How Should I Play Golf In A Cross Wind? (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles
How Should I Play Golf In A Cross Wind? (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles

Quite often when you go out in the golf course you are going to be faced with shots that have the wind as a part of a factor of how the ball will fly. The wind might be into your face, the wind might downwind. Generally those shots are going to be easy because into the wind you just hit the ball further and harder and downwind one you just hit a bit shorter. Then the difficult shots I find are often the crosswind shots where you have got wind coming of the left side or of the right side blowing the ball of line. Now the distance of the shot will only be slightly affected and genuinely it will be slightely less purely because the ball has a big curve to it so it’s going to go less distance in the length. But the other thing to this side here is how you actually going to counter that wind. There are two options you either play with the wind or you fight the wind. Playing with the wind would literally just be aiming left of target for the left to right wind. Aim at the left hand bunker and let the wind blow it into the middle of the green. And likewise for the right to left wind pick out alignment on the right hand side of the green of fairway hit it straight to back and let the wind blow it back into the middle. And that would be playing or allowing for the wind playing with or allowing for.

Now the option to fight against the wind is often described as the better player’s choice. So you often see the guys on the TV on the tour they are going hit draws and fades to counter the effects of the wind. So you might stand there with a big left to right wind but there may be danger down the left hand side. Maybe there is a pond down the left side left to right wind. Do I want to stand there and aim at the pond and hope the wind blows it back over? What if the wind dies and my ball just goes straight in that pond. So a better player in that situation might aim down the centre or even the right side of the fairway and try and turn the ball back in with a little bit of draw shape draw it against the wind. The draw and the wind hit each other cancel each other out the ball lands in fairway. The other option right to left wind I’m going to fade that ball into the wind they cancel each other out land in the centre. Now this is only really a shot you should play if you are confident about hitting draws and fades on demand and being able to control the amount of shape. There is no point standing there and hitting the sling and hook or a big banana slide that’s not what we are talking about here. We are talking about shaping the ball with 10 to 15 yards with the right to left, left to right shape to counter the wind. If you are not confident about hitting the ball with that sort of correct shape you can’t really fight the wind you have got to allow for it. So you would allow it by aiming left and just hitting your naturally shape aiming right hitting your natural shape. So consider when you are playing into a crosswind do you want to fight it or do you want to play with it. Either way commit to the shot that you are going to play, aim at the right spot, have a nice practice swing and then nail it out there. But don’t double cross yourself either play with it or fight against it. 2014-08-12

Quite often when you go out in the golf course you are going to be faced with shots that have the wind as a part of a factor of how the ball will fly. The wind might be into your face, the wind might downwind. Generally those shots are going to be easy because into the wind you just hit the ball further and harder and downwind one you just hit a bit shorter. Then the difficult shots I find are often the crosswind shots where you have got wind coming of the left side or of the right side blowing the ball of line. Now the distance of the shot will only be slightly affected and genuinely it will be slightely less purely because the ball has a big curve to it so it’s going to go less distance in the length. But the other thing to this side here is how you actually going to counter that wind. There are two options you either play with the wind or you fight the wind. Playing with the wind would literally just be aiming left of target for the left to right wind. Aim at the left hand bunker and let the wind blow it into the middle of the green. And likewise for the right to left wind pick out alignment on the right hand side of the green of fairway hit it straight to back and let the wind blow it back into the middle. And that would be playing or allowing for the wind playing with or allowing for.

Now the option to fight against the wind is often described as the better player’s choice. So you often see the guys on the TV on the tour they are going hit draws and fades to counter the effects of the wind. So you might stand there with a big left to right wind but there may be danger down the left hand side. Maybe there is a pond down the left side left to right wind. Do I want to stand there and aim at the pond and hope the wind blows it back over? What if the wind dies and my ball just goes straight in that pond. So a better player in that situation might aim down the centre or even the right side of the fairway and try and turn the ball back in with a little bit of draw shape draw it against the wind. The draw and the wind hit each other cancel each other out the ball lands in fairway.

The other option right to left wind I’m going to fade that ball into the wind they cancel each other out land in the centre. Now this is only really a shot you should play if you are confident about hitting draws and fades on demand and being able to control the amount of shape. There is no point standing there and hitting the sling and hook or a big banana slide that’s not what we are talking about here. We are talking about shaping the ball with 10 to 15 yards with the right to left, left to right shape to counter the wind. If you are not confident about hitting the ball with that sort of correct shape you can’t really fight the wind you have got to allow for it. So you would allow it by aiming left and just hitting your naturally shape aiming right hitting your natural shape.

So consider when you are playing into a crosswind do you want to fight it or do you want to play with it. Either way commit to the shot that you are going to play, aim at the right spot, have a nice practice swing and then nail it out there. But don’t double cross yourself either play with it or fight against it.