Wind

[Ira Fishman]

Watching the Am, I am befuddled about why these terrific players flight their shots so high.


Ira

[Peter Pallotta]

They must know something I don't.
Maybe when you're not so good or almost good it's very important to be able to hit all the shots; but then when you're really really good it doesn't matter anymore.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have a good friend who told me he just hits the same shots regardless of the wind. He knows how the wind will affect his ball so he just adjusts club selection.

[Sven Nilsen]

Their shots spin less than yours.

[Jeff Schley]

Didn't someone just post Tom Watson's response they heard when asked a question of how he plays good in the wind?  Just a couple weeks ago maybe.  He said I just try and hit solid shots, that the wind won't affect solid shots so that is what I try and hit.

[Thomas Dai]

There was a link to a wonderful video clip posted herein a while ago of Gil Morgan playing a low, chasing draw with a long iron during the 1992 US Open at Pebble Beach. Pretty cool. Proper golf. Skill and technique and brain.
Atb

[Jeff Schley]

There was a link to a wonderful video clip posted herein a while ago of Gil Morgan playing a low, chasing draw with a long iron during the 1992 US Open at Pebble Beach. Pretty cool. Proper golf. Skill and technique and brain.
Atb

True Thomas.  He is Dr. Gil Morgan after all, some just want to bomb and swing as hard as they can.

[Ira Fishman]

Their shots spin less than yours.

Sven, you know from experience that the topped grounder is my go to shot.

[Sven Nilsen]

Their shots spin less than yours.

Sven, you know from experience that the topped grounder is my go to shot.

Ira:


Topspin can be good spin.


Sven

[Steve Lang]

I can relate to the rash of grounders increasing when I play but still wish Watson hadn’t Missed that one shot at end of The Open which could have been one for the ages


Hit it hard indeed


Momentum = mass x velocity
Momentum is additive


Mass of golf ball per unit volume is like 1000 times that of air (let’s round and forget the decimal places for discussion)


Velocity of ball, well , we know all about that off club heads and going out down the fairway spinning, less as it reaches apex, then reaching terminal velocity coming back to ground


Well struck ball’s momentum easily overwhelms wind’s until transitions in flight when most susceptible to being moved with or held by the wind...


Ball on green at Ballyneal in 30 mph gusting winds, you can ask Ms Sheila about that

[James Brown]

I have been fascinated watching the Amateur at Bandon. 


They have moved the tees up on 12 and 15 quite a bit.  Still at 15, even from only 162 most of the players are flighting it down quite a lot. 


Very nice to see how good and interesting of a test Bandon is for these guys. 

[Mike Nuzzo]

Didn't someone just post Tom Watson's response they heard when asked a question of how he plays good in the wind?  Just a couple weeks ago maybe.  He said I just try and hit solid shots, that the wind won't affect solid shots so that is what I try and hit.

Does Watson also think that wind doesn't affect an airplane when flying solidly?

[Mark Pearce]

Didn't someone just post Tom Watson's response they heard when asked a question of how he plays good in the wind?  Just a couple weeks ago maybe.  He said I just try and hit solid shots, that the wind won't affect solid shots so that is what I try and hit.

Does Watson also think that wind doesn't affect an airplane when flying solidly?

He's right, though.  A well struck ball will, typically, have less side spin and a more stable axis of rotation than a badly struck one.  It's spin (and the way that airflow over the surface of the ball interacts with that spin) that's the real problem in wind, so a well struck ball will fly straighter than a badly struck one.  Similarly, high launch angle low spin shots will suffer less than low launch angle high spin shots.

[Thomas Dai]

Being brought up playing on green and lushly irrigated courses with soft greens probably has something to do with lack of shot variation by the younger generation within the modern game.
The modern ball is a factor too. It flies straighter and although the elite still seem to be able to manufacture shots with it I'm not sure of the extent others now do when with the old style ball even single-figure amateurs might use such as approach to their advantage. Indeed, didn't Ben Hogan say something about always wanting to play in wind so he could hold shots up against it working it both ways if necessary. Seve in his prime and in the wind was just exceptional .. low 3/4 shots moving either way as appropriate.
Clubs too. Learning and playing with a few non-matching hand-me-down clubs is likely to produce a different golfer to one who from early times has 14 custom fit clubs, even more so if learning on variable ground conditions.
atb

[Kalen Braley]

Didn't someone just post Tom Watson's response they heard when asked a question of how he plays good in the wind?  Just a couple weeks ago maybe.  He said I just try and hit solid shots, that the wind won't affect solid shots so that is what I try and hit.

Does Watson also think that wind doesn't affect an airplane when flying solidly?

He's right, though.  A well struck ball will, typically, have less side spin and a more stable axis of rotation than a badly struck one.  It's spin (and the way that airflow over the surface of the ball interacts with that spin) that's the real problem in wind, so a well struck ball will fly straighter than a badly struck one.  Similarly, high launch angle low spin shots will suffer less than low launch angle high spin shots.

He only needed two more words in there... "as much".  Can't imagine he really thinks hitting a 7 iron into a 20 MPH wind will have no effect.

[jeffwarne]

low spin balls and clubs.


Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson used to focus on striking it solid and not hitting ot "low", but most of the rest of us spent a lot of time learning to "flight" the ball.
Somewhat less useful these days, though these players certainly have the skill to flight it when needed.(it's just needed less)
It is one reason you'll see a lot of 3 woods on firm turf with wind and the 3 wood is going to be easier to hold the shot from riding the wind in a left to right crosswind for many players.