Pelz on Putting in the Wind

Okay, I feel better now.

Still somewhat stunned by my poor putting performance on Saturday, I pulled out Dave Pelz' Putting Bible for some advice. What I found in chapter 9 helped me understand just why my Saturday putting performance was worse than a 3 year old his first time at putt putt.

Wind.

Saturday was a very windy day, with strong winds and gusts (I'm guessing here) up to 30 mph. Just how much does wind like this affect putts?

According to Pelz, a 30 mph wind at eye level is roughly a 20 mph wind at just above ground level. And when Pelz experimented rolling 9 foot putts through a 20 mph crosswind on a green stimped at 9.5 they were moved 12 inches off-line by the time they reached the hole!

Hard to believe? Pelz explains why.

We don't see our putts blown 12 inches sideways because we don't get precisely these circumstances. Rather than a steady 20 mph wind blowing constantly for the full roll of our putts, what we might encounter is a wind that gusts to 20 mph for just a second or two during our putt, pushing the ball two inches sideways.

Most of us would chalk a putt like that up to bad mechanics, and we might even start doubting ourselves as the round progresses and our putts continue to miss the hole. And when our putts into the wind stop way short of where we expected them to stop, or our downwind, downhill putts roll past the hole and off the green we might even think that we've lost it entirely and really begin to press.

Which is exactly what happened to me on Saturday.

Pelz' advice on putting in the wind?

Expect and accept that your putting will be slightly less effective on windy days. And when I say windy, I mean days that most golfers would describe as "breezy" or "fresh", with wind speeds of only 5 to 10 mph. On serious-wind days, when wind speeds above the ground are 15 to 30 mph, expect some serious changes in your putting. And if the winds are really gusting, just smile and enjoy the day, because there is nothing else you can do. A good attitude and the knowledge of what's happening will give you an edge over your competition.

So, another lesson learned. On such strong wind days, play for the wind and when the putts don't fall, by all means don't blame myself. Chalk it up to the wind.

And stop believing that doing so is a mind game because it's not. Wind does, significantly, affect putts!