[Phil Benedict]

The wind thread got me thinking about this.  I once played Desert Willlow in Palm Desert in a gale.  My brother's downwind drive on the 1st hole went 370 yards, at least 100 yards over his average.

Hitting upwind from a fairway bunker later in the round, I made decent contact with a 9-iron which ballooned in the wind and traveled about 20 yards.  Couldn't stop laughing.

[PThomas]

Bandon in the summer 40 mph winds which were right to left , combined with my overdone draw meaning hook, which led to some UGLY results

[Ross Tuddenham]

I cannot be sure of the shot that has been most effected by the wind but on the course I play most often there is a great example of how much the wind can effect shots by comparing back to back holes which run in opposite directions.

One is down hill and around 500 yards and the next is uphill and around 420/430.  If the prevailing wind is blowing hard and the conditions firm the first is a drive and SW and the second unreachable with driver then 3 wood.

[Matthew Petersen]

Played Waikoloa on Hawaii in an absurd wind some years ago. One of the par 3 holes is inland and over water --that day it was playing directly into the gale. I had the honor and decided to try to hit a punch 4-iron for a distance that would normally have been about a 6. I thought I could keep it low and mostly out of the wind and as long as I got it over the water it would be fine.

Hit the shot very solidly and I recall my first thought was that it was going to be long. The ball was low and boring. Then the wind hit it and it ballooned straight up in the air and I knew it wasn't going to clear the lake.

The ball just held up the in the air  and eventually came down on a forward tee box (it didn't even make it to the pond!) about 50 yards in front of it. I must have hit that ball 80 yards forward and had it come 30y back. Probably the most bizarre shot I've ever hit.

[JESII]

I played Roayl St. Georges #14 with a 2 iron and chip 6 iron in 1997.

[Adrian_Stiff]

In the mid 80s I used to play in The Bideford Bay Foursomes with a 12 hcp partner, think I was off 3 or 4 then. 1 round is at Westward Ho! and the other on the East course at Saunton, the 36 hole event attracts about 200 pairs. It was crazy windy and as we arrived at WH on the Saturday miday and some scores were in, the lowest being 6 points, the highest was 19. We were out in the afternoon and had 24 on the Saturday but 29 was the best so we were not far out really, our playing partners had 6 points! 14 blobs and a chip in 3 pointer on the 14th.The 13th that day was a 440 yard par 4 and I had to hit a 4 iron fourth shot after 3 good woods, so that was how windy it was, you could not tee the ball up and on the 17th, we started our swings from the top as it was too windy to draw the club back. The next day my partner hit a good low un off the 1st at Saunton, and I hit a great second shot that was never higher than the flag to 8 feet. For the tournament they play that as a par 5 so with a shot we had an eight footer for 5 points, it was slightly above the hole, he just touched the ball it lipped out but continued wind assisted off the green and even a few yards off, a series of backwards and fowards chipping and putts meant we never scored a point....needless to say we did not win but those conditions were the very worsed I have played in. 17 @ WH was a drive 8 iron, I had never got anywhere near it in two before.

[Carl Rogers]

4 years ago...maybe
Short par 5, badly pulled tee shot into a fw bunker, hacked out to 150 yards or so.
Must have been a 3 club down wind shot .... I was lost and befuddled (unusual because i am usually a fairly quick player).  Soft ground conditions & flag in front maybe 4 paces on & no bunker guarding the front of the green.
2 assumptions:
-that any shot that hits the green keeps going and never stops
-that any high trajectory shot that lands short, hits and sticks

after some meditation .... my solution was to hit a chip shot with a 6 iron ... a lower trajectory shot with some steam on it.  Well in one of the few instances in my golfing life in which thinking, execution and pure dumb luck came into play ..... the shot was holed for an eagle.

this was after birdieing the 2 previous holes in the typical boring fashion.

[Jim Adkisson]

14th hole at Pacific Dunes...into a raging wind from the south...I play a knock-down driver well and end up at the front of the green apx. 125 yards from the tee...My buddy John gets up and "clubs up" to a 5 iron...He gets under it a bit the ball goes forward about 20 yards and keeps billowing straight up to a height of 30-40 feet as we watch it blowing back over our heads...it lands about 10 yards behind his 3 prostrate golfing partners who are rolling around the tee box HOWLING with laughter...


"I can't believe that, I clubbed up!?!"

[Dan Kelly]

Prince, Princeville.

Long par-3 over canyon. Bailout to right. Can't remember hole number.

Aimed long-iron 40 or 50 yards out over the canyon, watched as ball rode left-to-right wind all the way back to green.

Big FUN.

[Jud_T]

Turnberry, blowing a steady 35-40 with gusts up to 60.  Hit driver downwind 360.  Hit the same club with as good or better contact hole high on a 150 yard par 3 into the wind.  I think after a few pints that I hit a wedge that day that ended up flying -5 yards...

[Peter Pallotta]

I played Roayl St. Georges #14 with a 2 iron and chip 6 iron in 1997.

