I have no idea.

This is a question that you didn't need to post, really. I mean, how difficult would it be to test? Besides, I don't play golf so my interest is limited to...where on earth did you hear about this?

I saw one that had been immersed in liquid nitrogen shatter when hit.

Hmm. Do any of the golf rules cover that eventuality?

In case your golf ball falls in a pool of liquid nitrogen and shatters when hit, you may replace the ball but must receive a penalty stroke.

Actually, you don't receive the penalty stroke. According to the PGA rule, if your golf ball is splited (or shattered in this case), you are either to rehit the ball at your last location (if the ball is more than 50% broken) with no penalty, or you play that ball where it lay (if less than 50% gone, I think.) The rule of golf is strange, but it is written in the rule.

But to answer the question, I think if the golf ball is frozen, it would actually go less not more distance.

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I doubt that it makes any difference. Many people find golf balls in the spring that were lost the previous fall (and here in Minnesota, I can gaurantee that they have been frozen) and play with them. If there were any difference, the golf rules would prohibit using them. I've never noticed any difference.

I think it wil make no difference. There is no water in a gold ball = nothing to expand. The organic fluid core in some bals with probably shrink at low temps and just melt reversibly

When it comes to "rubbery" things you never know. This is what took out the first Space Shuttle... I know one of the guys that designed the solid fuel boosters. He said that the boosters are a set of sections bolted together with O-ring gaskets in between. After initial tests, the design team realized that the compound of the O-rings when frozen shrank, but never returned to their original size when thawed. They made a futile attempt to make NASA aware of this, but, what can I say other than, "the rest is history."

The Challenger blew up because the O-ring was designed to be used with a asbestos coating. And during the time that the asbestos was used there was not any burning on the O-rings. The last few flights made before the explosion the O-ring showed burning, up to 7/8 burn through. (for those that douht this look up the old Scientifit American Magazines about three months before the Challenger disaster.

The use of asbestos was phased out according to law. However, there were previsions to get a variance in the case of life threatening instances, someone or probably several someones just plain screwed up.

I have always thought that charges should have been brought against the persons that made the decision to continue not using asbestos after the the O-rings started showing partial burn-thorough.

Remember that the night before the fatal flight, the temperature dropped below freezing, and there were icicles hanging off the gantry the morning of the launch.

This may or may not be one of those things for "Coast-to-Coast Radio," but as I said, the freezing was very apparent the day after. When I called my friend (remains nameless [Don't you hate that!]) who had helped design the boosters, he was really, really upset, and kept complaining that SRI had told NASA to never launch after a freeze, but they never listened. Also, I've seen this phenomenon with different types of synthetic rubbers. I had a another friend at a well-known chemical company that delighted in bringing home samples, putting them in his freezer and showing us all sorts of whacked molecular behavior.

I like Si Am, and read it often, but even they print only what they're fed. So, who do we believe? NASA and Si Am or my friend. Quiet unbiased, the choice as I see it is kind of up in the air :-)

what rubber was the o ring

viton nitrile neoprene silicone

I'm not really sure... Some type of synthetic I think. He told me how they filled up each segment of the booster with a basic mix of "rubber eraser" and an oxidizer. Then the ring went on and the next segment was bolted in place, and so on. If I remember correctly, this was a known characteristic of the O-ring material. The guys in the labs were wondering why they had decided to use this stuff, but no one had an answer. I guess most figured that NASA would never let the Space Shuttle freeze on the launch pad. As usual, the devil is in the details - and in space flight, details kill.

This guy was really involved with both SRI and JPL. In fact, I remember him telling me about the their surprising discovery that diesel oil and ammonium nitrate made an insanely powerful explosive... Mind you this was twenty or more years before the general public heard of it, and was way before the FBI started watching sales of fertilizer.

silicone

it might be frozen on the outside to add more weight and will travil farther

A frozen golfer would not be capable of great distances. assume it goes for the ball as well.

Step by step . . . first, how does one hit a golf ball? I can't figure it out after many years of trying.

Heck, I know how, but why?

I suppose it being very cold, it could go further, because it might be harder. Just like a harder club makes the ball go further, I would think that a harder ball would go further. Why didn't anyone else say that?

Wow!

Questions/Threads: 1 (one)

Replies: 11 (eleven including this one)

What did you learn?

thanks for contributing...

