Battling the UAE Wind when playing Golf

A very topical subject at the moment is the wind – we seem to be enduring the worst of a middle eastern ‘winter’ through being blown around the golf courses and especially here at Yas Links. Strong winds are always going to test a golfer and their swing with only the most solid of golf swings holding up to the test.

Within this article, I am going to look at how to play with the wind instead of constantly batting against it. The key to playing good golf on a breezy day it to not battle against it but use it to your advantage, or at least select the correct type of shot to play which will give the best chance of a good result instead of standing watching your ball and hoping that it will land in the place that you desire!

Controlling your ball flight is paramount to hitting good shots within the wind. If you are playing downwind adjust your set-up so there is slightly more weight on your back foot. (Right foot for right-handers). With this adjustment, the ball should be sent higher into the sky and therefore uses the wind to travel a longer distance. If you would normally hit an 8iron, go down a club or two to a 9iron or even a wedge. This is also the case off of the tee. Try using a 3 wood off of the tee instead of a Driver. You will likely find that as the ball gets airborne faster it will carry with the wind probably past your normal length for a Driver. If you do hit a Driver it is easy for the wind to ‘knock down’ the shot as the ball struggles to cut through the air.

When faced with a shot that is into the wind the opposite set-up needs to be employed. Place slightly more weight on the front foot (left foot for right-handers) encouraging a lower initial ball flight and push your hands towards your left foot effectively de-lofting the club. This is known as a ‘punched’ golf shot. The result of the ball flight should be lower therefore not getting affected by the wind as much. Ensure to swing the club a little slower in order to keep the ball spinning less and therefore not rising as much off of the clubface. A three quarter swing back and through will help this. Due to a shorter swing and the obvious wind factor don’t be afraid to ‘club up’ even by two or three clubs to keep the ball low and control the flight.

The beauty of Links Golf, in particular, is that you can be in the same position on the fairway one day and hit a 9iron and the following day or even the same afternoon be hitting a club that is 5 or 6 clubs different. Learn to enjoy the wind as a challenge as you try your new set-up positions and control the golf ball effectively.

All the best from the Links,

Craeg Deery