Blame It on the Moon: Does the Lunar Cycle Actually Affect Your Golf Game?

I was sitting outside after one of those rounds. You know the kind. The kind that takes you from "I've finally got this game figured out" to "I am never picking up a club again" — all in the span of eighteen holes. I was done. Cooked. Staring up at the sky, probably still replaying that third hole in my head, when I noticed it.

The moon. Big, bright, completely unbothered by my scorecard.

And I said it out loud — to no one, to the sky, to whoever was listening — "Oh my god. It was the moon."

And for one single, perfect moment? All was right. It wasn't my swing. It wasn't the lack of sleep. It wasn't the mental load of the upcoming week creeping onto the course with me. It wasn't any of the things I knew, deep down, it actually was.

Nope. It was the flipping moon. And I felt completely at peace with that.

Now — I'm a librarian. I can't just leave it there. So I did what I do. I went and looked it up.

And it turns out I'm not alone. If you work around middle schoolers for long enough, you will hear at least one teacher or administrator on any given chaotic afternoon mutter, "It must be a full moon." They say it with complete conviction. Nurses say it. ER staff say it. Golfers say it in the parking lot after bad rounds every weekend across the country.

So what's the deal? Does the moon actually affect us — or is it just the world's most comforting excuse?

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First, a Brief History of Blaming the Moon

Humans have been doing this for a very long time — so at least we're in good company. The words lunacy and lunatic aren't random. They come directly from luna, the Latin word for moon. Ancient civilizations observed lunar cycles closely and regularly attributed erratic human behavior to whatever phase the moon happened to be in. Even the legal system got involved — British jurist William Blackstone once wrote that people gained and lost their ability to reason according to the moon's shifting phases.

So the next time you chunk a chip shot and want to point skyward, just know that you're participating in a centuries-old tradition.

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The Science (Here's Where I Put on My Librarian Hat)

Let's address the most common argument for the moon affecting us: we're something like 60% water, the moon controls the tides, therefore the moon must affect our bodies too. It's logical. It's also not how it works.

The moon's gravitational pull only creates tides in large, open bodies of water — oceans, and to a very small extent, lakes. Closed bodies of water (like, say, the fluid inside a human body) are not affected by this force. And here's the kicker: a mosquito sitting on your arm exerts a more powerful gravitational pull on you than the moon does. Let that sink in.

Still not convinced? A 2020 study on male athletes found no significant difference in athletic performance across different lunar phases. Researchers who reviewed more than 100 studies on the subject couldn't find a single one that conclusively established a real connection between the full moon and human behavior. What they did find was a lot of poorly designed studies that didn't account for variables properly.

One study famously showed that car accidents were more likely on full moon nights — until someone noticed the data was collected mostly on full moon nights that fell on weekends, when accidents are already more common regardless of what the moon is doing.

"The gravitational forces of the moon are not powerful enough to have any meaningful effect on brain activity, let alone a golf swing."

And perhaps the most telling detail of all: the moon's gravitational pull is just as strong during a new moon as it is during a full moon. Nobody is out here blaming the new moon for anything. We only notice and remember the full moon because we can see it.

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Okay, But What About Sleep?

Here's where things get just a little bit interesting, and where I'll throw you a small bone.

There is some research suggesting that people experience increased tiredness around a full moon, possibly because a brighter night sky — before artificial lighting existed — could interfere with sleep. Some studies point to subtle disruptions in circadian rhythms tied to lunar light exposure.

Now. A tired golfer is absolutely a worse golfer. We know this. If you're dragging yourself to a Saturday morning tee time after a rough night's sleep, your tempo is off, your focus is shot, and your patience for a double bogey is basically zero.

So could the moon affect your golf game indirectly through sleep? Theoretically, maybe, in a very roundabout way. It's a stretch — but it's the most scientifically defensible version of "the moon made me do it" that I can offer you.

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About Those Middle Schoolers...

The same science applies, and I say this as someone who has watched a perfectly calm library devolve into chaos on what turned out to be a full moon night — correlation is not causation. Teachers and administrators have been keeping an eye on the moon for years and remembering the wild days that lined up with it, while quietly forgetting every full moon that passed without incident.

Our brains are very good at finding patterns, especially ones that confirm what we already believe. It's called confirmation bias, and it works just as well in a school hallway as it does on a golf course.

That said — I am not here to take away anyone's moon excuse. Not in a school. Not on a golf course. Some things are just more fun with a little mystery.

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One Last Thing: Golf Actually Went to the Moon

Before we wrap this up, I need to mention that the relationship between golf and the moon isn't entirely one-sided.

In 1971, astronaut Alan Shepard — during the Apollo 14 mission — used a Wilson Staff 6-iron head that he'd secretly smuggled aboard and attached to a collapsible aluminum sample-collecting tool, and hit two golf balls on the surface of the moon. He shanked the first one into a crater (relatable), and estimated the second went "miles and miles." Photographic evidence suggests it was closer to 40 yards — but he was wearing a full spacesuit and swinging one-handed, so the handicap adjustment is substantial.

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Probably not the moon. Check your sleep, your hydration, whether you've actually been to the range lately, and how stressed you were walking onto the first tee. But if blaming the moon makes you feel better? The librarian gives you full permission. We all need a good excuse sometimes — and "lunar interference" is at least more interesting than "I left my driver face open."

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