The difference between hitting a wet golf ball vs. dry blow

Welcome to Shaving Strokes, the GOLF.com series where we share the progress, lessons learned and takeaways from novice golfers like you — including the speed bumps and challenges they've faced along the way.

For the next few weeks, I visited my wife's parents in central Canada, which is often a good solution to the unpredictable summer weather this time of year in my hometown of Seattle.

Having done this trip several times over the years, we usually get sunny and blue skies, with temperatures in the mid-70s to boot. As you can imagine, my father-in-law and I love this for one reason: The clean golf climate.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature has not cooperated with this, as there are wet, cool, and humid conditions replacing the usual sunlight. But we're both golf nuts, so a light rain can't stop us from sneaking in a 9 in light to heavy rain.

Just yesterday, we took a trip to his country club to face the storm head on.

After watching the dark clouds roll in and the 30 mile per hour wind off No. 1, we knew this day was not going to be our best on the golf course. Hey, we didn't even bother keeping score!

By the time we got to number 4, it was pouring.

As you might expect, our golf balls weren't performing as well as they could on a hot, dry day. That got me thinking: How much water is in a golf ball indeed touch your shots?

Immediately after playing (like crap, by the way), I did some research to find the answer. Lucky for me, GOLF Top 100 instructor Cameron McCormick has a video that shows exactly how water affects the golf ball – even the tiniest bit. In the video below, you can see the results.

How does water affect the golf ball

Using data from Trackman, McCormick shares how a wet golf ball plays compared to a dry one while hitting a 110-yard shot with a sand wedge.

“Five wet balls, followed by five dry balls,” he said. “Let's see what the difference is.”

McCormick then hits five shots with wet golf balls, revealing the following information, to each Trackman.

“We get an average spin of 7,162, and an average carry distance of 103 yards, and an average launch angle of 32 degrees,” he shares.

Next, McCormick hits five shots with static golf balls, and reads the following data points after doing so.

“110 yard average, 10,430 RPM [spin rate], and a launch angle of 26 degrees,” he says. “So the water on the ball increases the launch angle, slows the ball down, and slows down the swing. That's probably not a good thing for you not you know.”

So what are the biggest ingredients?

First, always make sure you land your ball legally before hitting any shot. Even on warm and sunny days, the grass can get dewy or wet from spraying, so you'd hate to hit the gun and find it ineffective because of the smallest water droplets.

Second, be really aware of how water affects ball travel and golf ball distance, as these are two factors that can determine which club you use for a given shot. McCormick performed this test on a sunny day, so to see such an imbalance should sound the alarm about keeping your ball as dry as possible.

While a few drops of water on the golf ball may not sound like a big deal, as this tip shows, it can really affect the outcome of your shot. So be careful and handle each shot with great detail.

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Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor