A numbers game - Players tackle altitude at Omega European Masters

The biggest on-course factor affecting players this week at the Omega European Masters is altitude.

Located on a mountain plateau in the Alps in Switzerland, Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club is notable for being 1,500m above sea level.

As a result, the ball travels further because the air is thinner.

This in turn means players have to adjust their yardages, and in some cases their equipment set-up.

While a common feature at tournaments, launch monitors become a particularly useful resource on the range and during practice rounds in weeks like these.

Depending on the time of day, and the temperature, the stock carry number for a club can differ significantly from what players are generally accustomed to.

A host venue of what was originally the Swiss Open since it became a founding event on the DP World Tour in 1972, accuracy rather than length is paramount over the Severiano Ballesteros Course.

Marco Penge, a three-time winner on the DP World Tour last season and tied eighth at this event last year, is among those who has been dialling in his numbers ahead of Thursday's opening round.

Second only to Jon Rahm for driving distance so far this season on the DP World Tour, clubs for the Englishman are playing from five per cent to seven-and-a-half per cent longer.

Speaking to the DP World Tour, he said: "At the moment, it is about five percent in the wedges. Seven-and-a-half per cent in the nine, eight, seven and six iron and then five per cent for the rest [wooded clubs].

"But it will change when it gets hotter."

Explaining the process for a player in making their adjustment, Penge's caddie Max Bill added: "We'll take the number [to the pin] and take off what percentage we think it's playing and play that number as if it was that."

Penge was the subject of this week's Tour Spotlight, with altitude a key focus as he joined Josh Antmann on the range to discuss his preparations.

"The biggest challenge this week is obviously you have a morning and afternoon tee time Thursday and Friday so the altitude affects the ball different amounts in terms of the temperature and whether the ground has got a bit of dew on top.

"The numbers [carry distances] are the definitely the biggest challenge for every player in the field this week.

"[There's] a lot of work on the range with monitors, trying to figure out how much per cent [extra the ball is travelling] for each area in the bag."

The impact of altitude on Penge's club selection

In practice, Penge says he will hit three or four balls on the range to confirm his stock carry number.

In the cooler morning conditions, the ball travels less as one would imagine.

For the Englishman, his stock yardage for an eight iron is 180 yards but when factoring in altitude the club is carrying 190 yards.

So, the ball is roughly carrying five per cent extra but as the temperature builds as the day progresses, Penge believes it will carry upwards of ten per cent more.

Along with wedges, mid irons are the trickiest clubs when guaging the impact of altitude.

"They're the club you're trying to be within a yard or two of your number," Penge explains. They're the clubs you're attacking back or front flags.

"They're the area of your bag where you need to know your numbers. "Obviously, with the long irons [and] woods you're ultimately just trying to hit the green."

To watch the impact on a driving iron and a driver and hear more from Penge's insights, watch the video below.