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What is the windiest you have ever played in?

Chef23

Chef23

2023 Srixon Experience
Albatross 2024 Club
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We had a 1 day medal event at my club yesterday and the wind was a steady 25-30 with gusts to 45 mph. There were times the ball wouldn’t stay still on some of the exposed greens (ocean side golf course). I shot a 84 which was tied for 6th out of 40 golfers. 79 played off for the win. There were lots of good golfers in the field including a quarter finalist in the State Am. It was hard but I had a lot of fun. I did have 3 3 putts and a couple of times when I I didn’t get up and down from green front where the wind got in my head. Frankly it was probably the worst I could have shot on the day.

I hit some very different shots. I hit a couple of knock down 8 irons from inside 110 yards into the wind and an 8i downwind from 170 yards. On one of the long par 3s I thought my tee shot was destined for a green side bunker left and a big gust of wind knocked it back to the right away from the trap. On our 17th hole which played dead into the wind I hit a poor drive left and had to play out short of a creek and had 135 yards up hill into the wind and couldn’t get a 5i there. I hit a bump and run 6i from about 25 yards to 2 feet. The creativity was a lot of fun.

Today the wind was only 15-20 mph and I shot a super solid 76. I hit a lot of controlled knock downs to stay out of the wind.

The creativity makes it a lot of fun but it does wear you out.
 
I've played in about 30-35 with 50+. More than most I know. There's definitely been a few live rounds in at least that.

You nailed the main thing with your last words. It WEARS. YOU. OUT. The focus, concentration, and creativity it requires alone, plus the elements just kind of beat you down physically after a while.

Balls blowing off tees and greens is confusing and frustrating. An 8i that holds a sloped green from 110 feels like a huge victory. 120 yard variations on consecutive drives completely changes the layout and strategy. You have to play wind break even in shorter putts. Etc etc. It's just a mental marathon.

It does teach you a TON of useful shots though and playing in crap like that is basically responsible for my varied and pretty superb wedge game. Sounds like you did real well considering what you were playing in. Well done, man. (y)
 
I don’t remember the wind stats of the day, but I remember a certain round where I took my 230 club into a par 3 that only plays about 160-170ish and came up short...that’s when it becomes not fun anymore.
 
We regularly play in 20-25mph winds here in Kansas. It isn't fun at all really but if it's the only time you can play you learn to deal with it. 25 is usually my limit though, anything over and it is more work than worthwhile.
 
Been at Kapalua when the uphill par 4 10th on Plantation requires a driver just to get it 150 yards - and that's if you are a good driver of the ball.
 
Played a course on Maui (not Kapalua) where it was blowing 40+ easily. I had back to back holes first down wind then back into it. Downwind I was greenside on a 385 par 4. Next hole I pounded a drive, had 135 in, crushed a 4 iron that came up short.


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I played in 30+ mph winds in Fargo ND and Lincoln NE. Not a lot of fun.
 
I’ve played in steady 30-35 with 40+ gusts quite a few times. It definitely does wear you down, and messes with your mind. It’s really distracting when your ball is oscillating on the tee while you’re getting ready to hit it. Im not good at adjusting my swing to compensate for the wind, so I suffer a lot more than somebody who can do that.
 
Played in a Nor-Easter as they call it here in Florida years ago. At the toughest course in town at that time. 30 mph sustained with 45-50 gusts. It was actually a blast. I think I shot a 93 or something and was super happy to get it. 3-4 extra clubs on some holes and aiming 30 yards out of bounds to keep one in play was something I’ll never forget.
 
It was a Masters Thursday round at my home club and we had to hit driver to get the ball to carry 190 into the wind. It was ~35-40 sustained winds (maybe higher as it blew in) for a short period of time and it made golf impossible to enjoy.
 
I played down in the Caymans about 5 years ago and it was 25-30 sustained and gusting up much higher than that. Good shots we’re going crazy offline. Hard to play in those conditions.
 
I have played in 25-30 with gusts 45+. It is kind of ridiculous. I remember a 30 pitch that moved 20 yards right after I hit it.


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Windiest might well have been a freak mid 70s Jan day that was sandwiched between a couple bitter cold snow and ice events. Winds were a steady 45mph+ from the south and gusting higher. I was so surprised by just how much difference that much wind made in my tee shots (100+ yards tailwind vs headwind) that I posted the thread below on THP.

(snippet from my opening paragraph: "...driver shots on holes 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 alternated between directly downwind and directly into that wind and it made a 100+ yard difference in total distance. 287, 183, 303, 178, 291, 202 (293.7 versus 187.7 on average) This on a flat portion of the golf course with very similar contact and ball flights...)

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/index.php?threads/100-yard-winds-would-you-play.92179/
 
Probably a 4 club wind, or worse. I don't remember the mph. It was at the Jack Pot, Nevada course.

We really didn't play any golf. We simply tried to survive for 18 holes.
 
I will purposefully go out when it's really windy around here just to get a few holes in. I have played in 30+ mph winds a few times. I enjoy the challenge and I have a decent knockdown shot so I can get onto the green in it.
 
Several years ago I played on Christmas Eve with 35 mph winds in 35 degree weather. I’m still not really sure why.
 
30 mph sustained. 45 mph gusts. Lubbock texas.
 
I've played in 3 hurricanes (though yesterday was just the outskirts)

I had the wonky no idea what club to pull during the first one. On a 180 par 3 I pulled 3 wood and came up on the front of the green. I had a 550 yard par 5 downwind that went driver-sandwedge. Crosswinds were impossible.
 
You could hear the hum of the wind whipping through the power lines along one of the roads. I hadn’t heard that before.
 
M2Giles said:
I've played in 3 hurricanes (though yesterday was just the outskirts)

I had the wonky no idea what club to pull during the first one. On a 180 par 3 I pulled 3 wood and came up on the front of the green. I had a 550 yard par 5 downwind that went driver-sandwedge. Crosswinds were impossible.
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Crosswinds can make things real interesting when it's that windy. I hit a tee shot to a 115 yard par 3 in 30-35 mph right-to-left crosswinds. I aimed to the right of a bunker right of the green - the wind blew my ball clear across the bunker, across the green, over the rough to the left of it, over the cart path to the left of the rough and into a vacant lot left of the cart path. Absolutely brutal. If there wasn't a forced carry in front of the tees, I would've hit a low punch with a 6 or 7 iron just to keep it down out of the wind. It probably would've been the only way to get a ball on the green.
 
I’ve played In February at Mauna Kea on the Big Island when we had to quit because our golf balls were blowing off the green even after marking them so putting was not possible. Sustained winds were 30+ with gusts to 45+. The wind and rain kept up most the week and it was my only Hawaii vacation where I didn’t come home with much of a tan.
 
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Have made many trips to British Isles and when traveling that far to play....you play no matter what. Have played during remnants of hurricanes which crossed Atlantic and were still active as they banged into Ireland/Scotland. One time I stood on the green at Prestwick which was exposed. The hill on green dictated my putt would break about 2 feet....My caddie said hit it straight....I said what? He said the wind will hold the ball and it won't break...Couldn't do that so I went 1/2 way...It went straight. That day was 40mph all day with big gusts...
 
I don't remember the MPH. But I've played a couple times in wind so strong that you could aim your driver over the trees left of the fairway and if you got it up in the air find it on the next fairway to the right.
 
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