Playing In the Wind

When playing on windy days, controlling your ball flight is essential to shooting good scores. To conquer windy conditions, you must be able to hit the ball with a lower trajectory, and this will require making adjustments to your normal swing.

The main adjustment you will have to make is to develop a shallower approach to the ball. To encourage a shallower swing, a good thought to have is to keep your swing more U-shaped than V-shaped.

Understanding the role back spin plays with regard to ball flight will allow you to pick an appropriate strategy. The two biggest components for creating back spin are club head speed and loft. The faster the club head is swung, and the more lofted club that is used, the more backspin that is imparted on the ball. Into a strong wind, it is human nature to want to swing harder in an effort to get the ball to the green, which is exactly the wrong strategy.

Not only does the hard swing diminish the odds of hitting a solid shot, but it creates a ball flying with a lot of backspin. Backspin creates lift. So that the ball "climbs or rises" into the strong wind and as a result flies even shorter than would an easier swing. The best strategy into a strong wind, is to take what you believe to be too much club and than swing easy. The resultant ball flight will be much lower and "flatter" and your ball will carry much better through the wind. The opposite would hold true with a strong tail wind. Remember this course management tip on windy days to lower your scores.