Tips for playing in the wind?

sjw

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I played a links course at the weekend, which I haven't played for years, and it was unexpectedly MUCH windier than when I play normally.

Have you got any rules of thumb that you use when playing in the wind? Any way of estimating wind speed and its effect? Is it the sort of thing that only comes with practice and experience?
 

r0wly86

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I think some gismos can give you the wind speed, otherwise yes it's just experience of wind strength equating to how many "clubs" so for a 2 club wind what would normally be a 9 iron will be 7.

Tips for playing in the wind, work on your punch shot to try and keep the ball low. Normal shots swing easy, don't try and hit it hard because this will impart more spin and can get the wind underneath it and balloon up.

It is very difficult to play with a strong wind, so you will also have to accept that it is a tough day in the office if the wind is whipping through
 

BiMGuy

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I play at a very windy course.

The answer. Take more club and swing as you would normally.

If you are not used to hitting low “punch” shots, don’t try for the first time on the course. Putting the ball back in your stance can cause more spin. Which is not what you want.
 

Jason.H

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My weather app shows the wind speed and direction so I have a general idea before I get to the course. I look at the flags, tops of trees and general feel oh and when I’m wondering which club I’ll pick some grass and throw it in the air.
Sometimes a short par 3 can be a wedge or a 7 iron. Too many under club into a strong headwind.
 

Lord Tyrion

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Similar to what others have said, club up, swing slowly. It's remarkable how true the ball stays if you hit it cleanly. Also, accept you will lose distance, you just will. No point fighting that, it will only make your game worse.
 

Neilds

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My weather app shows the wind speed and direction so I have a general idea before I get to the course. I look at the flags, tops of trees and general feel oh and when I’m wondering which club I’ll pick some grass and throw it in the air.
Sometimes a short par 3 can be a wedge or a 7 iron. Too many under club into a strong headwind.
I've never understood the throwing the grass up thing. The ball is going up in the air, above trees, bushes, dunes, etc and nowhere near where you throw the grass. Do you actually learn anything form the grass or does it just give you a bit a false confidence?
 

Orikoru

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I've never understood the throwing the grass up thing. The ball is going up in the air, above trees, bushes, dunes, etc and nowhere near where you throw the grass. Do you actually learn anything form the grass or does it just give you a bit a false confidence?
I do it, but I'm quite thick at judging which direction the wind is going unless I can visibly see something that I've just thrown up in the air. So basically it shows you the exact direction of the wind. You can look at flags or trees but as they tend to be fixed they can be deceiving.
 
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Bear in mind your shot shape when playing a side on wind. People often forget how as the ball slows down the amount of side wind can affect the balls final moments in the air, both with and against.
 

Slab

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What I do (or try to anyway)

Once you've chosen how many clubs you're gonna go up/down, just swing normally i.e don't try and take off or add anything in your swing for wind because you've already done that by changing club
For me I use the clubs that could be troublesome far less i.e a FW into a strong wind that's not nailed can really be influenced by the wind (in a bad way) and instead I'll hit a safe(r) 5I or 6I
 
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jim8flog

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Think of the wind in terms of plus one,two or 3 clubs more and not miles per hour.

Down wind shots do not necessarily travel further unless you are a high ball hitter and in extreme wind the ball can be knocked out of the air even in a down wind.

Wind when straight against accentuates any sort of side spin which must be allowed for.
 

Jason.H

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I've never understood the throwing the grass up thing. The ball is going up in the air, above trees, bushes, dunes, etc and nowhere near where you throw the grass. Do you actually learn anything form the grass or does it just give you a bit a false confidence?

Tiger used to do it all the time. I guess it’s just to get confirmation that the wind is blowing and it’s direction.
 

pokerjoke

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Trust the club you choose
Mentally picking a club into a 3 club wind that you usually hit a lot further is hard.
Quitting on the shot usually has a bad outcome.
Myself personally I always try and finish short,a bit like Tommy Fleetwood just not as pretty.
 

Oddsocks

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I tried something at the weekend which seemed too simple yet very effective.

When completing the typical torn grass sprinkle, see how far the grass blows.

Between 1-2 complete club lengths +1 club

Between 2-3 complete club lengths +2 clubs

It was a fairly warmish wind so will need revising and this was into the wind as our club rarely plays with cross wind.

For wind behind shots

1-4 clubs - less 1 club seemed enough
 

sjw

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I tried something at the weekend which seemed too simple yet very effective.

When completing the typical torn grass sprinkle, see how far the grass blows.

Between 1-2 complete club lengths +1 club

Between 2-3 complete club lengths +2 clubs

It was a fairly warmish wind so will need revising and this was into the wind as our club rarely plays with cross wind.

For wind behind shots

1-4 clubs - less 1 club seemed enough

Now that's a nice little rule of thumb. I did actually think about how you could guesstimate the strength of the wind by dropping some grass from a known height, counting how long it took to hit the ground and seeing how far from you it went in that time. I'll give your little rule a shot
 

patricks148

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Tbh I don't agree with trying to play lots of different shots as a one off to play in wind on a links course. Take more club and swing and grip the club easier. Judging wind does come from experience, I can usually tell how many clubs it is, but it's easy to work out, if you hit a club we'll on your 2nd shot on the first hole and it comes up two clubs short, it's likely to be a two club wind.
 
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