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Here's a question to some of the more accomplished golfers on the site. I'll paint a little picture and ask you what you'd do. You're 180 yards from a pin in the middle of a green, no real trouble in front of the green. The wind is blowing hard into you and from the right. It definately calls for the knock-down. The question is, what would you hit with the same scenario and NO wind, what would you hit in this scenario and what technique would you use to flight the ball low.
The motivation for this question is simple - I'm a high ball hitter that can struggle in the wind and I need to work on my trajectory control. |
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| # 1 3/13/2013 12:35:57 PM |
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No wind: I would hit a 7i with a little draw
Wind from the front and out of the right has two options for me: 1) hit a 6 or 5 with a cut and let it hold up in the wind 2) flight a 4 or 5 down so that it cuts into the wind but play it at the right edge of the green |
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| # 2 3/13/2013 12:52:32 PM |
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I don't know that I'm one of the accomplished golfers.
180 out no wind is a 7 wood or 4 iron for me wind into and right up to 20 mph I would club up one and hit a 5 wood. Wind over 20 where the ball has to stay low I hitting a punch 3 wood hands stay low on the finish trying to hit the ball 160 and let it run up to the green. Out here on the West coast this time of year we often have 30 to 40 mph winds at some courses. I hit the shot with one or 2 clubs more and try and hit a shot like I would if I was on big break trying to break glass. |
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| # 3 3/13/2013 4:49:31 PM |
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180 yards with no wind would be a 4 or 5 iron for me. But in a strong breeze I may go up to a 2 or 3 iron (or 2 or 3 hybrid), play the ball slightly back and make a half-swing. Biggest mistake people make in the wind is trying to hit it too hard. I try to hit a "dead" ball with the least amount of spin possible for that length of shot. A controlled half swing with a longer club does a better job of that for me.
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| # 4 3/13/2013 6:21:24 PM |
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Pull out the driver and aimdirectly at the flag. My slice will cancel out the wind and the ball goes dead in the hole on the fly. Use shot tracer and the ball flight looks like Jim Furyk's swing!
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| # 5 3/13/2013 6:35:31 PM |
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Things you need to know about me: Not the long hitter ArmyGrunt is, but low handicap <1. Lefthanded.
No wind scenario: I'd feather in a 3 hybrid. By that I mean a high shot with a 5-10 foot fade. A fade is easier to control and will pretty much stop where it lands. With the wind described: 3-wood with a slight draw. With the adjective you used, I'm assuming this is a two club wind. I'm taking advange of the open area in front of the green and going to land it there and let it roll up to the fat part of the green. The ball will come in low, hot and straight (my lefthanded draw is going to bite into the wind coming at me from the right keeping the shot pretty straight.) |
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| # 6 3/13/2013 6:48:59 PM |
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180 is a 6 iron for me . I hit it with a slight draw normaly so in that crossing wind it would turn into a hook. so with that said i would hit a 5 or 4 depending on how much its blowing and 3/4 swing a knock down. because my fade is not so repeatable.and ame a bit right.
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| # 7 3/13/2013 7:17:38 PM |
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Pull out the driver and aimdirectly at the flag. My slice will cancel out the wind and the ball goes dead in the hole on the fly. Use shot tracer and the ball flight looks like Jim Furyk's swing! I'm with you except it would be my 3 hybrid aimed at the flag. |
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| # 8 3/13/2013 7:28:28 PM |
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There are really endless options. You could ride the wind, you could hit a fade into the wind, you could play a long run up shot depending on the turf conditions, you could certainly play a knock down with about 4-5 different clubs.
