Why will a golf ball travel further in the humidity afternoon?

Answer 1

the question dose not make sense? if it is afternoon, I would think it was because the air is hot (thinner) less drag on the ball. But when you say humid it would seem to me that more drag would be placed on the ball due to thicker air( more molecules in the air.) Though this is only my thought on the subject not gospel.

The above answer is just a thought, but is wrong. However, it is a common perception.

The warmer the air and the higher the humidity, the further the ball will travel assuming constant club head speed and altitude. Humid air is lighter and less dense than dry air. That is why clouds made up of moister (colloidal dispersion of water droplets in air) float on top of the air. For a complete scientific explanation one would have to be familiar with Charles's law regarding temperature and Avogadro's law and Avogadro's constant regarding gas density. Basically, the relative density of gases is directly related to the atomic weight of their molecules. Water, H2Ohas an atomic weight of 18 (2 for H and 16 for O). Air is mostly nitrogen (N) with oxygen (O) accounting for 20% of its volume. The atomic weight for dry air is about 29 (N2 @ 2x14=28 and O2 @ 2x16=32). So, when water as a gas is added to the air with an atomic weight of 18 it lowers the atomic weight of air.