Nae wind; nae golf-----how about the direction?

[mike_malone]

Royal Aberdeen seems to play much easier with a north wind than a south one . I guess that is because of the classic 9 out then 9 back.

[Doug Siebert]

I think that's true of most courses, there's usually a wind direction that makes it easier and another that makes it harder.

But I think it will be different for different golfers.  Why do you think Royal Aberdeen plays easier with a north wind versus a south wind, for example?  What is it about the composition of the holes that makes it so?  Is that true for your game, or do you think it would be true for everyone?

I'll score better if I play the longer holes with the wind, which is probably true for most people.  Taking a long hole and adding wind means hitting a long iron at best and maybe a layup for your second.  With the short holes it doesn't matter, full wedge versus half wedge, or half wedge versus trying to drive it.

If its a cross wind, it depends more on what fits your game.  Some people who draw it like a right to left wind as it'll give them more distance.  Others might prefer a left to right wind because they can play a hold shot into that wind easily.  I'm not a big fan of a strong right to left wind, because my misses are mostly to the left and I don't need the wind helping me get there.  Also, if I don't think about it, I'll kind of visualize the shot with the wind's affect added in, and that makes me unconsciously play a draw, with the bad results you can imagine!

Of course, other than out and back layouts, you get a mix of all this, so it depends more on which holes fit your game better that get harder/easier in the wind.  There's a course around here that I play much better in a south wind, while a north wind gives me fits.  There are seven holes with the tee very elevated over the landing area, six of which play into a north wind and only one plays with.  I can't really hit a "low" shot, so the odds are much more in my favor if I only face one such tee shot in a round, versus six!  Those who can play a low ball might prefer the north wind, because by far the two most difficult par 5s play with a north wind (though even then neither will give up an eagle putt unless you're crazy long or get a lucky bounce on the approach)

[tomgoutman]

Depends on golfers' preferred shot shape if it's a cross wind. I recall a round at the Old Course, wind 25 mph left to right going out and, of course, right to left coming back. A friend who plays very right to left tore up the front side and was demolished on the back. When wind is at your front or rear, I think it depends on your ability to control trajectory/ball flight.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Doug,

Not so sure that I agree with you.

I think the routing is the key, certainly not the golfer.

One of the architect's challenges is to forge an unbiased challenge that doesn't favor any particular game.
 
Part of the genius in Donald Ross's design at Seminole is how the overall tactical balance of the course is preserved, irrespective of the direction of the wind.

While the play of each hole changes with the change in the direction of the wind, the overall tactical balance remains stable.

Certainly, courses that are more linear, more out and back, versus triangular or circular, can benefit from certain wind directions.

NGLA and Newport come to mind.

When one plays NGLA early, the front nine can be relatively benign, but, sometimes, when you make the turn, the winds begin to pick up and the back nine plays downwind.

There is a considerable difference in playing the back nine downwind, versus into the wind or with no wind.

[Ed Brzezowski]

Sometimes I wonder if downwind is as easy as some folks say it is , or I might just be a poor player. Some shots seem to float and ride the the wind forever , others do seem to get knocked down by wind. Personally I like into the wind. It seems to be easier to pick the correct club.

[mike_malone]

I just looked at the scores.

[Matt MacIver]

The Ocean Course is one that only really has two directions, and the downwind holes can play way easier when it's howling, irrespective of ones ball flight.

[Amol Yajnik]

From a player's perspective, I think that a crosswind is more difficult to judge than directly downwind or into the wind.  Most players don't realize that a crosswind is going to hurt distance and they don't properly account for it.