My preference depends on the day and my confidence in each shot. |
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| # 9 3/14/2013 7:46:13 AM |
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No wind: I would hit a 7i with a little draw Wind from the front and out of the right has two options for me: 1) hit a 6 or 5 with a cut and let it hold up in the wind 2) flight a 4 or 5 down so that it cuts into the wind but play it at the right edge of the green Exactly the same for me. I hit irons long like AG but he makes a good point on his answer. His preferred shot is a baby draw but into the wind he hits a cut with a couple of extra clubs added. A draw flies great and holds greens well in the absence of wind but into the wind it dives hard to the left and is a bit more uncontrollable. The cut holds its line and tends to just drop straight down once it hits its apex. It's good advice... maybe you're not quite there yet, but find a club that allows you to put the ball back in your stance more and flight it low. Practice that shot. |
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| # 10 3/14/2013 9:38:16 AM |
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Exactly the same for me. I hit irons long like AG but he makes a good point on his answer. His preferred shot is a baby draw but into the wind he hits a cut with a couple of extra clubs added. A draw flies great and holds greens well in the absence of wind but into the wind it dives hard to the left and is a bit more uncontrollable. The cut holds its line and tends to just drop straight down once it hits its apex. I normally play a cut myself, but in a strong wind, especially a headwind, it can be problematic. We get a lot of that here in north Texas...especially coming up soon here in late March/April...I've hit cuts even with 3-irons that get wind under them and fly straight up, only going about 130 yards. I swear some have fallen backwards after reaching their apex. |
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| # 11 3/14/2013 10:16:40 AM |
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Exactly the same for me. I hit irons long like AG but he makes a good point on his answer. His preferred shot is a baby draw but into the wind he hits a cut with a couple of extra clubs added. A draw flies great and holds greens well in the absence of wind but into the wind it dives hard to the left and is a bit more uncontrollable. The cut holds its line and tends to just drop straight down once it hits its apex. I normally play a cut myself, but in a strong wind, especially a headwind, it can be problematic. We get a lot of that here in north Texas...especially coming up soon here in late March/April...I've hit cuts even with 3-irons that get wind under them and fly straight up, only going about 130 yards. I swear some have fallen backwards after reaching their apex. Do you play the knock down punch? I can hit my 3 iron no higher than 10 feet off the ground and when it hits it runs like a Tiger after its prey. I put the ball off my back foot with the grip toward my left thigh and pinch that ball into the ground as hard as I can. Comes out with a baby cut but she is a bullet. |
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| # 12 3/14/2013 10:27:56 AM |
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Exactly the same for me. I hit irons long like AG but he makes a good point on his answer. His preferred shot is a baby draw but into the wind he hits a cut with a couple of extra clubs added. A draw flies great and holds greens well in the absence of wind but into the wind it dives hard to the left and is a bit more uncontrollable. The cut holds its line and tends to just drop straight down once it hits its apex. I normally play a cut myself, but in a strong wind, especially a headwind, it can be problematic. We get a lot of that here in north Texas...especially coming up soon here in late March/April...I've hit cuts even with 3-irons that get wind under them and fly straight up, only going about 130 yards. I swear some have fallen backwards after reaching their apex. Do you play the knock down punch? I can hit my 3 iron no higher than 10 feet off the ground and when it hits it runs like a Tiger after its prey. I put the ball off my back foot with the grip toward my left thigh and pinch that ball into the ground as hard as I can. Comes out with a baby cut but she is a bullet. I use the exact same set up when I need a low bullet punch. I take a half swing and the shot travels about 30 yds less than a full shot. The shot shap for me is a 15 yd low draw though |
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| # 13 3/14/2013 10:57:43 AM |
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I wouldn't consider myself an accomplished player but the Pro comes out at least 10 shots in a round. Lol. I had a similar scenario almost 2 weeks ago. 200 yards to an elevated green with wind from right to left coming off the ocean. Green had a false front so if you didn't make the green, you rolled off the false front 5-10 yards back. I pulled out a 4 iron and played a high shot to the right side of the green and prayed that the wind wouldn't stop. Ball ended up on the left side of the green.
For your scenario, I probably would have played the same shot, but would have used a 6 or 5 iron depending on the flag location. |
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| # 14 3/14/2013 11:27:04 AM |
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There was one hole I played with a big wind into my face. 125 yards out. with homes 20 yards over the green big bunker in front of the green. I hit a full 7 wood. ( no wind 7 wood is 180 club). the did just what I wanted the ball was on the green. Some times you just have to let the wind work for you.
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| # 15 3/14/2013 12:01:36 PM |
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Under normal condition, it'll be a 5 iron for me but to fly it low into the front of the green and run it up would be 3 iron.
I would also blade a 7 iron to that distance but without much control of what the golf ball would do. |
