How many strokes does severe wind gusts cost you per 18 holes?

[clearwaterms]

During my round today, we experienced sustained 20 mph winds with gusts at 40+. The wind was strong enough to knock golf balls off of the tee while you were waiting for the group in front of you. So my playing partner and I started talking and I asked the question, how many strokes a round does severe wind cost you? My estimate was 2 a side. Just to give you an idea of how bad it was, I watched my partner nut a 3w and it traveled less than 150 yards into the wind. The follow up question is does the wind add more strokes to high handicappers or low handicappers? What are your thoughts?

[colin007]

How often do you play in wind like that? My guess is that my bad high handicap swing costs me more strokes than the wind does...

[thanw]

The wind gives and the wind takes away. We play with wind year 'round in Oklahoma. You learn to adapt after awhile. For someone who doesn't play in high wind very often I imagine it is more than 4 strokes a game. For me it is built into my handicap along with the poor course conditions I usually face.

[David in FL]

Shot 77 last week in 30 gusts to 40+ and spitting rain. Same course yesterday in perfect weather, I shot 83. I tend to stay patient in the wind. Good advice for nice days too!

[clearwaterms]

How often do you play in wind like that? My guess is that my bad high handicap swing costs me more strokes than the wind does...

This is the first time I have played in wind this severe. I can think of 2/3 shots that the wind affected. In one case, the wind knocked me off my balance causing me to take a poor swing with my iron, another time, when I watched the wind push a putt off the line. The Windy City (Chicago) isn't actually named because we have high winds all the time, so this kind of weather is the exception for us.

[Mac62]

We get those kind of winds here in the southwest desert a lot during the spring months.  Playing on a day like that a couple weeks ago, you could see your ball "dancing" on the tee while you were getting ready to hit (if it didn't get blown right off the tee, which also happened a few times).  Headwinds really kill your distance and the crosswinds will turn a slight draw/fade into a full-on banana ball.  A real windy day like that usually adds somewhere around 7-10 strokes to my score.  I'm golfing this coming Monday and our forecast is calling for 20-25 mph winds with 35+ mph gusts, so I'll get to work on my wind game again and see if I can salvage a decent round out of it.

[sacm3bill]

The formula is:

[(your course handicap + average wind speed in mph) *  0.20] strokes per 18 holes.

[clearwaterms]

The formula is: [(your course handicap + average wind speed in mph) *  0.20] strokes per 18 holes.

What does this equal? Is average wind speed mean/median/mode? Or is this just something you made up?

[MS256]

Depends on the golf course.

Island green holes and long forced carry holes can mount up the strokes in a hurry on any golfer in high winds. I was playing a hole one time that required a 200 yard carry to reach the fairway and everything short of that was waist high grass (no problem right?). It was dead into a ridiculous wind and I finally (barely) reached it on the 4th try. (Which STILL left me with more than 200 yards left to the green into the same wind).

The island green par four where I play is a monster into the wind. Not only is the small green harder to hit but we are having to hit the shot from a lot farther back than the hole is designed for.

[sacm3bill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clearwaterms

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

The formula is:

[(your course handicap + average wind speed in mph) *  0.20] strokes per 18 holes.

What does this equal? Is average wind speed mean/median/mode?

Use the the Reimann sum and divide by pi.

Quote:

Or is this just something you made up?

I take it you missed the smiley face.

[thanw]

Originally Posted by clearwaterms

This is the first time I have played in wind this severe.

I can think of 2/3 shots that the wind affected. In one case, the wind knocked me off my balance causing me to take a poor swing with my iron, another time, when I watched the wind push a putt off the line.

The Windy City (Chicago) isn't actually named because we have high winds all the time, so this kind of weather is the exception for us.

Winds of 20-40 mph affect EVERY shot. Affected your line on one putt only? On fast greens and 30 mph winds you have to run to mark your ball or the wind will blow it right off the green. A cross wind can mean 2-3 feet of break and again blowing your ball right off the green if you don't quickly mark it.

[Paradox]

the common mistake is to try and swing harder when into the wing...that just compounds the effect.  More spin created, more ballooning, less distance, more curve.

Into a wind, you should swing smoother and not try to hit it harder...this will keep the ball down..give a little less spin, and help retain some distance and control.

