Fool proof windy day tips and tricks

Spring is here and so is the wind, what are some of the techniques you use?  

[ Headwind,cross,tall, drives, up shots, putts. ]

[acrf450x]

The only tip I have ever heard is throw over-stable stuff,and throw a driver for a putter!

[moe.]

Try and keep your disc low.
Depending on the wind, LOTS of variables.
Headwind, throw something WAY overstable.
Perhaps an Innova MAX.
Tailwind, perhaps a flippy Valk, thrown with almost no torque,
or snap.
Max weight Roc's.
Good luck.

[Brandon Swanson]

But it's never windy in FDL Lee... ;-)

Into a headwind I'll often "club up." So for holes where I'd normally throw a challenger, I'll throw a newer roc, or where I'd throw a TL or firebird, I'll throw my teerex-x. The opposite is often true in a tailwind, and I'll "club down," but in a tail you have to make sure to give the disc good height as the wind is going to kick it down more than is usual. A disc will also act more overstable in a tailwind, so clubbing down from a mid to a putter ensures a little straighter flight.

In right to left wind (I'm primarily RHBH) I'll either throw LHBH hyzer if it's in range. If it's longer I'll throw a more overstable disc (a firebird or a teerex-x) on a hyzer and just hang it out to the right a little more, unless it's a hole where you need to go as far left as possible (like hole 10 at Fondy)...then I'll throw a stable disc like my TL on a slight hyzer and let the wind carry it for huge distance and a big right to left sweep. That is the reason I don't like to throw a flat shot in a right to left rhbh, if you get even a little hyzer in that type of shot the wind is going to pick it up and carry it WAAAY off left. I think you're better off throwing an overstable hyzer shot because you can predict with some practice how much it's going effect the flight.

Left to right, I sometimes throw a flat shot, but usually it's a slight hyzer with a little more gusto and height as it'll get knocked down some. I also throw that hyzer with the recognition that it's not going to carom left as much.

Last note about driving in the wind: it's important to be mindful of where you want to land the disc. Do you like tailwind putts (I do), and/or left to right wind putts (again yes), then you should try to land the disc where you will have those putts to work with. When it's calm, the name of the game is getting that disc as close as possible. That doesn't necessarily hold true in windy conditions. I'd rather have a 40 footer with the wind, than a 20 footer into the wind WHEN it's really windy (15+ mph sustained). So the putts I like are tailwinds and left to rights. If you're looking at a clock with the pin in the center, landing at 12 would be a direct headwind putt, 6 would be a tailwind, I want my disc beween 1 and 7 o'clock. 5 or 6 are my favorites. But aiming for 6 o'clock is probably a bad idea, because if you miss left, you're in a trouble region. If you aim for 4 or 5, you're going to have a higher percentage chance of being in your comfort zone. Last bit, if you're 40 out and at 9 o'clock and the wind is 25mph...LAY UP.

Sorry for being so long winded...

[stephen b]

don't let the wind get under the disc

[Rescue]

What Brandon said! lol!! The more I play in the wind, the more I have tried to ignore it. Sure you must make some changes, but I'm finding. Not as much as I thought. When it was windy, I would use my Wizard or JK Pro Aviar (flavor of the week) to putt. Now I stick with my APX putter, from approx 30 to 40 feet, and it does just fine. For further out I will use my JK Pro (this weeks flavor :). My main goal it to keep it low and make sure I keep the nose of the disc down with a tailwind. I never worried about disc sellection to much with crosswinds, just more of were to alter my aim.

[Brandon Swanson]

What?! the JK Pro beat out the Challenger for a spot in your bag? I'm disappointed. :-)

[steve sevonty]

challenger way better in the wind!

[Rescue]

It's all about the feeeeeeel. The JK is more tacky and fits my hand better. Although they are pretty much the same shape. Even in FLX the Challenger I have is just not tacky enough for my taste.

[Brandon Swanson]

I hear you. The two are pretty similarly shaped and fly nearly the same. I went back and forth between the two for a while. The jk has a bigger bead and I didn't like that. So I chose the challenger for the sake of feel as well. Pro D. I would agree that the jk is more tacky, but when coupled with the the fact that it's so flexy, I felt like I pulled more of my putts to the right. But it sounds like you're more of a push/loft putter so you probably don't run into that problem.

[Rescue]

Ya, I'm a fan of the "push putt" However I didn't event know that's what I was doing, well sort of. I just started thinking of how to simplify and reduce any motions that would cause the disc to go astray. So I started with the wrist, knowing the less the better (as far as purposeful motion). Then I start reading about it and I'm like, HEY! that's what I've been doing! lol!
Now in the wind, i feel the need for spin!

[Brandon Swanson]

Our course is super open and windy. This winter I developed a push putt style in my basement and thought I had it down. Then I took it out on a moderately windy day and got rocked by the wind. So I pretty much canned it. I have good control with my spin putt in terms of the speed, loft and angle. I vary these elements based on the wind and if I need to go over something. If I was a hardcore tournament player, I'd probably learn the push putt, but seeing as 95% of rounds I play are on my windy home course, my time is better spent with my spin putt I think. I might give the push putt a small chunk of my small chunk of practice time this year...we'll see.

[Nascar Dave]

Nose down and out of the wind with a little more spin.

Try not to think about the wind, which can be hard when it's 30mph plus. But if you throw a good shot and execute it the way you want, the wind has a lot less affect on the outcome of that shot.

Most bad shots on windy days are the result of bad fundamentals like getting the lip up or too much hyzer or anhyzer in a cross wind etc. You still have to pay attention to headwind and tailwind as far as disc selection but after you select your disc and the type of shot you're going to throw, then stop thinking about the wind.

Indecisiveness will eat you up even on a calm day so just don't over-think your shot, just throw it.