Playing in gusty wind conditions

jnug

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Does anybody that has to play in gusty winds regularly have any tips or even things that one should be prepared for when playing in those conditions?
I went out to the range today specifically because winds were really gusting today in my part of New Hampshire. Gusts were as high as 20 mph and maybe higher on the range where the wind tends to get funneled.

I had two major concerns I was trying to get a feel for as we get into the months when I am likely to see more of those kinds of conditions on the course here. One was how I would hold up and the other was how my shot would hold up in the wind. Was it penetrating enough? Was I hitting the ball with enough juice?

As for my shot that worked out OK. The wind was a cross wind and it did make my draw seem to draw a little more and I could tell that a fade held into the wind a bit but my shot did not appear to be getting knocked down any more than I expected. I expect I would see more impact hitting directly into that much wind but again I was more concerned about whether my shot might suffer more than average and I don’t think that is the case.

However I was another story. Since I am right handed the wind was straight into my face at address the entire three hour period that I was out there. I got knocked around pretty good I think mainly because I spent the entire time facing directly into the wind. I could get knocked backward on occasion and the ball would even wobble around on occasion I think because this range cuts to very tight lies. In addition, again since I was always facing into the wind the noise level was a real distraction especially for as long as I was out there and it was very difficult to concentrate. You found yourself wishing you could turn around and play left handed just to get the wind behind you so you could stop the howling in your ears. One guy even had ear muffs on and it was not cold enough to need them for that purpose. I have to believe he was trying to gain some quiet. I did learn a good deal I think about how to hold up under those conditions, how to concentrate, how to hold yourself in a position that would be more difficult to get buffeted around in, how to try to wait for gaps in the gusts to hit etc.

I think there are some folks that would not get to play very much if they avoided gusty wind conditions and so I thought I would ask for advice from folks that see these conditions more than I do.
 
Wow, 20mph? I might be able to help...as that's about average for the uk. Lol.

1. Swing easy and don't try to force things! A well struck golf ball penetrates the wind much more than a poorly hit one, into the wind just take extra club and let it do the work. The wind will tend to exaggerate any side spin on the ball too, so again if you try to over-hit there's more chance of a slice/hook.

2. Play with a side wind, not against it. If there's a right to left wind you should try to draw the ball and visa versa for the opposite. It makes things easier to control with better distance control.

3. Select the pins to attack. If the pin is tucked away on the left edge of the green and there's a left to right wind, just play for the middle of the putting surface. Conversely if the wind is going right to left then aim for the middle and let the wind just take it towards the hole.

4. Chipping/pitching, don't underestimate how much harder it is to stop the ball when playing with a hind-wind. Again, conversely if you chip into a head wind you can attack the hole more.

Hope this helps dude. These are partly based on my own experiences and partly based on stuff I've been taught or seen from pros on the web
 
Oh, one thing I forgot. Don't rush! Still keep your pre-shot routine the same, and if you get blown out of it or if you don't feel comfy, just re-start. It never seems to work out well when I hit a shot that I am not happy standing over.
 
agree with Dazinkster, i usually swing easy with a longer club.
Also, as i tend to hit the ball quite high, i need to concentrate on holding my wrist hinge to keep the ball down.
 
Overall, as above, don't try to swing harder. Take extra club if you need to, compensate with your aiming, and play a little more defensively than you would normally. There's an extra factor you're playing against.
 
20 mph? That's just a gentle spring breeze. I've played here in nearly 40 mph sustained with gusts over 50.

Don't spend a lot of time standing over the ball. Get ready and hit.

I use a lot of 3/4 swings, even on downwind shots... the shorter swing does 2 things, gives the wind less time to blow you off the ball and keeps a lower ball trajectory.

The more you keep the ball out of the wind the easier time you will have.

Accept the fact that you will not probably score as well as you normally do. Having the right mindset going in makes that occasional wind caused bad swing easier to deal with.
 
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