Driver into the wind

[DDL]

I setup for the driver with the ball at the middle-outer edge of my left shoulder. Now if the wind is not cooperating, I lose about 20-30 yds on my drives. To hit lowere trajectory drivers into the wind, with more penetration, shold I set up with the ballto the right of my left shoulder joint? Or regular setup with punch shots and or more compact swings?

THx

[EdZ]

It really depends on how hard the wind is blowing. For a mild to medium breeze (5-15mph or so), I usually just swing 'wide and smooth' - really focus on extensor action and not 'speed'. More than other shots, back and through 'feel' the same tempo. Smooooooooth.

For a heavy wind, a driver 'knock down' is fairly easy to do if you practice a bit. Either a 'stinger' shot, low hard fade or simply a 3/4 driver choked down about an inch, slightly back with a very low running draw. Driver 'punch shots' can be useful too, choke down a lot for those. Again - smooooooth tempo is the key in the wind.

[tfdanos]

I setup for the driver with the ball at the middle-outer edge of my left shoulder. Now if the wind is not cooperating, I lose about 20-30 yds on my drives. To hit lowere trajectory drivers into the wind, with more penetration, shold I set up with the ballto the right of my left shoulder joint? Or regular setup with punch shots and or more compact swings?

THx

Some thoughts on Driving into the wind:

If swinging, use Horizontal Hinging.

Wind is a great disrupter of Rhythm (Hinge Action). Be patient and rehearse your Rhythm in your practice motion to the Finish.

Moving the ball back forces you to compensate for this change from your normal procedure. Direction, plane line, stance line, release, hinge action will have to be re-programmed.

Using a Hitting stroke in the wind is a great strategy, if you are an accomplished Hitter.

Losing 20-30 yards off your normal drive into a stiff wind is nothing unusual. Learning to accept loss of distance due to wind, cold, soft turf, etc. is a mental discipline that is useful when competing in the wind.

I hope this helps.

Best regards,