Cold weather and GC

[Sp913]

I have a new garage simulator in the northeast with a gc3. The garage is roughly 50 degrees right now in the winter. I’m noticing I’m losing somewhere around 10 yards of distance on almost all my shots (although seems to be really impacting my short and mid irons). Is it possible the cold is affecting distance even with the gc3? I tried using warm golf balls from inside the house and that actually seemed to help. But I’m wondering if I need to adjust irons as if I’m outdoors at 50 degrees and below (I’d typically club up in 50 degree weather outside).

[MongoOnlyPawn]

It's 56° in my sim right now and it does make a difference on ball flight. But I don't think the temperature is affecting the GC3 and causing bad reads/data. IMO, your observation about the temperature of the golf ball is spot on, that's what is causing your issues.

[delaloi]

I'm playing in an unheated shed at close to freezing temperature, and feel like I can barely hit it out of my own shadow. But my swing speed is down 4-5 mph, which I think explains most if not all of it. Cold golf ball may have some effect too. I don't think the GCQ itself should be significantly affected, as it just tells you what the ball did.

[Sp913]

Thanks everyone. Didn’t mean to suggest that the GC3 would be impacted by the cold. But more so that the ball would somehow be impacted by the cold (which sounds like it might be). I was also curious if the heavier air would do anything, but I wasn’t sure if that short window where the camera can see the ball would actually be able to see the impact of slightly denser air.

I do wonder about swing speeds. I do feel like swing speeds are down a touch, but unfortunately I don’t have data points before getting the GC3 to compare. But I do notice more of the distance loss in the irons vs. the driver.

[DirkDigglr]

The GCQuad by itself has the ability to make Carry Distance adjustments based on Barometric Pressure, Temperature, and Estimated Altitude measured directly through the GCQ for the environment you are hitting in. I believe the GC3 has the same sensor. so what this means is that if you are hitting in cold weather the estimated carry distance will be impacted by the lower temp. in FSX2020 you can alter this to have the ball carry data in the software reflect any temp or altitude you want. but if you have FSF2020 set to use the barometer in the unit, it will calculate carry distance based on the colder temps and altitude as measured by the unit.

from foresight website:

To do this, please do the following:

• Open the FSX software by selecting and clicking on the FSX icon on your desktop
• Once at the Main Menu (PLAY, COMPETE, IMPROVE) select and open the DASHBOARD by click on the square button in the top-right hand corner.
• Now select Devices from the newly opened DASHBOARD window
• Allow the program to search for your GCQuad device (this may take a moment)
• Select and click on your GCQuad Serial#? Once it populates, click CONNECT and then APPLY
• Now close out of the DASHBOARD by clicking the X in the top-right corner of the DASHBOARD window, and this will return you to the Main Menu (PLAY, COMPETE, IMPROVE)
• Select either IMPROVE or PLAY
• Now Select New Session (IMPROVE) or New Game (PLAY)
• Select the course or range of your preference and select NEXT at the bottom right corner
• You will now be at the CONDITIONS screen
• Ensure to check and enable, filling the white square in the top-right corner for GCQ Barometer
• Continue on and initiate a session and capture data

Doing the steps above will allow the barometer data being captured from the GCQuad to be translated to FSX so that the distances are accurate for the readings the Barometer is currently measuring in the environment the unit is actually in.

To practice in real-world conditions, and get data analysis numbers associated with real-world environmental conditions unlike what the GCQuad Barometer is measuring, you can do so, by disabling the GCQuad Barometer option I instructed you on above. From there you can either select REAL-TIME Weather to simulate weather of that real-world-course you're trying to simulate and practice, or modify the condition settings to your likings. For example, you can look up and dial in the altitude, and weather conditions of your local range to simulate numbers you would be seeing if you were in that environment.

Lastly, we also have some helpful articles on this topic, that explain it in a different way, that might help illustrate this mechanism and function better:

• https://foresightsports.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360057433433-The-GCQ-Barometer-In-Relationship-To-Original-FSX-FSX-2018-FSX-2020-Data
• https://foresightsports.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360055324974-GCQuad-Distance-Doesn-t-Match-FSX-Distance

I would do some testing with the above information and if you're still uncertain after further indoor testing, I would highly recommend doing outdoor testing to view both the real-life shot distance and the GCQuad distances outdoors.

I hope this helps and provides an understanding of the CONDITIONS function and GCQ Barometer feature of FSX and the GCQuad!