short game in the wind

Played today in strong, gusting, swirling and suddenly dying winds.

A complete nightmare in trying to judge pitches, chips and putts - any tips or is it a case of just accepting the conditions and moving on?

played in those conditions quite a lot recently and employ the punch shot!
3/4 swing ball , take an extra club and choke down the grip place back in stance and make a shorter followthrough.

works every time

Not from 10 yards off with a bunker to float over it doesn't or with a long lag putt or chip that starts on line and drifts well wide in the breeze.

Apart from that I haven't master the punch shot yet

FFS you didnt state that in your OP!

if its that windy should you be out playing?

Err apart from the title and the reference to chips and putts you mean but OK I wasn't that specific as to the precise problem. Which I'll re-state; htf do you chip and putt in these conditions, because I can't.

Ah well you're right there, 20+mph winds whilst not dangerous as such are a bit of a lottery; thing is not only was I working last weekend and will be working this but the bloody sun shone for once (or at least you could see it cos all the clouds were blown away) so had to grab the chance.

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hi bdbl
i play links golf mostly and the wind blows every time the tide starts to come in. with the shot you said over a bunker then it picking a spot on the green and using what club will get you there, if its into say 20 mph then add 10 yards to the landing, its really about judgment and you only get that playing in a lot of wind like we get on the coast of Scotland. even on a very sunny day you still get wind here. most times its about not swinging to hard and using a club or two more and going down the grip an inch or so. thats why the pitch and run is used so much in links golf as its under the wind and in the air less and running on the grass more, i often pitch with say a 5 iron and have the ball run 30 yards as it works better than trying to fly the ball there. if you cant pitch and run then its down to judgment of what shot will give you the best results and sometimes its not playing to the green but to a point between bunkers just before the green and then pitch and run and try and one putt for par.
if you play in wind most of the time you don't think about it that much a bit like the rain you just take it as part of the game and use your course management as best you can.
cheers
bill

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Robin, I'll give you the tip the others are too scared to...

If it's REALLY windy...

Head straight to the 19th and enjoy the frothies.....



Cheers

The best advice I can give is to select shots that keep the ball as close to the ground as possible for each shot. OK, you don't have a lot of choice over a bunker but you can use the lowest lofted club to clear it. Chip with a rescue or fairway wood, pitch with a 5 iron, try a 3 wood or even a driver off the fairway. A punch shot with plenty of roll will be better than a high hit iron.

I think Craig has the best advice though, as usual the rest of you make good points.

Strangely enough, after the first hole where my 9I carried over 150 yards, I wasn't having that much trouble (i.e. I was no more inaccurate than normal) from 100-150 out, I just added or subtracted 1,2 or 3 clubs depending on the wind and hoped it didn't change in mid swing.

The real problem was around and on the greens where more often than not I am sub 30ppr because of decent chipping; I couldn't judge low or lofted chips or putts at all (chipping long and putting short) and didn't leave a first putt of less than 8ft until the 14th.

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I firmly believe that we should try to experience all that life affords, except, perhaps, bestiality and of course Morris Dancing.

Finds sensible hat......

All the "things" you hear about chipping and putting would seem to revolve around stability and lack of body movement other than the shoulders and the arms during the stroke.

Strong winds might cause your body to sway during the chip/pitch/putt stroke, which might lead to poor contact and ultimately a poor result.

So, would I be right in suggesting perhaps a little wider stance, lower your centre of gravity, grip down on the club a little, to try and find some extra stability in the wind to attempt to prevent the body swaying during the chip/pitch/putt stroke, which might lead to better, more consistent contact.

(Removes sensible hat...)

Personally, I'd still be heading to the 19th...

Cheers

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Look at the Target, Look at the Ball, Swing... Dr Bob Rotella...

I'm with Bill on this one, I'm also member of a links course so wind is always a factor.

I find the more you play in the wind the more you get a feel for which shots to play.

The best advice I can give on how to hit a low shot is to take 1 or 2 clubs more than you need and swing really slow.

hi
i think with someone like Davie and myself that play lots of links golf you tend to have more shots in your bag than say someone that always plays inland golf. you have to make up shots when playing in the wind and the fairways do let the ball run better than inland courses. i think you find that out with a lot of Americans that come here that only play inland and then find it so hard to play links golf, and its often said it a diffrent game inland golf and links golf.
playing the wind is something that is learned rather than taught i think, same as playing in heave rain. both you have to slow your swing a bit and use more club than normal. putting is another part that playing in the wind can kill your game, on links greens the wind moves the ball a lot and you get to understand how much it is likely to turn due to the wind, on links there are no trees or anything to to keep the wind off you and like Scragger says a wider stance helps and like Davie said slow down your swing a bit. walk to the ball that last 10 yards slower and think of what shot you need first and then what club will give you that shot. don't think i have 150 so that a 7 iron. think if the wind is blowing about 20mph then i will lose about 10 to 15 yards can i hit it low, what will the shot look like in my head and then what club will i need to get that shot i see in my head.
one last thing
in links golf the wind seems to be the same at ground level than it does 50 yards up but on inland courses it seemed wind get a bit stronger the higher the ball goes as a lot at ground level is buffeted and sheltered by trees even if there 20 or 30 yards away. so it can be harder to judge the winds strength inland so watch the tree top to try and get the best judgment.
cheers
bill

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ping zing2 metal driver
ping zing2 metal 3 wood
ping eye2 1 iron
ping zing2 3/9 irons
ping ist 47% wedge
ping zing2 52% s/wedge
ping mb 56% wedge
ping c10 G2I broom handled putter
top flight "T" golf balls
white ping bag

I read a great article Tiger wrote a few years ago after he won at Pebble Beach for the 1st time. He said the 1st time he went to the course he spent hours visualising the type of shot he had to play to suit the conditions............the height of the shot, where he wanted the ball to land and to decide which club to use to get the correct amount of roll.

This is something I try to do, picture the shot in your head.

Call me crazy but I love playing in the wind, my view is that if you can play well when its windy you can play well anytime.

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hi Davie
I'm with you about playing in the wind, it adds to the challenge and makes the golf course diffrent to play almost every time you play as the wind never seems to be the same day to day. its what makes links golk so diffrent, the way the greens are set to why the bunkers have to be so deep to stop the sand blowing away to the knee high rough and wispy grass and the lovely spongy fairways.
cheers
bill