Sorry to break it to you, Champ, but that probably had nothing to do with the wind and everything to do with it being 1997....

[jonathan_becker]

At least for 2011, on 16 at Shinnecock (475 yards) I hit driver, 3 iron, 4 iron, and was short. 

[Matt_Cohn]

In the practice bunker at TPC Scottsdale, the conditions lined up perfectly where I could hit a full wedge off of hardpan into a gale; it would travel about 50 yards and land on a huge tier. Several times I was able to spin it back almost to my feet - about 150 feet of backspin.   

[Keith OHalloran]

As a folloow up to Becker's post, anyone that has never played with him should know he hits the ball a long way. On the par 5 5th hole, he had the wind at his back and flew a drive 356 yards. The wind was directly in his face on 16 and the same drive went 197! While Jonathan hits the ball very well, and very long, he does not play a low ball, it hurt that drive badly!

[jonathan_becker]

As a folloow up to Becker's post, anyone that has never played with him should know he hits the ball a long way. On the par 5 5th hole, he had the wind at his back and flew a drive 356 yards. The wind was directly in his face on 16 and the same drive went 197! While Jonathan hits the ball very well, and very long, he does not play a low ball, it hurt that drive badly!

I needed that O'Halloran power draw slinger to rip through the wind!  I remember it being so windy on 16 that I couldn't hear the caddie talk even when yelling.

[Andy Troeger]

Playing the GC at Pradera a few years ago, I came to the 16th hole with a big wind behind me. Pradera is outside Denver at about 5,000 feet and the 16th plunges downhill, so I had lots of factors helping me. The hole measures 640 yards from the tees we played, and I hit a 480 yard drive followed by a 170 yard wedge...just over the green in two. The 14th, uphill and into the wind and 300 yard shorter, was a driver/8I.

[RSLivingston_III]

May 1999, Dornoch, had to aim two- three fairway widths out over the gorse into the wind to have the ball come back into the fairway. I don't believe we were able to putt out on any of the greens as the wind was moving the balls around the green too much.

[Pete_Pittock]

Early 70s at West Delta park playing into a strong east wind was standing pin high while an ex-QB hit a towering wedge that got to the back of the green befpre reversing direction and ending up short of the 50 yd deep green. Did I mention the ground was frozen?

Gullane #1 in 1975. Third hole was D, 3w, 3w, 3w and a midiron. Later that day a helpful Scot showed me how to play crosswinds.

Royal Cinque Ports in 1997 with a force 6 breeze blowing up the Channel.

[David Kelly]

Wind conditions like those described above happen at Rustic Canyon in the winter as a matter of course.

I play mostly on Sundays and we'll have 4-6 Sundays a year when the Santa Ana winds are howling. 

• Earlier this year I saw a man in his 60s who was just an average hitter drive the ball over the green on the 18th which plays 466yds from the blues.
• I've seen someone on the 11th tee hit a popup into the wind and had the ball land behind him.
• I've cut the dogleg and driven the 445 yard 14th hole and saw someone drive the ball over the 15th green from the 14th tee which if you know RC is insane.
• I've seen someone hit a 3-wood downwind on #16 and have his ball come to rest in the bunker short and right of the green about 50 yards from the green.

And those are just on days when it isn't blowing too hard to even attempt to play.

[Joe Bausch]

In Florida about 10 years ago on a 130 yard par 3 with a breeze in our face.... I started thinking 'well, a 9 iron will probably blow up in the wind, maybe an 8, maybe a...'

Finally hit a 80% 4 iron to reach the front of the green.

I love the wind.

[Ed Brzezowski]

1999  crail balcomie   18th hole   hit a nice driver 110 yards into the wind. And i really hit it well.

[Jeff_Brauer]

At Pebble Beach 7, I recall airmailing a wedge in the morning, playing again after the wind came in, and coming up short with a 3 iron in the afternoon.

[DMoriarty]

• I've seen someone on the 11th tee hit a popup into the wind and had the ball land behind him.

It was a proud day for me.
 
The most amazing to me was the guy David mentioned who drove it past the 18th green from the blue tees at RC.  I am sure a big hitter could do it, but this guy was an old lefty and not long at all. (No it wasn't Lynn.)  He hit a hit a rolling draw, shaped a runner about 470.   Easy game.

[David Kelly]

• I've seen someone on the 11th tee hit a popup into the wind and had the ball land behind him.

The most amazing to me was the guy David mentioned who drove it past the 18th green from the blue tees at RC.  I am sure a big hitter could do it, but this guy was an old lefty and not long at all. (No it wasn't Lynn.)  He hit a hit a rolling draw, shaped a runner about 470.   Easy game.

Except he was left with a 25 foot putt from off the green for eagle and couldn't hole out.  He picked up after 4 or 5 more strokes.

[Geoffrey_Walsh]

#17 at Makefield Highlands.  Cut a driver into a 30 mph wind on a 150 yard par three and knocked it to two feet.  Made the putt for a memorable birdie!

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