Stay smooth in the Wind

We have all heard the phrase: “Swing easy when it’s breezy” this is easy to say and difficult to do. When the wind picks up I have watched players that are normally good ball strikers become very poor ball strikers because they feel the need to muscle the ball to the target, I play and teach that when the wind picks up and is in our face we must take an extra club for every 8 to 10 mph of wind then make sure we keep our best tempo. The more solidly we can strike the ball the better it will fly. Choking down on the club a little (1/2″-3/4″) should help you to keep your tempo.

When playing in a cross wind we really need to keep it smooth because the wind will really make a poorly struck shot curve well off line. I will also play the ball back in my stance and abbreviate my follow-thru to help keep the ball lower. (think Tiger stinger) The key though will be to make sure you keep your body rotation just like normal. If the rotation stops the ball will not fly online.

When practicing at the range you can try this shot to see how low you can keep the ball while still making good contact. If you have the space you can put tow alignment sticks with a pool noodle across the top (think soccer goal or upside down goal posts) and try to hit shots between and under.

As always you can give your PGA Professional a call to help you work on this.
Good luck!