Finish Low to Beat The Wind
BY: ANNA RAWSON

We’ve all experienced playing a round when the wind is so strong that you have to add two to three clubs to get the ball back to the pin.

What makes playing in the wind so difficult is that it exaggerates mis-hit shots. In the wind, a slight draw could end up being a hook that can finish outof- bounds or in a hazard.

The trick to scoring in the wind is keeping the ball low without a lot of sidespin and the keys to achieving this are in your set-up and follow-through.

Firstly, you should take at least one more club than you normally would from the same distance (pic 1). Of course, this may change depending on the strength of the wind.

At address, you should set the ball back in your stance, allowing your hands to move well forward of the ball. This de-lofts the club, which creates a lower, more penetrating trajectory.

On the follow-through, I extend my arms toward the target resulting in a lower finish position (pic 2), instead of letting my arms fold and finish high (pic 3).

When dealing with the wind factor, you must work on accelerating the club through impact while extending you arms towards the target. Remember there should be no wrist re-hinge as is the case for normal shots.

Read the rest of this article in the March 2007 issue of Golf Australia magazine.