Playing in the Wind

10/9/08
By Butch Bundy

It can become difficult writing articles on golf instruction without being too repetitive. Sometimes I rely on my experiences on the golf course to help both my readers and my students. I figure if I struggle, I can’t be alone. What have been my biggest adjustments in my recent rounds? That was easy, it has been quite windy my last few times out and one of those times it blew over 15 miles an hour. That can really hurt if you don’t understand how to change things a bit.
1.) Ball position: If you play your ball position in the right place to begin with and have it towards the front of your stance, moving the ball back to the middle is the first change that needs to be made. This tends to take loft off of the golf club at impact and keeps the ball down provided you do the next couple of steps properly.
2.) Change clubs: A huge mistake that most golfers make is that they take their normal club for a certain distance and make a harder swing and try to fight the wind. Taking 1-2 more clubs (depending on the strength of the wind) and making a smoother golf swing will help keep the ball down too. Swing speed and club selection are probably the two biggest elements to having more control in the wind. Hitting the ball hard imparts more spin and makes the ball go even higher which is never a good thing whether you are hitting directly into the wind or into a cross wind. 3.) Choke down on the golf club: Choking down on the golf club after taking the extra club will keep the ball down. Shortening the length of the golf club as well as taking less loft will give you even better control of your trajectory.
4.) Practice: I advise you to try these adjustments in practice. What I have found is that even on non-windy days, hitting a shot with a lower flight is the better option. You also need to have an idea of how far the ball flies and reacts once it comes down. Be patient when these kinds of conditions happen. Even if you have a good plan and you are hitting shots properly, it is still just a guess as to how much the wind will help or hurt shots. This is also when it becomes even more important to pay attention to where you want the ball to end up if you don’t hit it perfectly.