold, dry environment, meaning the effects are less noticeable - even if relative soft or firmness can be experienced through acoustics.