How summer heat and humidity affect your golf game and you

AI-assisted summary
• Hot weather allows golf balls to travel further due to less dense air.
• Humidity, contrary to popular belief, also contributes to increased ball flight distance.
• Golfers should prioritize hydration and sun protection in hot weather to maintain performance and health.
• Electrolyte drinks and sun-protective clothing are recommended for hot weather golfing.

It’s the middle of summer, and across the United States, the tee times are still being booked even though forecasted temperatures make local tracks feel more like a sauna. For golf lovers, heat is part of the grind. But there’s a difference between tolerating it and understanding how it affects your game.

Heat and humidity don’t just make the round feel longer. They impact how the golf ball flies, how your body responds, and whether you’re more likely to walk off the 18th green with a soggy scorecard you’re proud of or a full-body sunburn and a headache.

Here’s what every golfer needs to know when the mercury spikes.

Your ball likes heat more than you do

Here’s the good news about playing golf when it’s really hot: golf balls tend to fly farther in hot weather.

Why? Warm air is less dense than cold air. When it’s 90 degrees Fahrenheit instead of 70, there’s less drag on the ball as it travels through the air, which means more carry distance with every club in your bag. The effect is modest — you might gain about three percent more distance on a 90-degree day compared to a 70-degree day — but it’s real. Your 200-yard shot should carry to about 206 yards, but think about it this way: In the fall, if you play on a 50-degree day, you’ll lose that three percent compared to the 70-degree day (so the 200-yard shot will fly 194).

And it’s not just the air. As golf balls get warmer, the materials inside — particularly in multi-layered urethane-covered balls — become more elastic. That makes the core slightly more responsive, translating into higher ball speeds and a touch more distance, especially with the driver and fairway woods.

Of course, everything has a limit. Leaving a box of balls in a car trunk on a 100-degree day? That’s asking for trouble. Excessive heat can damage a ball’s internal structure over time, potentially altering its compression and performance. Like your favorite snacks or a bottle of wine, golf balls are best stored in a cool, dry place.

What humidity actually does to ball flight

Golf is filled with things that are counterintuitive. Like to hit higher-flying iron shots, you need to hit down on the ball instead of up. Add to the list that high humidity makes the air thicker, so balls don’t fly as far. That sounds logical — but it’s wrong. In reality, humid air is less dense than dry air because water vapor molecules are lighter than the oxygen and nitrogen molecules they displace. (Don’t feel bad, we didn’t ace science class either.)

The result is that in hot, humid conditions — think Florida, Alabama and Louisiana in August — you may actually get a bit more carry because of the humidity. It’s not a huge change, but if you’ve ever noticed that the ball seems to launch higher and hang in the air a little longer on swampy days, your eyes weren’t fooling you.

That said, if your shot-tracking system or golf GPS device shows that you really are losing distance on a hot-humid day, the real problem has nothing to do with your golf ball or the atmosphere, with your body.

What your body goes through in the heat

When the temperature climbs and the humidity rises, your body’s cooling system has to work overtime. You sweat more, lose fluids faster, and face an increased risk of dehydration and fatigue, especially when you walk while you play. Grips can get slick and your grip strength may decline as the round wears on too. When you’re hot, many players also struggle to stay focused.

Even if the ball is flying farther, you might not be swinging as well. That’s why hydration, sun protection, and cooling strategies matter — not just for comfort, but for performance.

Most golfers know the basics of sun protection, but not enough of them execute it consistently. If you’re playing multiple days a week in summer, it’s worth upgrading your approach.

Start with a broad-spectrum sunscreen that has SPF 30 or higher sunscreen, and that ideally is sweat-resistant for at least 80 minutes.

After his dermatologist removed a small mole in 2019 that was an early stage of melanoma, Justin Thomas helped to launch WearSPF, and the brand’s SPF 50 sports sunscreen spray ($18) is great because it's water-resistant and can be applied easily and won’t make your hands greasy. Oars+Alps Mineral Antioxidant sunscreen spray ($20) comes in SPF 30 and SPF 50 and also goes on dry.

Sun protective clothing is also a smart choice, and several companies offer long-sleeve sun shirts and sleeves that keep your skin cool and offer protection from harmful rays. The FootJoy Sun Protection long-sleeve shirt ($95) has built-in SPF 50, is antimicrobial to fight odors and is made from wicking, breathable material to keep you drier and cool. The Johnnie-O Top Shelf Long-Sleeve polo ($128) has four-way stretch, UPF 50, is moisture-wicking and feels like soft cotton.

Several caddies and many players wear solar sleeves, effectively turning a short-sleeve polo shirt into a sun-protecting long-sleeve top. SParms ($32.99) is a particularly popular brand, offering sizes ranging from juniors to XXL in six different colors.

Wide-brim hats or structured bucket styles are a smart move for longer rounds because they can provide more sun protection for your ears and the back of your neck.

Beating the heat while you play

Hydration matters, but it’s not just about drinking water. When you sweat for hours, you’re losing electrolytes — particularly sodium and potassium — that plain water can’t replace. That’s why many golfers rotate between water and electrolyte drinks or powders when they play.

Liquid I.V. ($24.99 for eight packets) comes in more than a dozen flavors, mixes easily in water and is not too sweet. Momentous Fuel ($29.95 for 10 packets) new mango flavor is tasty and provides electrolytes and carbohydrates that are especially easy to digest, and LMNT ($45 for 30 packets) comes in nine flavors and even an un-flavored version that delivers 1,000 milligrams of sodium, 200 milligrams of potassium and 60 milligrams of magnesium — elements you lose when you sweat and exercise in the heat.

There is something about drinking from a straw that encourages a lot of people to drink more often, and with the Yeti Rambler 42 OZ Straw Mug’s ($45) large capacity and shape, it can go from home to the car to the golf car easily while keeping your drink ice-cold for hours.

Golf carts can offer shade, but if you insist on walking when you play on hot, sunny days, consider using a push cart and an umbrella like Ping’s Canopy Solar umbrella ($68), GustBuster’s Pro Series Gold Sunblok ($85) or Vessel’s UV Golf Umbrella ($69) so you can remain shaded.