Tell me about your experiences with the wind

[Jim Johnson]

Golfed in Mens Night on the first Wednesday in May this year at a local course; wind was in excess of 40 MPH...one of our foursome had a pull-cart, and his bag was way bigger, relatively speaking, than his cart. After watching it fall over twice on the first hole, we had a bet as to how many times it would fall over during the 18 holes. He got par on one hole...it fell over 4 times.  

JJ

[Kalen Braley]

I don't mean to sound like the skeptic here, but I'm just curious how all of you knew what the wind speeds were when you played?  Were you carrying masuring equipment on the course with you?

I played a round at Pacific Grove years ago in what felt like 35-40 MPH winds.  I found out later that day after checking the local weather observations that it was only blowing 20-25....

[Pete_Pittock]

  I played a morning round at Sandpines with the wind blowing about 40. Drove down to Bandon Dunes where it seemed stronger, probably because it was more exposed. At the turn I purchased a new yardage book because the one I started out using only had holes 1-2-17-18 remaining. The rest had been blow away. The ball kept oscillating because of the high cut on the greens, but it was never blown away once it had stopped.
  The only stronger wind was at Royal Port Cinque in an October with the opening hole playing downwind of the left shoulder at about 45.
 Recent strongish wind days were at Chambers Bay and Prestwixk.

[Tim_Weiman]

George:

I have played in what was reported to be 70 MPH winds and probably played the best round of golf in my life, a 91 when the next best reported score was 135. The venue was Turnberry where I was traveling with a group of 12 players almost all single digit players.

It felt like a war zone. A good friend of mine blasted a three wood only to watch the ball go out and then hover back above him and wind up about fifty yards behind him. I've never seen anything like it.

Yes, putting was very difficult, not just because the ball often moved before making one's stroke. Actually, just holding and stroking the putter was very difficult.

Somehow I managed to stay focused and repeatedly hit very low shots. I've never struck the ball better.

I couldn't come close to doing that again......wouldn't really care to try!

[Rich Goodale]

According to the Beaufort Scale, at about 30mph "Umbrella use becomes difficult."  To me, that's a pretty good description of the line between "challenging" and "goofy" in terms of golf.

[Tom_Doak]

I have been out walking on a property in Ireland in 75 MPH winds, and when I had to walk back straight into the wind, I couldn't ... I could only make progess by tacking!

I've played in 40-50 mph winds on a few occasions and it is always interesting.  In one such match with Bruce Hepner at Muirfield, he tried to hit a long iron from about 140 yards on the par-3 seventh, and tried to hit it hard; with the extra spin it got out over the approach to the green, hovered briefly, bounced once in the fairway and then into the rough back toward the tee.

You should never try to hit any shot hard in that sort of wind, just play a lot of low knuckleball shots and laugh it off.

[Doug Siebert]

I've loved playing in strong winds ever since my first trip to Scotland.  I only experienced winds up to about 40 mph on that trip but they were the strongest winds I'd ever played in.  Before that I'd always avoided playing on the windiest days.  I just didn't "get it" until playing over there.

Since then I deliberately try to play on the windiest days.  Around here we'll rarely see winds of over 40 mph sustained unless a thunderstorm is blowing through, but days with winds over 30 mph aren't all that rare and I'll go out then if at all possible, unless there has been recent heavy rain (playing in the wind on a wet course just isn't the same)

The windiest day I've ever played was a round at Lahinch in 1996, which would have to rank as one of my best played rounds ever.  It was so windy that not only did stand bags not stand up, I actually lost my balance and fell over a couple times when cresting or rounding a hill and going from little wind to the full force of a surprise vigorous gust!  There were a few squalls with bits of rain that felt like daggers that would come without notice and we'd scurry to the nearest dune and huddle against it like a sheep until it passed.

The balls would oscillate on the greens, on the tees, on the fairways, everywhere.  I had to angle my tees into the wind a bit to keep the ball from falling off it.  Sometimes a ball on the green that had come to rest would start moving from an especially big gust while you were walking to it so depending on where the ball and hole was in relation to the wind direction it was smart to either hurry or dawdle on your way to it!

