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| Neil Evans - masterclass in the wind.
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Here's a few tips I 'd like to pass on to Golfmagic followers…
1. Driving into wind
Tee the ball high to make full use of the deep faces of modern drivers. You need to strike the ball solidly on the upswing rather than chop down trying to make contact with a ball teed tightly to the grass or teeing mat.
Widen your stance a little for better balance and hit smoothly and more easily keeping hands slightly ahead of the ball at impact. Sweep it off the tee gripping down the club for better control and with a shorter backswing.
Don't try to hit it harder, hit it better.
For mid or long irons to the green in a strong wind, take at least two or three clubs more than you would normally for the required distance and concentrate on achieving a good smooth contact.
2. Driving downwind
The object here is to get the ball up high. Tee it high, let it fly is the old adage.
This helps the ball float along and reduces backspin so it runs further on landing. Unless your normal shot with a driver tends to fly high anyway, use the extra loft of a 3-wood.
Pay attention, too, to the hazards that suddenly might come into play downwind. Neither is it clever nor wise to boast to your mates that you drove into the lake in front of a short par 4 and took double bogey six when you could have laid up and had a birdie putt with sensible club selection.
For approach shots, realise you won't achieve much backspin so allow for the ball to run out to the hole. Alternatively from pitching distance take 5- or 6-iron and chip and run.
If the greens are holding as they tend to be at this time of year, you can play aggressively with a sand iron from 9-iron distance and hit it crisper and harder. But don't force the extra distance, keep it smooth, to avoid the dreaded 'fat' shot.
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| Daly - tee it high, let it fly.
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3. Left to right cross wind
The left to right wind is the one amateur golfers fear most as it tends to accentuate their slice.
From the tee use a 3-wood instead of a driver and close the clubface a touch (then adjust your hands slightly to the right on your grip) for a swingpath that aims down the left. Ignore the wind but allow it to fade the ball to the right in its flight.
For a shot to the green take more loft, hands slightly right of normal on the grip and aim to the left of the flagstick, if there's room. The ball will tend to stop quickly.
4. Right to left wind
With 80 per-cent of golfers tending to slice or fade the ball, we feel more comfortable with this type of wind.
It's automatic to aim into this wind which brings the clubface path from the inside, allowing the wind to bring the ball back into the fairway. If you're a hooker, move your hands slightly left on the grip and from the tee, tee it lower than normal, to induce a left to right flight.
For regular faders or slicers, an approach shot to the green should be played with less loft than the distance dictates. This will encourage you to swing instinctively with less force and with an open clubface. The ball will tend to hold up into the wind and land softly.
5. Putting in the wind
Putting in strong wind can be so frustrating but the secret is to allow for it and maintain your balance.
Widen your stance slightly by an inch or two either side of the ball to give you more stability.
On hard, fast greens replace the ball carefully and avoid grounding the putter behind the ball. Once the putter is grounded after taking stance at address and the ball moves, the player is liable to a one stroke penalty.
However, if a player replaces his ball on the putting green (the ball is at rest) and then a sudden gust of wind blows the ball further away from the hole before he addresses it, he must play the ball from its new position (Decision 18.1/12). Wind is not an 'outside agency.'
Tell us about your experiences in playing in the wind on The Forum. Has anything unusual happen to you - and what was the outcome?
Action pictures courtesy of
Sport Photo Gallery.
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