OT: wind adjustment formula

[Matt_Cohn]

A friend just suggested a formula to adjust for downwind/into the wind. Into the wind, you add 1% of the yardage for every MPH of wind. Downwind, you subtract 0.5% of the yardage for every MPH.


So into a 12 MPH wind, 150 yards would play 150+(0.01)(150)(12)=168
Down a 12 MPH wind, 150 yards would play 150-(0.005)(150)(12)=141


Anyone heard of this or have any thoughts? Obviously it doesn't account for trajectory...

[Erik J. Barzeski]

I think it's close. Close enough for the simplicity of the calculations.

The real question is almost… how do you know what 10 MPH is? Or 14? Or 22?

[Daryl David]

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=anemometer&gclid=CjwKCAiA9NGfBhBvEiwAq5vSywr-eZZaTU4wFeJ3Aj_govgiigr4RFHfwNdIxdpGIpdVfqpVxOF3sxoCilsQAvD_BwE&hvadid=616863167925&hvdev=c&hvlocint=9033665&hvlocphy=9122070&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8913477501895808535&hvtargid=kwd-29218596&hydadcr=24665_13611781&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_9b30yjg5f7_e


I played with a guy once that had one of these in his bag. Pretty funny when he whipped it out, took a wind reading and then used his range finder. Calculated everything in his head and the pulled a club. Then dumped it short into the pond. 

[Pete_Pittock]

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=anemometer&gclid=CjwKCAiA9NGfBhBvEiwAq5vSywr-eZZaTU4wFeJ3Aj_govgiigr4RFHfwNdIxdpGIpdVfqpVxOF3sxoCilsQAvD_BwE&hvadid=616863167925&hvdev=c&hvlocint=9033665&hvlocphy=9122070&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8913477501895808535&hvtargid=kwd-29218596&hydadcr=24665_13611781&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_9b30yjg5f7_e


I played with a guy once that had one of these in his bag. Pretty funny when he whipped it out, took a wind reading and then used his range finder. Calculated everything in his head and the pulled a club. Then dumped it short into the pond. 

Serves him right for breaking a rule of golf. Is there a formula for how much drag is produced by a fronting water feature or bunker?

[Charlie Goerges]

The rule of thumb I was taught was one club for every ten miles per hour of wind into you. As for knowing the wind speed, it’s just practice. For me, if it’s feeling windy, it’s probably 10mph. If I’m raising my voice to talk to others, it’s about 20, if flags are ironed out flat, pushing 30, etc.


At my level of golfing skill, there’s no point in getting much more granular than that, and I don’t know how anyone is accurate to 1 mph without an anomometer.

[Tim Leahy]

The rule of thumb I was taught was one club for every ten miles per hour of wind into you. As for knowing the wind speed, it’s just practice. For me, if it’s feeling windy, it’s probably 10mph. If I’m raising my voice to talk to others, it’s about 20, if flags are ironed out flat, pushing 30, etc.


At my level of golfing skill, there’s no point in getting much more granular than that, and I don’t know how anyone is accurate to 1 mph without an anomometer.

+1 for me, but Mr. Cohn might be one of those golfers that could might need the wind calculated down to 1 yard.

[Niall C]

A friend just suggested a formula to adjust for downwind/into the wind. Into the wind, you add 1% of the yardage for every MPH of wind. Downwind, you subtract 0.5% of the yardage for every MPH.


So into a 12 MPH wind, 150 yards would play 150+(0.01)(150)(12)=168
Down a 12 MPH wind, 150 yards would play 150-(0.005)(150)(12)=141


Anyone heard of this or have any thoughts? Obviously it doesn't account for trajectory...

Matt


I'd suggest it doesn't account for a lot of things and at the end of the day a gut feel based on experience and imagination would count for more.


Niall

[astavrides]

There are some books on golf physics, and I remember the part that the OP references about gaining less distance from wind at your back than you lose if you are going into the wind.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Agree experience and feel


The other problem is the end is rarely parallel with the hole you are playing,  so if you have to ride the wind how far must the ball travel?




I also find the first 10mph doesn't have much effect on a well struck shot. After that its effect starts to grow exponentially. I can't control my trajectory so ballooning becomes more and more of a problem.
Into the wind if 20mph is 2 clubs, 25 needs 3 and anything above 28 needs 4 or more.


Downwind it's more like 15mph before you can club down and it very much depends on the turf. Once it gets above 25, with the wind right behind no club rises much higher than any other and it's all a matter of feel.  I recall playing from rough well behind the green on the Last par 5 on the Eden. I'd picked a 5iron when 235 from the pin - about 5 clubs less than normal. Without the rough it might still be travelling...

[Cliff Hamm]

https://www.wkbn.com/weather/weather-for-kids-how-to-use-a-flag-to-find-the-wind-speed/#:~:text=If%20the%20flag%20flaps%20lightly,is%2032%20to%2037%20mph.

keep in mind size and weight of flag will have an effect...so a golf flag will be out right before a heavy flag.  Also, wind above the tree line is of most import....

[Tim Martin]

Playing uphill adds another dimension to the calculation as I’ve always gone by adding one club for every fifteen feet of elevation or roughly one story. Very difficult to judge when factoring in both elevation change and wind speed.

[Sven Nilsen]

High ball hitters need to add more. 


Wind adjustment is highly subjective.

[Jeff_Brauer]

You can trust the wind about as much as a riverboat gambler, but I agree the basic formula is about right.  I mean, you have to do something to take wind into account, and when in doubt, add yet another club in a headwind.

[Tim Gavrich]

I hit a stock 7 iron about 170 yards and a stock 6 iron about 180. On the hypothetical example of a 150-yard shot into a 12mph wind that is "playing" 168, in the last couple of years, I've noticed that that situation calls for a ~170 shot, but with a 6 iron instead of 7.


In other words, into that wind I'm trying to hit a 170-yard shot, but with the 180-yard club. That approach helps me hit it pin-high into the wind more often, FWIW.