PUTTING IN THE WIND - By: Golf Knut, Posted on: 2006-12-29

Putting in a strong wind is harder than it seems. With the wind buffeting you from all sides, rippling your pants and blowing in your eyes and ears, you can easily lose concentration and balance. Your can also lose your sense of rhythm. The result: Your feel for distance and your sense of direction go askew.

Here are five keys to putting in the wind:

1. Check your stance
2. Take a neutral grip
3. Place your eyes over the ball
4. Keep your hands ahead of the ball
5. Square up your body.

While some golf instructors, like Davis Love, Jr., don't recommend changing your stance or posture, others recommend widening your stance for more stability and bending over the ball more to compensate for the new stance. Try both approaches to see which is more comfortable and use that whenever you're putting in the wind.

Otherwise, keep your putting set-up and swing the same as before. Take a neutral grip with your thumbs pointing straight down the shaft. Place your eyes directly over the ball. Keep your hands slightly ahead of the ball. And make sure you square up your body, with your feet and shoulders parallel, and the clubface square, to the target line.

To help you stay steady over the ball, try this simple drill. Next time it's windy, go to the putting green, take your stance, and hit putts taking your putter back the normal length for the distance you face. Hold it in that position for 10 seconds before beginning the forward stroke. Do this several times.

After several such strokes, hit putts holding in the backswing position for seven seconds, then five, then three, then one, and finally take your normal stroke.

This drill helps you regain your rhythm, increases your sensitivity for distance, and improves the consistency of your ball-putter contact. Next time you feel yourself losing your rhythm and feel on a windy course, use the drill on the side of the green before putting.

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