After the round in the clubhouse we were told the winds were force 9 steady, and there were higher gusts.  I looked it up later and remember that was a 50 mph wind.  The members said it was a good day to be inside having a pint and that aside from the tourists, the only ones out on such a day were the dedicated and the nutters!  Perhaps on that day I was all three...

[Jay Carstens]

We played Wednesday in Nebraska while our weather station was reporting 41 mph with gust to 57 mph.  I hit a 6-iron from 236 and a 4-iron from 120 that came up 20 yards short.  Can somebody tell me how to play a low trajectory shot from a severe uphill lie into this kind of wind?  I really have no idea.  

[George Pazin]

We played Wednesday in Nebraska while our weather station was reporting 41 mph with gust to 57 mph.  I hit a 6-iron from 236 and a 4-iron from 120 that came up 20 yards short.  Can somebody tell me how to play a low trajectory shot from a severe uphill lie into this kind of wind?  I really have no idea.  

Top a driver.

Thanks for the answers, everyone.

[Mark Pearce]

I used to work in wind tunnels.  We had a very large one suitable for testing,among other things, Formula 1 racing cars.  At a steady 50mph it is difficult to stand up, you can lean into the wind and not fall over.  It would be physically impossible to make a golf swing in a 50mph wind.  Imagine,on a perfectly still day, standing on the roof of a car travelling in a straight line at 50 mph and trying to make a golf swing.

Bear in mind that wind speeds at ground level are significantly lower than even a few yards above the ground.  70mph winds are not 70mph at the level we experience them.  I don't know what height wind speeds are measured but it is many yards above the ground, where the drag on the surface is not affecting the wind speed.  This drag is, of course, why low struck shots are less affected by the wind - it's simply slower nearer the ground.

Golf becomes pretty much impossible at 30mph winds in my opinion, but I've played in higher winds.  Those

[Jason Topp]

The day I played Barnbougle you got blasted with sand if you walked on the downwind side of a bunker.  On the 17th tee, my face stung with an all out sandblast from the beach.

I have no idea if it was the windiest day I played but I do recall a high school tournament where on a 500 yard par five I hit driver/sand wedge on the green.  The next hole was a 150 yard par three into the wind and I again hit driver/sand wedge.

I have fun in the wind if I am hitting it halfway decently and am patient enough to not care about my score.  Otherwise, it is pretty easy to get beat up.  

[Brent Hutto]

I don't suppose I've ever played in really windy conditions. The afternoon I played the MPPC Shore course with five GCAers there was a steady wind of 25mph-ish with maybe 30-35mph gusts on the exposed holes out along the shore.

On my trip to England I played at Walmer and Kingdown and I'm sure it was a solid 30mph but it was actually easier to play in because the wind was so steady. It was like a trade wind or something, absolutely did not vary one iota all afternoon unless you were standing the lee of a hill or patch of trees. Since that was a course on which you can play a running shot practically from the first tee to eighteenth green I found it quite manageable. The greens were not terribly fast but our threesome did have a few balls dislodged and having to be replaced before putting, maybe a half-dozen times.

All that leads me to believe that a bit over 30mph is the limite of "playable" on an exposed course as long as it allows the playing of ground shots. Trees to block some of the wind might make it playable at higher wind speeds but then again forced aerial shots would make that 30mph beyond the abilities of a high handicapper like me. I will say that right up to the limit of playability, the more wind the more fun the golf. Sort of like greens speeds in that regard...

[Mike Hendren]

I once played Carnoustie in 65 mph winds.  Yeah, that's it - that's the ticket.

Please allow me to hoist the BS flag on this thread.  Heck, my house comes unanchored at 65 mph.  

Mike

[Mike Hendren]

Don,

Always remember:  You can live in your car, but you can't drive your house:



Mik e

[Donal Breasail]

 

[Mark Bourgeois]

Mike H.,

Hillbilly PowerBall winner?

[Mike Hendren]

Yes, but forgive me for digressing.  

Winds at 73 mph constitute an F1 tornado.  I have ridden out a tornado and yes, it does sound like a freight train.  I do not believe one can golf their ball when automobiles are being lifted off the ground.

