John Jacobs
Hitting into the wind can be extremely challenging on the golf course, making holes play longer and causing havoc with your ball flight.
Learning how to calculate distance in the wind is a crucial skill that can help a golfer put together a great score in tricky conditions, but so many amateurs neglect this simple formula.
Factoring the wind into your strategy should be a crucial part of your pre-shot routine, as this expert advice from John Jacobs could save your score when the breeze is into your face...
How To Maximise Distance When Hitting A Shot Into The Wind
John has been Head Professional at Cumberwell Park in Wiltshire since it opened in 1994. He gets as much pleasure teaching beginners as he does county players, although being Wiltshire's Head Coach, Boys Coach and Girls Coach means he's always in demand. He also works with England Golf, and was England Coach Of The Year in 2020.
1. Shorten The Swing
The temptation is often just to hit it harder, but it’s actually just the opposite as you look to control flight and take spin off the ball. Don’t be afraid to take two, maybe three clubs more.
Then, in terms of how long your backswing should be, cut the length down and swing a lot more smoothly. The ball will launch lower, too, because there’s less loft on a longer iron.
2. Less Wrist Hinge
Reducing wrist hinge is a good idea when hitting into the wind on the golf course. On any shot, the more wrist hinge, the higher the ball flight, so if you don’t set your wrists as much at the top of the backswing, that will also help to keep ball flight down.
Match your follow-through to the backswing length, so much shorter than for a full swing in calm conditions.
Golf Monthly Top 50 Coaching John Jacobs demonstrating the fundamentals for maximising distance when hitting into the wind
3. Ball Position And Tee Height
Move the ball position back a little to keep the hands more in front at address, and maintain that feeling through impact.
With driver, tee it down a little so it comes off the centre of the face, rather than the top, for a slightly lower launch – not so low, though, that you start to create spin on the golf ball from the bottom of the face.
Baz Plummer taking more club than usual to hit into the green with wind hard into the face
What Should I Do When Hitting Downwind In Golf?
If you have the wind behind you, and therefore working in your favour, there a few simple ways you can fully take advantage.
Move the ball slightly forward to encourage a higher launch, take one more club than you usually would and swing easy.
A controlled tempo will allow you to send the ball up with less spin, giving the wind a chance to assist your ball flight and send it further.
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