Lesson 3: Clouds, Wind, and Playing Golf
Weather affects everything about golf. Wind changes where the ball goes. Rain makes the ground soft. Cold air makes the ball fly shorter. Hot air can make it go further.
Even humidity — how much water is in the air — affects the game. On a very humid day, the air is heavier, and the ball doesn’t travel quite as far.
Golfers have been watching the sky and reading weather for as long as the game has existed. Understanding weather is part of playing golf well.
It is also part of being a scientist. Weather observation is one of the oldest forms of science, and you can do it anywhere, anytime.
If you were designing a golf course, would you put it somewhere with lots of wind or somewhere calm? Why? What would each choice mean for the game and for the grass?
Before playing or walking a round, observe the sky. What kind of clouds do you see? Which direction is the wind blowing? Write your weather observations in your journal and then check at the end of the round — did the weather change? Did it affect how the course played?
Weather observation is one of the oldest forms of science, and it connects directly to the game your student is learning. A simple weather log — date, temperature, wind direction, cloud cover — kept over several weeks produces real data your student can look back on and find patterns in. This is the scientific method in its most accessible form.