The wind effect

[pokerjoke]

Does the direction of the wind effect your golf course.

If the wind is North/North East at my club I find it near impossible to score well.
On the front 9 we have 3 par 5s that for me are not reachable in 2 with this wind,which means most players can reach in 3 which also means I lose my advantage as I can reach them all with a South Westerly, whilst a lot of players can't reach in 2.

I felt it was impossible on this day to play anywhere near my handicap.
Does your course have something that makes you feel its not possible to play to your handicap.

 

[Imurg]

Wind from the prevailing direction doesn't help me much. It can be a hindrance as it's easier to run too far and be blocked on the 2nd shot.
If it's in the opposite direction it can help greatly, making a couple of the par 5s reachable in 2 - prevailing winds = no chance.
Our 16th is a big dogleg right - so big that a fade won't do it, you need a power slice!
Prevailing wind is in completely the wrong direction, making it hard to pull off with more than a light breeze. Any other direction and it's a relatively simple shot.

 

[jim8flog]

Not really where I play because the holes are probably equally proportioned on a direction basis.

I have played several out and back courses where the wind direction makes a big difference eg Came Down in Dorset is a much easier course when the wind is 180 degrees to the predominant, mainly westerly, wind.

 

[Capella]

On our course it does make a massive difference, especially on the first four holes (which are normally straight into wind). The third hole is a long par 4 (the longest on the course and stroke index 1) and the length is pretty much the only thing that makes it difficult. When the wind comes from the other side and you are playing it downwind, it suddenly becomes way easier. Same for the 4th where you have an approach shot over water. Into wind it is easy to underclub and end up in the water, with the wind helping you are more likely to hit it through the green, which is not that much of a problem though, there is a nice little patch of longer grass which catches your ball and it is not too difficult to chip on from there.

I generally find it a bit easier when the wind is coming from the east or south east instead of the prevailing north westerly direction.

 

[Doh]

Wind direction plays a big part on our course as there are several carries from the tee and from the fairways. Only the longer hitters are able to take them on if the wind is against, the other thing we get a lot of is cross winds mostly from the left.

 

[nickjdavis]

Oh yes definitely wind direction has a huge effect.

The current Easterlies we are getting have a huge effect on 1,2,3,4 and 5 where they all pretty much hep you ball on its way or at least blow it away from trouble. The easterly has no real impact on 6,8 and 9 despite all these holes playing into the wind, reason being is that they are all short but narrow par 4's where accuracy is more important than distance. The long par 5 7th benefits from the easterly wind as does the narrow 11th where with the help of the wind you can hit iron off the tee for accuracy rather than perhaps a 3wood or driver into the normal westerly.

No real difference on 13 and 14 but he easterly on 15 usually helps guide a slicers ball away from deep rough/trees. Perhaps the hole that "suffers" the most from an easterly is the 173yd par 3 16th where any poor shot will be further impacted by the incoming wind.On 17 the wind direction is largely irrelevant...perhaps the easterly helps the tee shot more but the westerly will assist the 2nd shot and approach on this sweeping dog leg par 5.

Finally....the 18th also suffers mildly from an easterly wind.

Basically....warm, dry conditions, where the fairways are running firm and an Easterly wind and I'm rubbing my hands with the expectation of scoring well.....like tomorrow!!!

 

[Khamelion]

On the courses I was playing regularly, if the prevailing wind was blowing and couple of holes became a lot harder, 200yd par 3 off the whites into the wind was interesting, and a couple of holes made a long par 4 and a par 5 even longer.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Our prevailing wind is usually directly into on the 9th and it's only 400 yards but in the winter is barely reachable even by the longer hitters. 18th runs in the same direction and makes the third into the green over a pond a tricky prospect.

 

[duncan mackie]

I would have thought the general answer to the question posed is always going to be yes.
Whether it's being wet, dry, windy (as opposed to still) or even cold there will be an impact on how each and every hole plays - and that impact will have a different scoring factor for everyone based on their playing charecteristics.

Courses are rated for their default conditions - CSS is designed to resolve the conditions on the day.
In matchplay - you win some you loose some...

 

[Deleted member 1147]

When the wind turns around 180 degrees from the prevailing wind my place can get very tough.

We have 6 par 4's, each over 400 yards which normally play downwind, but once it changes direction even the big hitters can find it tough getting up with anything short of a long iron or F/W wood.
Fortunately it's currently so dry the ball is rolling further than normal, but when it gets damp with the wind change it can get very tough.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Certainly does at our place and more so over the last 6-8 weeks, normally it’s an offshore East to South East wind, get a good score going out and you’ve a chance of making a decent score coming back in.
Our Par 4 8th for example is SI 1 and in 10 years I’d only par’d it once in a comp, par’d it 5 times in recent weeks.

The weather has obviously been great but never known consistent winds from the “wrong” direction for such a prolonged period.

 

[patricks148]

Nairn is designed with the Prevailing westerly wind in mind, though it can be tough going out at times you can make a score and make use of the downwind back 9. We have had easterly's most of this year and that makes the back 9 very tough esp 16,17 and 18, downwind these are scoring holes, into bogey

 

[thesheriff]

Yes, at the braids our prevailing wind is an easterly and each hole but the 17th will play either straight into wind or straight down down wind. With holes 12-16 & 18 usually playing into a stiff wind and some tight tee shots, your score is never safe til you're on the 18th green. Second most frequent wind is the westerly, where the more difficult holes play downwind and the course would generally be a couple of shots easier, I would say.

Any other winds would be crosswinds and I can't recall playing the course in such conditions so I couldn't comment.

 

[Orikoru]

For some reason I hardly ever pay attention to the wind. I suppose it's rarely strong enough to make an enormous difference, given that we're nowhere near the coast or anything.

 

[Slab]

Had fun yesterday, one of the guys it a 9 or PW on Par 3 with the wind at 160m and it rolled on the front, same fella hit 4 iron on another par 3 against the wind playing 150m and the ball barely made it over 100m (& he said he couldn't have hit it any better) It actually appeared to come back towards him!

 

[Deleted member 1147]

For some reason I hardly ever pay attention to the wind. I suppose it's rarely strong enough to make an enormous difference, given that we're nowhere near the coast or anything.

I'm in Derby, so pretty much as far from the coast as you can get in this country, and the wind has a big impact on the game here (especially when it swirls)

 

[Orikoru]

I'm in Derby, so pretty much as far from the coast as you can get in this country, and the wind has a big impact on the game here (especially when it swirls)

Perhaps it's more that my shots are not accurate enough to bother trying to account for the wind. :rofl:

 

[MadAdey]

When the wind comes from the north at my place it becomes very difficult. 4 of 5 par 3s now start to play into the wind and you find yourself having 3 and 4 irons to hit at them. The holes that become downwind really doesn't make them any easier as they are holes that I would normally hit an iron or 3w from the tee, so distance isn't a priority on them anyway. It can easily play 3/4 shots harder with a northern wind.