When It’s Breezy, Swing Easy
Windy? That is an understatement! With the high winds we have had this week, I thought I would touch on a few tips for playing in the wind…
Against the Wind:
The key to playing against the wind is to resist the temptation to hit the ball hard. The harder you swing the more spin you place on the ball and the more the wind will affect it. Remember to old saying, “When it’s breezy, swing easy”.
Widen your stance for better balance, place the ball back in your stance, and maintain a good pace with the swing ensuring that you keep your body turning to the target. Club selection will be based on wind speed. Typically for every 10mph the wind blows you should adjust one club down. So if the wind is blowing 20mph and you are at your 7 iron distance, hit a 5 iron. Another method you can experiment with is choking down on the club, since every inch you grip down in the club equates to one less club in distance.
The good news about playing shots into the wind is that it can be a tremendous advantage on approach shots. The wind will help stop the ball on the green because it aids in increasing backspin.
Downwind:
When playing downwind it is a good news/bad news situation. Good News is the ball will play straighter and longer. The Bad News is it is more difficult to stop the ball on the green, so favor the front of the green when choosing your yardage.
Cross Winds:
Skilled players should try curving the ball into the wind. For example, if the wind is blowing from left to right, hit a draw and hold it against the wind. The safer approach for average golfers is to favor the side of the hole that the wind is blowing from and simply let the wind carry the ball back to the target. It is difficult to judge just how much the wind will affect the ball, so remain patient and laugh it off when the wind carries the ball more than you expected!
It definitely takes practice to learn how to play in the wind, but the positive is that we have the opportunity to practice quite often – since the wind always blows in West Texas!
Contact one of your local PGA Professionals for more advice on your wind game and learning to control your trajectory. And remember……..widen your stance and swing easy!
Jimmy Tidwell, Club Manager and Director of Golf
Bentwood Country Club, you may contact him at 944-8575.