[dfreuter415]

Originally Posted by clearwaterms

During my round today, we experienced sustained 20 mph winds with gusts at 40+. The wind was strong enough to knock golf balls off of the tee while you were waiting for the group in front of you. So my playing partner and I started talking and I asked the question, how many strokes a round does severe wind cost you?

What are your thoughts?

Not really sure how many strokes, but it is probably in direct proportion to the strength of the wind.

Several other thoughts came to my mind when you mentioned playing in the wind:

• I love playing in the wind once or twice a year with gusting winds of 30+ MPH. Of course, I also like playing in the rain, too.

• The best wind player I ever saw is Paul Azinger. I copy his swing with pretty fair results when faced with wind blown conditions.

• Is there any better golf to watch than the British Open, when the pant legs are flapping at venues like St. Andrews or Carnoustie, and the winds are blowing off of the North Sea?

[Paradox]

played in 20-30 mph winds at ground level yesterday...was knocking 20 yards or more off a club into the wind.  Hit the ball the best I've hit all year :)  It was a lot of fun, really with only a select few tee shots being troublesome. I don't think the wind added any shots to my game, at least not any where I'd say "yeah that was the wind" but I sure gave some up with my short game!  Ended up shooting an 87 on freshly punched and sanded greens..I'll take it!

[dak4n6]

I think we had maybe 2 days this past winter when it wasn't blowing 20 mph or more at my home course, so I'm becoming pretty used to it. As DiF alluded to, it's pretty impossible to quantitate how many strokes wind adds overall. All I know is, I have learned to swing easy into a head wind with the driver - I try to hit it 'flat' with very quiet hands to minimize spin, and it works!

[onephenom]

Originally Posted by clearwaterms

During my round today, we experienced sustained 20 mph winds with gusts at 40+. The wind was strong enough to knock golf balls off of the tee while you were waiting for the group in front of you. So my playing partner and I started talking and I asked the question, how many strokes a round does severe wind cost you?

My estimate was 2 a side.

Just to give you an idea of how bad it was, I watched my partner nut a 3w and it traveled less than 150 yards into the wind.

The follow up question is does the wind add more strokes to high handicappers or low handicappers?

What are your thoughts?

i think 2 strokes per side would be for a very good player.

Other than that, i think what really matters is the ability to play low 3/4 knockdown shots.

[saevel25]

Originally Posted by clearwaterms

During my round today, we experienced sustained 20 mph winds with gusts at 40+. The wind was strong enough to knock golf balls off of the tee while you were waiting for the group in front of you. So my playing partner and I started talking and I asked the question, how many strokes a round does severe wind cost you?

My estimate was 2 a side.

Just to give you an idea of how bad it was, I watched my partner nut a 3w and it traveled less than 150 yards into the wind.

The follow up question is does the wind add more strokes to high handicappers or low handicappers?

What are your thoughts?

1) the more spin you produce the more the ball will be effected by the wind. That's why its better to club up and swing easier than it is to swing harder with the wind. Because increased clubhead speed, and usually a steeper angle of attack due to an aggressive swing will increase spin.

Basically the ball moves in the air due to high and low pressure. When the ball spins, it creates high pressure on one side and low pressure on the other. The ball will travel to low pressure. There's a cool sports science video on a soccer ball, and how they curve the ball in air.

So if your a player that has a big slice, your slice will be drastically exagerated. If you balloon the ball off the tee, it will really end up loosing distance.

As for number of strokes, there is no general rule of thumb. I've played very good rounds of golf in both wind and no wind, and bad rounds in wind and no wind. Though its tougher, for me its probably 1-2 strokes per 9 holes if i get complacent. Usually that happens when i try to predict the wind doing one thing and it doesn't. But still, i can still make up that shot if i hit a good 2nd shot, or a good chip, or make a putt. Just the beauty of golf.

[wolfsburg2]

I think this is largely player dependent. I shot around my handicap in brutal windy cold weather all winter. I'm crushing my golf league playing partners because of this. I hit the ball consistantly poor regardless of wind, I can put and hit wedges pretty good though. As a result of my style of play and my attitude (bad weather doesn't bother me as much as it does others) I am not beat up by the wind as much as most people seem to be.

I lost 1 stroke on my handicap over the winter, playing every weekend. That's probably as much due to my inability to play more and practice as it was the weather and course conditions.