In the first of our blog series – “Pointers from the Pros”, PGA Assistant Professional Sean Fay lends a few tips that will be beneficial to most golfers who play at Carnoustie – playing in the wind.
The Open Championship is often considered the tournament that presents the toughest test. It is well known that Tom Watson, winner at Carnoustie in 1975, didn’t truly fall in love with links golf until he fully understood how to play in the conditions.
Whether it be down wind, into, or across, there are a few adjustments the golfer needs to make to control the trajectory and distance of shot. Most amateurs find it difficult playing into the wind, struggling to read the conditions and adjust their ball flight accordingly.
However, if you follow these three easy steps to manage your ball flight into the wind things should get a bit better in the often-tough conditions of Carnoustie;
- First up, you want to focus on the position of the ball. Move the ball’s position further back in your stance, about two inches from its normal position. This will enable you to steepen the clubs angle of approach into the ball, causing the ball to launch lower.
- Next up, the focus is all on your angles. Encouraging a steeper Angle of Approach can sometimes cause the golfer to impart too much spin on the ball. To counteract this, firstly move your hands slightly ahead of the ball, decreasing both the static loft at address and the dynamic loft at impact.
- And finally, to further reduce the trajectory, take more club depending on the severity of the wind, and make a three-quarter length swing abbreviating the follow through. Feel as if you’re playing a long chip shot, more club and less speed will lower the ball flight and reduce the spin.
Give these tips a try next time you’re playing in the wind, I bet you’ll have one thing in common with this year’s Open champion…
Words by Sean Fay, PGA Assistant Professional