How to Play Golf in the Wind: Shot-Making and Strategy

Wind is a defining feature of links golf and a regular companion on any exposed UK course. Most amateur golfers treat it as an inconvenience and try to overpower it. The players who manage their game well in wind understand that adapting is the skill — not fighting back.

Reading the Wind Before You Play

Before you even address the ball:

1. Look at the trees and flag — the flag shows wind at green level, which is often different from what you feel at your feet in a valley or dip
2. Throw a little grass — releasing a pinch of grass from head height shows wind direction accurately
3. Check the clouds — their movement gives you the broad direction if nothing else is clear

Knowing the wind direction relative to each hole changes how you approach the entire round. A course map or a quick walk of the first few holes helps you anticipate rather than react.

Into the Wind

The goal into a headwind is a controlled, lower ball flight with less spin. Higher spin means more ballooning, which can cut your carry significantly.

Club selection: Add one club per 10mph of headwind. In a 20mph headwind, that's typically two extra clubs.

The technique:

• Play the ball slightly back in your stance — one ball-width back from your normal position
• Grip down an inch on the club
• Make an abbreviated, three-quarter backswing with a smooth tempo
• Keep the finish lower than normal — resist following through high

Downwind

A tailwind is a gift, but it changes your approach to the green considerably:

• The ball carries further but lands with less spin — it will run more
• Factor in the extra run when selecting a landing spot
• The ball will also sit up in the wind, making it feel lighter off the face

Club selection: Subtract one club per 10mph of tailwind. Let the wind do the work.

Approach shots: Aim shorter of the flag and land on the front of the green. Trying to carry it to the flag downwind usually runs through the back.

Crosswinds

Crosswinds offer two approaches:

Shape the ball into the wind: Curve a fade into a right-to-left wind so the wind straightens it. This is the tour-player approach — the wind reduces the curve and you end up with a straighter, more controlled shot.

Play the curve with the wind: Aim left and let the left-to-right wind move the ball. This gives more curve and less control — the wind amplifies the shape — but is simpler for most club golfers.

Choose based on your ability to control ball flight. If you can't reliably shape the ball, aim into the wind and let it bring the ball back — this at least keeps you on the short side of the green.

Putting in the Wind

Strong wind affects putting more than most golfers account for:

• A crosswind on a long putt will push the ball off line — factor a slight lean into your read
• In a headwind, the ball rolls slower; into a tailwind, it runs further
• Widen your stance for more stability over longer putts in strong gusts

Course Management in Wind

• Take the aggressive line in crosswinds with the wind behind you, the conservative line into the wind — this is when mistakes are amplified
• Use bump-and-run approaches when the wind is strong — low shots skip under the wind and land with predictable run
• Play to the fat part of the green — in wind, the middle of the green beats a pin-hunting attempt that bounces off short in a gust

Get Coaching on Ball Flight

Learning to control trajectory — punch shots, knockdowns, shaped ball flights — pays enormous dividends in UK conditions. A playing lesson with a PGA professional in actual conditions is the most efficient way to develop this.

Browse golf lesson vouchers on Swyng or use our Gift Finder.

See also: how to read a golf course, how to improve your golf swing, golf etiquette for beginners.