Playing Golf in Windy Conditions

Here's a familiar scenario: you're on the tee, and there's a strong wind blowing from left to right. You know you need to aim left to allow for the wind. You pick a target on the left side of the fairway, but as you stand over the ball, the wind pushing against your body makes you feel like you're not aimed far enough left. You adjust your aim even further left to "fight it." You then make a swing, and the ball starts on your new, extra-left line and gets blown even further offline into the right rough.

The wind doesn't just affect the ball in the air. More importantly, it affects you as you stand over the ball, and it can wreck your alignment and your swing before you even start the takeaway.

Knockdown shot that holds line in the wind

Adam Bazalgette shows ball position, shaft lean, and follow-through for a knockdown shot.

How does the wind mess with your ball in two different ways?

1. It Affects Your Balance: This is the most obvious one. A strong gust of wind can physically push you around. If you're not in a stable, athletic position at address, it's very easy to lose your balance during the swing. This leads to all sorts of mis-hits-fat shots, thin shots, and heel or toe strikes.

2. It Affects Your Perception (The Real Killer): This is the subtle but more damaging effect. Your body has an amazing ability to seek balance. When a crosswind is pushing on you, your body will instinctively want to lean into it to stay stable.

   • In a left-to-right wind, you'll unconsciously lean to the left. This often causes you to aim your shoulders even further left than you intended. This new, open alignment promotes an out-to-in, slice-producing swing path. So, in the very wind that will exaggerate a slice, you've just made a swing that is more likely to produce one.
   • In a right-to-left wind, the opposite happens. You'll lean into the wind, aiming your body further to the right. This promotes an in-to-out swing path, making a hook more likely in the very wind that will make a hook worse.

You end up fighting the wind with your setup, which only compounds the problem.

How to Use the Wind, Not Fight It

The key to good wind play is to accept the conditions and make smart adjustments, not to fight against them.

• Take More Club and Swing Smooth: This is the golden rule of wind play, especially into a headwind. If you'd normally hit a 7-iron, take out a 6-iron and make a smooth, 80% swing. A harder, faster swing generates more backspin, which causes the ball to "balloon" up into the wind and come up short. A smoother swing produces a lower-spinning, more penetrating flight that bores through the wind. It also makes it much easier to keep your balance. Keep the reference ball position and accept the lower, more penetrating window from a longer club.
• Widen Your Stance: On a very windy day, take a SLIGHTLY wider stance than you normally would for all your full shots. This lowers your centre of gravity and gives you a much more stable base, making you less susceptible to being pushed around by gusts.
• Play a "Knockdown" Shot: If it's insanely windy you may be forced to play wind-beating knockdown shot by making a few adjustments. Play the ball an inch or two further back in your stance than normal. Put a little extra weight (60%) on your lead foot at address. Then, make a three-quarter backswing and an abbreviated, "punchy" follow-through that finishes below your shoulders. The ball will come out low and hot, staying under the worst of the wind.
• Trust Your Pre-Shot Routine: This is the most important tip for your start line. Your pre-shot routine for alignment is your best friend in the wind. Stand behind the ball. Pick your target, factoring in the wind. If the wind is 20 yards left-to-right, your target is 20 yards left of the pin. Find your intermediate target on that line. Now, here's the key: commit to it. When you stand over the ball and the wind starts pushing you, ignore the instinct to re-aim. Trust the line you picked from behind. Make a confident swing towards your chosen start line, and let the wind be your friend that brings the ball back to the target.

Good wind players don't fight the elements; they use them. By making a few smart adjustments and trusting your alignment, you can turn a windy day from a struggle into a fun and rewarding challenge.

Need to sharpen the flight windows to match? How to Hit it High and Low: Taking Control of Your Trajectory walks through the shot shapes, and Steep vs. Shallow: Finding the Right Angle of Attack for Every Club keeps the launch conditions predictable.

The key takeaways...

Windy conditions exaggerate every mistake. If you already struggle with start line, the breeze makes it worse.

• What's Happening? Crosswinds push the ball, but setup errors magnify misses.

• Typical Causes

• Ball too far forward, starting left in crosswind.
• Ball too far back, starting right.

• Alignment drifting with wind.

• Setup Fundamentals Stick to fundamentals even in wind. Ball position per club doesn't change. Only adjust aim, not setup. Consistent stance and ball placement give predictable flight, so you can allow for wind without double errors.

• Big Picture Don't let wind trick you into bad setup changes. Trust fundamentals, adjust aim, and the ball behaves more consistently.

Wind tempts golfers to make big setup changes, which often backfire. Keep your ball position and stance width consistent for the club in hand. Then adjust aim, trajectory choice, and club selection-not the fundamentals.

• With/cross wind Trust your normal start line and adjust aim to let the wind work. Don't let your ball position creep forward to “help it ride the breeze,” or your shoulders will open and you'll pull it.

The rule: keep setup constant, alter strategy, not geometry.

What are the quick questions golfers keep asking?

Q: Why is fighting the wind the worst strategy?
A: Because extra speed balloons the ball. Take more club, swing smoother, and keep it under the gusts.

Q: How do you judge crosswinds without overthinking?
A: Watch the treetops and grass, pick an intermediate target left or right, and trust your normal shape to ride the breeze.