The number on the GPS is the distance. The number the shot plays is something else: the same 150 yards is a 6-iron into the wind on a cold morning and a soft 8 downhill in July. This calculator makes the adjustments one at a time, shows each one, and tells you where the rule came from, so you can argue with it.
The rules of thumb this calculator applies
- Elevation: the ball must carry the vertical difference on its descent, so the adjustment is elevation change ÷ tan(landing angle). With TrackMan's tour landing angles that is about 0.8 yards per yard of elevation for a 7-iron (51°) and 1.2 yards per yard for a driver (39°). The common "one yard per yard" rule sits in between.
- Wind: about 1% of the distance per mph into the wind and 0.5% per mph downwind. TrackMan's data shows why they differ: at 20 mph a headwind hurts almost twice as much as a tailwind helps.
- Temperature: about 1% of the distance per 10°F (warmer air is thinner; the ball flies farther). TrackMan testing reported by Golf.com found roughly 2 yards per 10°F with a driver, and a 9-iron carried 7 yards farther at 95°F than at 55°F.
- Altitude: about 1.2% farther per 1,000 feet (Titleist's figure, reported by Golf.com). Arccos measured 10-handicap golfers gaining 8.3% at 5,000 feet and above versus sea level, which is a little more.
These are averages for stock shots. Humidity, ball type, trajectory and how you strike it all move the number. Treat the result as a club-selection nudge, not a promise.
This is a website calculator. The Yardage app shows one thing: the GPS distance to the center of the green. It does not adjust for slope, wind or weather, and it does not tell you what club to hit. That part is yours.
The rules of thumb, and where they come from
None of these are laws. They are averages for stock shots, measured on launch monitors and on-course sensors by people who publish their methods, and they will be off for a punch shot, a balloon, or a ball with a scuff on it. The value is in the size and the sign: whether the hole is asking for one more club or two.
Elevation change
The oldest rule in the caddie book is a yard of distance per yard of height, and the physics says it is roughly right, for a reason worth knowing. A ball comes down at an angle, and a green sitting ten yards higher intercepts the flight before it would otherwise land. How much earlier depends on how steep the descent is. Divide the height by the tangent of the landing angle and you have the lost carry. TrackMan's tour averages put a 7-iron's landing angle at 51 degrees, which makes the factor 0.81 yards per yard; a driver lands at 39 degrees and the factor is 1.23. So thirty feet (ten yards) uphill is about eight yards with a 7-iron and about twelve with a driver, and downhill it is the same numbers in your favor. Pick the club you would hit and the calculator uses that club's angle.
Wind
Arccos's published rule is to add one percent of the distance for every mile per hour of headwind and subtract half a percent for every mile per hour of tailwind. The asymmetry is not a rounding convenience. TrackMan's engineers, explaining the normalization feature on their radar, show that at a 20 mph constant wind a headwind hurts almost twice as much as a tailwind helps: into the wind the ball sees more airspeed, which means more drag and more lift, so it climbs, stalls and drops short; downwind it flattens and lands hot. A 150-yard shot into 20 mph plays about 180. The same shot downwind plays about 135. Crosswinds move the ball sideways more than they change its distance, so the calculator leaves the number alone and you should aim accordingly.
Temperature
Warm air is thinner, and thinner air is less to push through. Andrew Rice's TrackMan tests, reported by Golf.com, put the driver at about two yards per ten degrees Fahrenheit, from 242 yards at 35 degrees to 254 at 95. TrackMan's own morning-versus-afternoon comparison found a 9-iron carried seven yards farther at 95 degrees than at 55. Both work out to roughly one percent of the distance per ten degrees, which is the figure used here. The baseline matters: the adjustment is relative to the temperature at which you learned your distances, so if your card came from a July range session, a 50-degree April round plays two percent longer for you.
Altitude
Same physics, bigger numbers. Titleist's research, cited by Golf.com, says the ball flies about 1.2 percent farther for every 1,000 feet of elevation, so a 150-yard shot at sea level plays about 140 in Denver at 5,280 feet. Arccos's on-course data agrees in direction and runs a little higher: 10-handicap golfers in its 2025 rounds gained 19.2 yards, 8.3 percent, when playing at 5,000 feet and above compared with sea level. The calculator uses the Titleist rule and asks where your distances were learned, because a golfer who lives in Colorado already has altitude baked into their card.
Why the app shows the raw number
The Yardage app measures the distance from where you stand to the center of the green, and shows that number and nothing else. It does not apply any of the rules above, and we would rather say so plainly than let you assume it does. Three reasons.
The first is honesty. A plays-like number stacks four estimates on top of a measurement, and the estimates disagree with each other by a few yards on a normal day. Showing 152 when the phone measured 148 would look precise and be less true. The second is the Rules of Golf. Distance-measuring devices are allowed in most play, but slope-compensated readings are commonly prohibited by the Local Rule that committees adopt for competitions; our guide on rangefinders and the rules covers what is and is not allowed and points you to the governing bodies for the specifics. A raw number is legal everywhere a device is. The third is that the judgment is the game. You know the wind in your face and the hill in front of you better than a formula does. The app gives you the one thing you cannot see, the distance to the middle; you supply the rest.
Plays-like distance, the guide, goes further into each factor and into when it is worth bothering. Know your distances is the prerequisite: a plays-like adjustment applied to a carry number you guessed is still a guess.
Frequently asked questions
How much does elevation affect golf distance?
Roughly a yard of distance per yard of height, and the exact figure depends on how steeply the shot lands. With TrackMan's tour landing angles a 7-iron needs about 0.8 extra yards of carry per yard uphill; a driver, which lands flatter at 39 degrees, needs about 1.2. Thirty feet uphill with a 7-iron is about eight yards.
How much does wind affect a golf shot?
Arccos's rule of thumb, which this calculator uses, is about one percent of the distance per mile per hour into the wind and half a percent per mile per hour downwind. TrackMan's data shows why the two differ: at 20 mph a headwind hurts almost twice as much as a tailwind helps.
How much does temperature change distance?
About one percent per 10 degrees Fahrenheit, from warmer being longer. TrackMan testing reported by Golf.com found about 2 yards per 10 degrees with a driver, and a 9-iron that carried 7 yards farther at 95 degrees than at 55.
How much farther does the ball go at altitude?
Titleist's figure, cited by Golf.com, is 1.2 percent per 1,000 feet, so a 150-yard shot at sea level plays about 140 in Denver. Arccos measured 10-handicap golfers gaining 8.3 percent at 5,000 feet and above, a little more than the Titleist rule.
Does the Yardage app show plays-like distances?
No. The app shows the GPS distance to the center of the green and nothing else. This calculator is a website tool for thinking through the adjustments; on the course the judgment is yours, which is also how the Rules of Golf prefer it in competition.