How to play golf on a windy day
By Steve Silverman
Playing golf in the sunshine on a calm day is difficult enough. Golf courses are built with water hazards, bunkers, tall trees and out-of-bounds markers to challenge the golfer on an every-round basis. However, when you have to play when the wind is blowing, it presents even more challenges that can send even the best golfers to their knees.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Calm down and take a realistic approach. You are venturing out on to the golf course on a day when the wind is blowing 20 miles per hour or more. Play it one shot at a time and don't try to defeat the wind.
Play a low shot when playing into the wind. You may be big and strong but you are not going to bust a 330-yard tee shot through the wind by hitting a high ball. Play the ball midway between your front and back foot, and hit it low and hard.
Don't try to slice the ball because the wind is blowing right to left. If you want to play the wind, change your aim or play a fade. Never try to slice the ball because that will become a flaw in your swing that you will find difficult to overcome.
Hit a high shot when you have the wind at your back. This is especially true when you have a long tee shot on a hole that is relatively straight. Since the wind in this case is a helping one, tee the ball up a ball length closer to your front foot and hit a high shot. Don't try to kill it--just hit your normal shot and get a bit of a bonus with the distance.
Always use a longer club than you think you need when you are hitting into the wind. For example, if you are 150 yards away from the hole, you may regularly use a 6-iron to get it on the green. When playing into the wind, take a 4- or a 5-iron and take your normal swing to get it through the wind.
Tips & Warnings
Relax and take a normal swing. Don't try to hit it too hard because you are hitting into the wind. That will almost certainly lead to a miss-hit.
About The Author
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.