I don't think the freezing will have any affect on the ball, unless it is extreme (liquid nitrogen), now in the case of Disc Golf standard DX plastic will shatter when thrown directly into a tree (by accident of course). So they have developed stronger grades of plastic, to accommodate for increased strength and durability. Disc Golf is still in its infancy, I am sure they have engineered a golf ball in the many years of its existence, to withstand cold just like discs do now. For the most part disc golf has no green fees, making it a much more appealing sport for me, feels good to go out and play a round of 18 holes and still have 30-60 bucks in my pocket . Check it out sometime, engineers will appreciate the design of the discs and the terminology of disc golf. A couple links : pdga.com , Disc golf tv

I have made a promise to myself that I will play golf only when they allow the ball to be fired from small caliber cannons!!!

I think that they should allow baseball bats on the NFL field, as well!

Who cares!

Are there not more important problems facing this planet than the distance that a golf ball can fly!

Get a life!

Who cares?

If someone could prove that freezing and then thawing a golf ball is going to improve its range, you're going to see thousands of golfer's spouses complaining that they have no room in their fridge for food .

"Aw c'mon honey! With the improved range I'll get from all these frozen golf balls, I just might make it to the Masters! Let's just borrow space from our neighbor's fridge...their fridge is full too?"

I thought the question was if hitting it while cold would improve the range. Letting it warm back up after being cold probably wouldn't get you anything extra.

Nope, the question was if you freeze and then thaw the golf ball. Go back to the original post and you'll see.

Like I asked in post #1, where did the OP hear about this myth (and it definitely is)? I'm not even sure if Mythbusters would accept to test such a myth, though I have seen them test even myths that seem obviously untrue.

Oh, my bad, you're right....

I suppose like in the space shuttle, polymers can change after freezing and thawing, but a golf ball is made out of some fairly common materials... some kind of thermoplastic shell and polybutadiene rubber bands in the middle. Some have a liquid core of a salt water and corn syrup solution, so I suppose that could freeze, expand and do something.

Yeah, I have never heard of that myth, kind of a silly one. I suppose it's a lot like the ones on Mythbusters like you said. I've seen some rather stupid ones on there too.

When we were kids, it was a well known fact that the liquid center of a golf ball was this really toxic acid that if spilled on the ground wouldn't stop burning until it reached the center of the earth!

I hind sight, it may have been some "golf" dad's story to keep his son from cutting up all his golf balls.

Does anyone have a recipe for poached golfballs???

Sounds like this guy is the guy who works at the driving range and drives the ball retriever vehicle, I'm thinkin he gets a little jumpy when people start talking about hitting golf balls !

I was setting up an experiment and put a golf ball in the freezer.

My wife did not like it there.

Result : I did not "thaw" the ball again.

As always it depends on the process used. I own & operate a small cryogenics business. The ball will (depending on the type used 2,3,or 4 piece construction) fly farther but will have a much harder feel when hit.

The last time I opened a golf ball was about 50 years ago, Then it had a pouch with some or other clear gel in the centre, with a rubber band wound tightly around with a white powder like substance in between and a plastic seamless shell.

Being an occasional golfer my problem is direction, consistency and not distance.

Golf ball are however not created the same and some manufactures claim superior distance etc.

There is a noticeable difference in the 2 balls I own.

The faster ball have more but shallower parabolic shaped dimples while the dimples on older ball are rounded holes covering about 70% of the area, The difference in surface design may account for less air resistance but freezing etc would make no difference unless cracked..

How are multi piece golf balls made?

What materials are used?

I presume the only rules are diameter and weight.

I'm sorry. You have my sympathy.

About 20 years ago, the record drive was still held by one of the old, gutta-percha balls hit on a very cold, clear, still day. I have no idea if it still stands.

These old (ancient?) style balls definitely flew significantly further when frozen.

No one would use one today, as their performance in hot weather apparently wasn't too good.

You might expect a modern ball to fly further with a frozen core, due to better transfer of the energy of the club to the more rigid ball, but if this was actually so, all balls would now be made with very hard cores. As they are not made this way, it is unlikely that freezing makes any difference.

With my standard of driving, it's unlikely I would notice any difference., but most people would readily outdrive me.

Freezing and then thawing is unlikey to make any differnece as the modern materials are pretty stable.

What u serious

that is taci sgrggmmyhiukhut

I have frozen and boiled a set of three golf balls repeatedly and then taken those balls and hit with a 3 wood on a range the regular (not frozen and boiled) went about 200 yrds avg while the ones frozen and boiled went 215yrds avg same club and averaged distances.

i did this as a science fair project, we took 20 heated golf balls, 20 regular golf balls, and 20 frozen gold balls and used the same club. Wecame to the conclusion that when heated the golf ball compresses more and travels a further distance. the normal ball was just normal, it was the normal distance, it was the control group. the frozen golf balls not only went a shorter distance, but it felt like u were hitting a rock! it hurt your hands, so the answer to if you heat a golf ball willl it go further? The answer is yes.

no one cares!!!!!!!!!!