According to Avalon Golf Club’s Head PGA Professional Ted Wenner, if you hit straight and long, you score well. If you stray, you pay. At Avalon Golf, players must contend with narrow fairways, an abundance of water and the course’s most prominent feature, the wind. Wenner contends that crosswinds present the greatest challenge for most Avalon Golf patrons. This week, we present three useful instructional tips on playing into the wind:
1. Keep your weight forward.
Typical driving advice says to stay behind the ball so you can hit up on it and get it higher in the air. But the longer the ball is in the air, the more opportunity the wind has to affect it. In this windy situation, you want less air time, which means you want a lower drive. To achieve this, keep your weight forward and your body over the ball.
2. Swing easy.
Although you may think otherwise, it’s not necessary to hit the ball harder when it’s windy. In actuality, hitting harder puts more swing on the ball and causes it to fly higher, and combined with wind, this creates shorter drives. A general rule is to swing around 80 percent, making your swing smooth and controlled. This will take some spin off of the ball and get you a lower flight, eliminating some wind from the play.
3. Tee the ball lower.
When teeing the ball, make sure the top of the ball is even with the top of the club. Teeing it lower than normal will create lower ball flight, which as we’ve already discussed, is beneficial when it comes to a windy day on the green.
Check out the other local golf courses featured in Do The Shore, Sand Barrens Golf Club in Swainton, Heritage Links Golf Club in Ocean View, Cape May Par 3 & Driving Range in Rio Grande and Laguna Oaks Golf Course in Cape May Court House!