Tips for Playing Golf in the Wind

The wind and other weather conditions is just one more factor that can affect your golf game. Even though you could have the perfect stance, the correct address position, and the right club selection, if the wind is blowing excessively strong in one direction or there’s a cross wind, your ball won’t fly where you wanted it.

Beginning Golfer

This can be really frustrating for the golfing beginner. Even if the weather is perfect for golf, beginners can have trouble controlling the ball, so you can envisage their annoyance when the wind picks up. To develop into a better golfer, you’ll have to find out how to play in diverse weather conditions. Your regular course could be wet or dry during different times of the year or it could be affected by wind. If you also play other courses in a different state, you might experience different wind and weather conditions.

The Links Courses

If you are serious about becoming a better golfer then you will have to find out how to adapt your game to suit the weather. As you can imagine, the links courses of Scotland and England can be very challenging due to their exposed position. Probably, that’s why it took 60 years for an American to win The Open. Those first Open winners from the USA are still household names because they changed the history of golf forever. US golfers like Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, and Ben Hogan all came across the Atlantic and mastered the blustery links. Since then, The Open has had Champions from several countries around the World.

The Direction of the Wind

As golf courses are not laid out in a straight line, each hole can face a different direction which makes it difficult to judge the wind direction. Therefore, the 1st step is to know where the wind is coming from. On the links you usually get a prevailing wind that can be constant. Sometimes though, the wind direction changes during the day so you have to take that into consideration.

On several inland courses where there are high and low areas of the course, you could face with unpredictable wind conditions. In addition, you could be playing your approach shot from a secluded position but the green is exposed to high winds. So it is not always sufficient to check the wind speed and direction where you are hitting from, you have to also check the flag or the trees near the green to get a sense of the wind conditions.

Club Selection

Next, you have to choose the right club. The first thing to realize is that a head wind will affect the ball’s distance but not as much as a tail wind. Most people believe that a tail wind will help their ball fly further than it really does. In reality, you will gain only about 10% distance when playing with the wind but you will loose approximately 20% distance when playing into the wind. The solution to hitting into the wind is to select a lower lofted club and not to strike the ball harder than normal and to take a stance with your feet closer together for extra stability. When playing with the wind choose a higher lofted club than usual.

The worst adversary of a golfer can be the wind, even the professionals can find it difficult to predict the wind and how it will affect their ball. Possibly the most difficult wind condition is the cross wind; it takes lots of experience and practice to be able to know how much you have to compensate in your aim to the target. Playing golf in the wind is just another feature that makes golf such a interesting and challenging game. To be a better golfer you will have to just learn how to control your ball in the wind, and that implies golfing more on windy days.

Mick Euan Tait has been a golfer for over 35 years but had to change his golf swing because of lower back surgery. Learn all about the Golf Swing Guru that taught him The Simple Swing that is easier on the back than the conventional swing.