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Ball doesn't travel farther at altitude?

• Dissenter 5 Posts

  Wed, Mar 31 2010 1:10 PM

  The ball should travel about 10% farther at Edgewood; I've played it for real numerous times.

• WGTniv 1,788 Posts

  Wed, Mar 31 2010 2:41 PM

  Hi Dissenter,

  Humidity, air pressure and other factors caused by elevation haven't been introduced into the game.  It's unsure at this time whether we will go down that road or not, but thanks for the suggestion.

  *moved to Product Suggestions*

• jayjonbeach 689 Posts

  Wed, Mar 31 2010 4:01 PM

  I'm going to have to agree with this assertion.

  Wolf creek is a great example, first hole in the challenge is like 40 feet/yards? below and you literally only shave off 3 or 4 yards from what you would hit if it was level, that ain't right.

  BPB the par 3, not sure the number offhand, but it is also a LONG way down and you barely adjust for it.

  It seems the uphill lie is more realistic overall than the downhill.

• WGTniv 1,788 Posts

  Wed, Mar 31 2010 4:11 PM

  Jay,

  I believe he's talking about the difference in air pressure at sea level vs air pressure at 5,000 ft above sea level.  Air pressure is lower at higher altitudes and creates less drag on the ball's trajectory.  Less drag means longer distances, so someone who hits 250 off the tee at sea-level might hit 275 if they played 5,000ft above sea level.

  Now to answer your question, the reason you don't see such a large jump in downhill yardage is because of the ball trajectory.  Once you hit a shot it is constantly losing forward momentum to gravity which pulls it down fast.  For that first Wolf Creek shot you generally use a high arcing 8-iron (some players a 7I).  By the time the ball reaches a point that is level with your avatar it has essentially lost all forward motion and is dropping straight down.  It's a bit tough to describe, so I recommend reading over this golf physics website I found a few days ago.  If you check out the trajectory calculation example, you'll see what I mean.

• jayjonbeach 689 Posts

  Wed, Mar 31 2010 4:36 PM

  Thanks Niv yeah I get ya for sure, and I know that the effect is definitely less than an uphill lie has, a lot less actually, but I just dont think it is fully accounted for here, close I guess, at least from my real game experience but then my memory isnt the greatest. 

  I think at that Wolf creek hole you should at least shave off 8 yards or maybe 10 instead of the 3 or 4 currently, again just from memory of similar holes at other courses.

  I'll try to put the theory to the test this year on the links :) 

  Thanks for your reply and the link, I'll take a boo.

• rehill 431 Posts

  Wed, Mar 31 2010 9:05 PM

  That would be a great addition to the game! Does higher elevations really increase ball flight by 10%? To me that seems like a pretty large number.

• andyson 6,415 Posts

  Thu, Apr 1 2010 5:39 AM

  rehill:

  That would be a great addition to the game! Does higher elevations really increase ball flight by 10%? To me that seems like a pretty large number.

  I've played many rounds in Flagstaff, AZ at 6900 ft elev. and 10% is a good "rule of thumb" and might actually be a little low at nearly 7000 ft.

• Dissenter 5 Posts

  Tue, Oct 12 2010 5:13 PM

  Edgewood is at 6200.