Playing In Scotland/Wind?

by Joel Coe

Having the chance to be in Scotland and be a caddy in the European Q-School at Dundonald Links I have learned a lot about playing in the wind.  Although wind was not the only element that we had to counter(rain and 55 degrees Fahrenheit), it was a consistent 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.  That will alter your game and there are things that you can do to play better in these conditions.

When its Cold and/or Rainy

The most important part of playing in the rain/cold is to keep your hands warm and your grips dry.  Always have a pair of rain gloves and a regular glove.  If you have a caddy have him hold the umbrella over you while you are walking so that you can put your hands in your pocket. In your pocket you should put hand warmers in there and bring extra ones in your bag.  You should always have a towel but in the rain it is especially important so that you can dry your grips off.  Wet grips are never good because it causes you to grip onto the club harder which is a big no-no.

First, to feel comfortable out on the course you must dress for the conditions.  When you tee off on  the first tee you want to be warm.  So many times I see guys under dress but they bring their rain gear or extra clothing in the bag.  If the forecast is calling for rain, cold, or windy put on some extra clothing before you go out, you can always shed clothing if it gets warmer or clears up.  This also reduces the chances of your clothing being wet then putting rain gear over top of wet clothing.

When its Windy

The four wind directions are tailwind, headwind, and crosswinds with crosswinds being the most difficult situation to play in.  If you hit a hook or slice then a crosswind will magnify the effect on the ball resulting in bigger hook or slice.  When you want the ball to land and stop curve your ball into the crosswind.  If you want the ball to land and kick forward curve the ball so that it rides the wind.  REMEMBER any extra spin on the ball in crosswinds will greatly magnify the ball flight.

In a headwind the best shot to hit is the "knockdown" shot.  If you have this shot in your bag it helps out a lot.  To hit this shot play the ball back in your stance.  Have your hands in front of the ball at address and through impact.  You don't want to swing at full speed so around 80% is good and finish low.  When hitting a knockdown shot always hit one more club than normal as the ball will not travel as far with this shot.

Playing in a tailwind is usually the easiest wind to play in for all of us.  The ball will go much further(good for ego) but it will also roll much farther when it lands.  You can play your normal shot in a tailwind but also a knock down, just remember that when it lands with a knockdown it will roll much farther.  The good thing about a tailwind is even if you mis hit the the ball it will go straighter.

The best thing to remember when playing in the wind is to "When it's breezy swing easy".

Comments

[Sean]

Just played a round in tropical storm force winds. It was pretty crazy but not as bad as I thought it was going to be.