Maximise your distance into the wind

Golf Monthly Top 25 Coach Keith Wood explains how to maximise your distance into the wind with some simple tricks for playing from the tee

Maximise your distance into the wind

If you find yourself reading this, then you probably already understand the joys of winter golf. There is nothing like a clear, crisp winter’s day when the course is both score-able and free from fair-weather players to stir your most basic golfing instincts.

The challenge facing you over the winter months will, of course, be subtly different. Master the basic changes and you’ll become hard to beat, even when the worst of our gloriously unpredictable weather strikes.

Into the wind players often make the mistake of teeing the ball down. But this causes you to strike the ball from te bottom of the clubface which actually creates spin. You need to aim for an area on the face above the centre to maximise your distance into the wind. Also, the other way to keep spin off is to swing as smoothly as possible. This will prevent too much backspin from being created at impact and the ballooning into the sky. So tee it high and swing it a fraction softer than usual - this will help you maximise your distance into the wind.

When the fairways are wet, distance is all about carry. For a lot of amateurs, especially those with slower swing speeds, this means that you’ll find more distance from your 3-wood than your driver. The extra loft will offer you more carry through the air with the added bonus being that more loft will also deliver less sidespin, which should make you more accurate. Just pulling out driver without thinking about the carry distance is a mistake worth avoiding.

The other factor to consider before you tee off is where to peg up. Teeing grounds will often become muddy and slippery so pick a spot with a fair coverage of grass to stand on. Some simple consideration here could go a long way.