Playing the Wind
A Links Course in Scotland
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March 26, 2010 9:00 PM
Owen McClain, PGA Professional
Spring brings wind, and wind brings challenge of a different nature. Breezy playing conditions can be a lot of fun, if you know how to adjust, play an appropriate set of tee markers, dress properly, and don’t get blown off the course. When the air contains more farm topsoil than oxygen, skip it!
· Adjust: There is a short video clip on my website regarding how to play in the wind, but it all boils down to this: when the wind is up, golf is played more on the ground, less in the air.
· Tee markers: Move up. Strong wind makes the course play a lot harder. If you torture yourself by playing too long of a course, you’ll never learn to do anything but fight it. Take the pressure off by moving up and learn to work with the wind, not fight it.
· Dress: Wind makes the air feel colder, but it’s not. Breathable layers are important to prevent that “too warm for a jacket, too cold to go without” feeling.
It’s important to have fun, and in the wind you won’t have much of it unless you’re patient. Birdie holes under calm conditions will often bite you in the wind, and the “bogey train” through an easy stretch can make you panic. The holes playing downwind are still complicated by predicting the effect of a tailwind on ball flight, plus guessing the bounce and run. Relax. Accept that a good score for your round will be higher, and just try to keep the numbers within reason. Who knows? You may sink a few putts on the inward nine.
As with chipping, putting, bunker play, and full swing shots, playing punch shots requires some practice. The more you play in windy conditions, the more proficient and comfortable you become with your shot making. There are two killer mistakes when playing the wind I’ll warn you about: under-clubbing and attempting to give the shot a little extra into the wind.
· Under clubbing: A good friend of mine observed that there is no such thing as hitting into a “one club wind”. If there is enough wind to make you hit more club, hit at least two clubs more. You’ll be right a whole lot more often than wrong. An advantage to this approach is that it avoids the next killer mistake:
· Giving the shot a little extra: The instinct is almost irresistible unless you practice a bit, and two nasty things happen when you succumb to it. First, you hit “down” on the ball more aggressively, increasing backspin which can balloon the ball into the air and reduce, rather than increase your distance. Second, you’ll likely sway through the shot, with your swing center drifting toward the target through impact. This leaves the clubface open at impact, increasing loft, adding slice and backspin, and gives you that weak, pop fly to the right you could almost catch before it hits the ground.
Finally, if you want to play well when the weather is less than ideal, you simply have to be a good chipper and putter. If you chip well; if you know you’re good at it; if you plan on chipping, and sink a few putts, you can play decently in any weather conditions.