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Playing in the WInd

• skccvb 799 Posts

  Sat, Apr 21 2012 3:27 PM

  trumpy959:

  5mph = 2%

    7mph = 3%

  10mph = 4%

  12mph = 5%

  15mph = 6%

  17mph = 7%

  20mph = 8%

  Example's: 150 yards into a 20mph headwind is (150+8% = 162)

                       150 yards into a 20mph tailwind is (150-8% = 138)

                       150 yards into a 30mph headwind is (150+12% = 168)
  

                       150 yards into a 30mph tailwind is (150-12% = 132)

  This is the right idea however I do it differently. 10 mph = 60% affect. Thus 150 yds plus 20 mph headwind becomes "add 12 yards - 60% of 20" . I also find that downwind is usually less than into the wind. Downwind on a 20 mph at150 yards, the math says hit it 138. I would prob hit it for 140+. Spin and time/height in the air affects shot as well - for example on a 185 yard shot I might hit a 200 yard full backspin into the wind when the calculation at 20 mph says hit it 197. Downwind, same shot might hit 170 club touch of backspin - shud go 178, goes 185 (in air longer).

• MainzMan 9,591 Posts

  Sun, Apr 22 2012 9:56 PM

  MioKontic:

  Well, that's easy.  Go and get some of the sand from the sandpits, using your (blue with yellow handle?) bucket and (yellow?) spade, and build a wall behind the hole in a semi-circular design.

  I tried doing exactly this but that silly ball bounced over those even sillier sand thingies and I found myself with a wall between me and the hole.   I read my rule book from start to finish but could find no mention of sand castles on the putting surface being classified as immovable obstructions or indeed being mentioned at all.  Then I realised it wasn't my R&A rule book but Spike Milligan's unabridged war diaries.  A truly wonderful read but sadly not very helpful in my current predicament.   I ended up playing around those slowly disintegrating castles and finally got the ball in the hole after six shots.  A worthwhile experiment but the result was, quite frankly, a bitter disappointment.

   

  MioKontic:

  And if your bucket is blue with a yellow handle and the spade is yellow, ARE THEY MINE???  It's easy to tell if they are mine, they will have 'Made in Tiawan' printed on them somewhere.  I want them back!

  Oooh, I thought I'd found your missing beach paraphernalia but on closer inspection it turned out to be made in Tiowan.  I promise to keep looking, I know how upsetting it can be to lose a treasured posession.

• mara43 1,674 Posts

  Mon, Apr 23 2012 10:33 AM

  MainzMan:

  Then I realised it wasn't my R&A rule book but Spike Milligan's unabridged war diaries.

  It's no wonder you are a Legend if you have Spike [the legend] Milligan's book in your golf bag........great for those moments when you need a good laugh...!!!

• spy88 205 Posts

  Wed, Aug 13 2014 5:55 PM

  This thread was created almost 4 years ago and has been inactive for over 2 1/2 years.  But it seems a appropriate place to explain how I handle wind, not for distance control but direction control.

  There are several ways to play the wind from tee to green but 1 main method is to just ding left or right to offset it from the direction it is pushing.  Any direction except straight into or straight with.  Doing it this way means you are constantly adjusting/adapting your ding for the correct offset.

  The way I handle it is to move my aim line for how much I think the wind will push my ball direction-wise.  I do it this way 95 out of 100 times (or more) and the few times I don't is because of a tree blocking that direction.  But the main reasons I do this, is two-fold.  I almost always get the most yardage out of the club used and more importantly, I always try for a dead on ding.  Yes, I miss the dead on many times but the miss is minimized.  This alleviates the constant search for the right ding for all the different wind directions possible.  It was logical (to me) that always attempting for a dead on ding was easier then bouncing around the release meter.  Yes, one can become extremely proficient judging distance and direction using the first method so I'm not saying it is, by any means, incorrect.  I'm simply providing a potential alternative one may wish to try.  With some practice, judging the winds push amount becomes quick and easy.  And it goes without saying that the longer the shot, the more push effect the wind will have.

• spy88 205 Posts

  Fri, Aug 15 2014 1:44 PM

  trumpy959:

  Assuming you have factored the elevation changes correctly this adjustment is a good starting point for straight at you, or straight away from you. For crosswind's experiment taking a little more or less, depending on the direction.

    5mph = 2%

    7mph = 3%

  10mph = 4%

  12mph = 5%

  15mph = 6%

  17mph = 7%

  20mph = 8%

  Example's: 150 yards into a 20mph headwind is (150+8% = 162)

                       150 yards into a 20mph tailwind is (150-8% = 138)

                       150 yards into a 30mph headwind is (150+12% = 168)

                       150 yards into a 30mph tailwind is (150-12% = 132)

  
  

  All well and good for a 150 yd. shot, but the further the distance, the more the effect, and the less the distance, the less the effect (for all wind speeds/directions)...in my experience.

  But more importantly, I don't think there can be any formula for distance to wind.  As skccvd, stated, spin and height of shot will alter any attempt at incorporating one. 

  
  

  Practice and play and...did I mention practice? will provide what works and what doesn't.

  jmo