Originally Posted by
sirious94
I agree that the pool means faster times, but smoothness is not always an issue. Currents are also sometimes a problem.
One of the main advantages of the pool is the turns.
OP says "deal with turns" but if you are a competitive swimmer, turns are supposed to make you go a lot faster.
If you look at 50 m times in short (25m) and long course (50m) pools (yes a 25m short course, not 25 yd) the long corurse times will be slower because you do not have the turn to speed you up.
I looked up the world records. About 3.5 seconds difference for 400 meters (Men). There is a wiki with all the records and it is pretty up to date. I'd say the difference is slightly understated because long course (50 meter) pools are what get used for all the major competitions. The short course records are therefore not generally at events that the swimmers are peaking for.