Altitude

[wedgetoafoot]

Is there an accurate multiplier for distance

I'm going to be playing some mountain golf early next month near Park City, UT and as this is my first time playing golf at a bit of altitude, I'm wondering if there is a common multiplier I can use to estimate my club distances.

Can I add x% per 1000ft of altitude or something to that extent, or does someone from a mountainous area have some comparisons in their own game from when they played closer to sea level?

Thanks!

[MBuckler]

whats the elevation there? when i was up in flagstaff at 7000ft me and the other assistants decided it was 15-20% depending on the shot...the higher you hit the ball at altitude, the further it carries.

[wedgetoafoot]

This would be at 6700ft or so. Hitting the ball even 15% farther is going to be hilarious.

[MBuckler]

yea man...flagstaff was a blast. couple holes where we were legitamitly taking 7 and 8irons from 230-245.

 

dunno if this will help any, but here are my guestamated carry distances that i recall from up there

 

60* - 100-105

56* - 120-125

PW - 150

8 - 180

 

everything else was just a shot in the dark

[dmboak]

I've seen something where in Denver (about 5280 feet or so) you get 9% more distance than your norm at about sea level. So if you're at about 6700 feet, I'd say about 11-12% or so.

[Yeah, Yeah]

yea man...flagstaff was a blast. couple holes where we were legitamitly taking 7 and 8irons from 230-245.

 

dunno if this will help any, but here are my guestamated carry distances that i recall from up there

 

60* - 100-105

56* - 120-125

PW - 150

8 - 180

 

everything else was just a shot in the dark

BS on the 7 and 8 irons going 230-245. you must have been on some good acid trip. I live at about 5000. and play some golf courses that are aroung 6500. I play in tournaments here(Nevada) and California. So i play both sea level and elevation. The only difference will be around 10-15 yards

[MBuckler]

yea man...flagstaff was a blast. couple holes where we were legitamitly taking 7 and 8irons from 230-245.

 

dunno if this will help any, but here are my guestamated carry distances that i recall from up there

 

60* - 100-105

56* - 120-125

PW - 150

8 - 180

 

everything else was just a shot in the dark

BS on the 7 and 8 irons going 230-245. you must have been on some good acid trip. I live at about 5000. and play some golf courses that are aroung 6500. I play in tournaments here(Nevada) and California. So i play both sea level and elevation. The only difference will be around 10-15 yards

you're right...i guess i forgot what clubs i was hitting from where...

 

come on doooood

[DEES3]

Hey, I live in Park City. Lots of good golf up here. According to the club pro I talked to a good rule of thumb is about a 10% gain in distance, with more gain for longer hitters. If you normally hit a pitching wedge 125, expect it to go close to 140. Seems like a pretty accurate gauge. Comes out to almost two clubs difference for me with the irons, and at least the same amount of gain with the driver.

 

Which courses are you playing?

[heybrady]

I used 11-12% per mile of elavation, hence Colorado Springs, at ~6200 = 15% gain. Played twice out there and both times the 15% was pretty accurate. Also remember that the ball spins less also at elevation.

[wedgetoafoot]

We played today at the Wasatch Mountain State Park Courses (the Mountain Course). I can't really tell how much farther I hit my clubs because I was always shooting way uphill or way downhill. I probably hit the longest drive of my life though. There was a 20mph tail wind on a massively downhill par 5 and I hit a lob wedge into the green. I finished it off with a nice 3 put though. Definitely some of the most picturesque golf I've ever seen.

[jho786]

From a scientific way, the Drag Force on an object depends on the density of the air.. To simplify the problem, I am not using a ball in flight, just freefall. The drag force is calculated as D=(1/2)*(density of air at altitude)(Velocity^2)*(Pi/4)(Diameter^2)(Drag Coefficient Cd). Cd is a constant for an object and if this ball were in water say, it would be multiplied by a factor of (Density of water) divided by (Density of air). To get a rough estimate just divide the densities of air and in this case, the higher altitude has less density so the Drag Force will only be a fraction of what it is at sea level. Hope that helps, or at least you can understand it lol

[MTM]

We played today at the Wasatch Mountain State Park Courses (the Mountain Course). I can't really tell how much farther I hit my clubs because I was always shooting way uphill or way downhill. I probably hit the longest drive of my life though. There was a 20mph tail wind on a massively downhill par 5 and I hit a lob wedge into the green. I finished it off with a nice 3 put though. Definitely some of the most picturesque golf I've ever seen.

 

Wasatch is gorgeous. Glad you liked it. I played Soldier Hollow a few miles away on Friday.

The golf shop I go to has a simulator and they say it's calibrated to sea level and that we should add 7% for our altitude. Salt Lake City is about 4300 ft.

[midirons]

I use 2% distance increase for each 1,000 feet of elevation. So Denver at 5,300 would be about a 10% increase. Lived in Denver for 10 years and am now back in New Orleans. Have also played courses at various elevations and that formula works - more or less.