I'm pretty new to this game, but i've found the same thing from time to time. I'm coming to the forum for the first time to try and figure it out... When I do the math, it just doesn't add up. I just had an 81 yd shot on Kiawah #6 in the 20/25% rough right of the fairway, 3mph headwind with the pin 2 ft above me… I used my 100 yd RBZ PW, as much backspin as the lie would comfortably allow, 100% swing with a very near miss on the ding. The ball flew 96 yds, bounced off the green and ended up in the rough behind the green.
I don't know the exact physics of the game, but my thinking was that the lie would choke my PW down to 75-80 yds (easy math), and the slightly elevated green, my mild backspin and the headwind would take another 2-3 yds off my distance. Crunching more numbers, that puts my potential distance between 72-78 yds.
Even with the pixel-or-two miss on the ding meter, How does my ball carry 96 yards and then some? I'm sure the WGT computers use more complex math than I do, but what variables am I overlooking?