Mike

[Mark Bourgeois]

Okay, that's a good one, how bout this: I once went across a long bridge over water in a tropical storm whose winds were steady around 55-60. halfway across, the driver was so tired he pulled over to switch with the passenger.  the wind broke the driver's door -- bent it on its hinges!

[Ted Kramer]

I've played a bunch of rounds at Lido on Long Island. The course sits on the bay and about 1/2 from the Ocean. It gets VERY windy out there.

The 9th hole is a 600 yard par 5 that usually plays dead into the wind. I am a reasonably long hitter of the ball and remember a round where I hit 4 solid shots and was still short of the green. I hit driver, 4wd, 4wd, 4wd, and I hit them all pretty well. I was about 20 yards short of the green for my 5th shot.

-Ted

[Doug Sobieski]

Based on what I saw at Ballyneal this past week, I agree with Matt: a wind that's consistently above 40 mph is unplayable. A 30 mph wind is an extreme challenge, but it's manageable.

Thursday at Ballyneal I checked the weather.com site for Holyoke right before we headed out. It reported steady winds around 41, with gusts to 53mph. The next morning, they had switched to wooden flagsticks because on Thursday at least one had broken. We managed to make it the whole way around without being impaled, so I think that may be playable

[Matt MacIver]

Kingsbarns last month experienced VERY high winds, the whole St. Andrews area did.  Our caddy said it was the most wind he's ever seen since the opening, and estimated it at 50 mph.  I have no idea how to gauge such things, but it was the most I've ever played in -- balls moving on greens, pushcarts blowing over, etc etc.  

So I took out my trusty Rescue 5- wood and putted around the course, using the various slopes and angles and thoroughly enjoying myself.  My 98 is the round I'm most proud of, considering my friend (a six HC) hated every minute of it and hit triple digits for the first time in I don't know how long.  It's all a matter of attitude, and lucky I had a good one -- that day.  

[mike_malone]

 I have two examples of significant wind. One at Ballybunion in late Sept. The folks at Ballybunion called the winds "gale force". The other was in Florida in the aftermath of tornadoes. The palm trees outside my condo had been torn in half.

   The similarity was how the quartering wind affected shots. In both cases a drive could be pushed fifty yards from where it was aimed. At Ballybunion the sticks were at 90 degrees.

 Both were a blast!

[Kalen Braley]

Yes, but forgive me for digressing.  

Winds at 73 mph constitute an F1 tornado.  I have ridden out a tornado and yes, it does sound like a freight train.  I do not believe one can golf their ball when automobiles are being lifted off the ground.

Mike

Well said Michael...nice call on the BS in this thread.

I never thought there would be so many GCA enthusiasts who also moonlight as weatherman with thier exacting knowledge of wind speeds on the golf course.

At 40 MPH golf in unplayable, but yet many in here have defied physics and kept on playing...

[Brian_Sleeman]

If the wind speeds I've played in are BS, then we need a new wind gauge here in the pro shop!

[George Pazin]

I used to work in wind tunnels.  We had a very large one suitable for testing,among other things, Formula 1 racing cars.  At a steady 50mph it is difficult to stand up, you can lean into the wind and not fall over.  It would be physically impossible to make a golf swing in a 50mph wind.  Imagine,on a perfectly still day, standing on the roof of a car travelling in a straight line at 50 mph and trying to make a golf swing.

Bear in mind that wind speeds at ground level are significantly lower than even a few yards above the ground.  70mph winds are not 70mph at the level we experience them.  I don't know what height wind speeds are measured but it is many yards above the ground, where the drag on the surface is not affecting the wind speed.  This drag is, of course, why low struck shots are less affected by the wind - it's simply slower nearer the ground.

Golf becomes pretty much impossible at 30mph winds in my opinion, but I've played in higher winds.  Those

Thanks for the technical input, that is exactly what I was looking for!

Interesting that few have tackled my question about what courses become unplayable in high winds. I'd guess more desert courses I've played, and certainly the TPC of Tampa, with its unrelenting use of water, are probably unplayable over 30 mph.

We had a pretty good wind playing The Rawls Course, though Don & Lou insisted it was a mere zephyr for Texas. It was very playable - I think the only really killer shot for me was the tee shot into the wind on #10, where my iron ballooned up into the wind and ended up wet.

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