Need help with windy putting.

[FonzTYC]

i'm so surprised by all of the bad info given out on this thread. Never change your putter, change your putt.

I dont know man, these soft putters fill up with air and they are so worn out that they lift up like a plastic bag and just fly straight up. I think its time to switch to a firm putter.

 

[Mr. Plow]

...in serious wind, I take a driver and putt with it upside down, it fights the wind, but doesn't glide too much due to being upside down.

I like to do this with drivers as well. I've found that if I need to putt 20' or more on a windy day it's better to throw a driver upside down and let it slide across the ground to the basket than try to make it. I live in Iowa, and we get 20+ MPH winds all the time. Almost no way you can putt well in those conditions. Lay up.

To the person who said switching putters in the wind is a bad idea: Why? If you look at the top players in the world today many of them use a different putter for windy, cold, or wet conditions. Maybe you know something they don't? Don't be so glib. Enlighten us.

 

[Clue]

This isn't a simple solution. It takes experience and practice. There's 360 degrees of wind direction and there are tips for nearly every 15-30 degrees. Plus you have to factor in the angle and stability of the putter you are using. There are a countless number of permutations.

Just to scratch the surface, a straight tailwind putt doesn't require a different putter. It's simply a matter of putting reasonably firm and probably a little higher. I putt with soft discs with sort of a turnover line which is terrible for headwind putts. Gators, Zones, and other overstable discs are pretty good for straight headwind putts, but Challengers, Wizards, and KC Aviars are probably stable enough with good form and good spin. Another tidbit is to putt softer into the wind or with certain crosswinds.

The wind will expose what you do poorly, throwing and putting. It's simply a matter of trial and error. Get out on a windy day and putt over and over from about 8 different directions. Learn from your mistakes. When you miss, especially when you miss badly, figure out what you did wrong. Try different things. Hold the putter out in front of you softly and feel how the wind is hitting it as you change the angle. Choose whether you want the wind on top of the disc or underneath it and putt with that angle.

 

[ChainMan]

To the person who said switching putters in the wind is a bad idea: Why? If you look at the top players in the world today many of them use a different putter for windy, cold, or wet conditions. Maybe you know something they don't? Don't be so glib. Enlighten us.

I wasn't that person but I'll throw in my two cents. Most guys I know who switch to a different putter for windy conditions had FIRST learned how to putt with their favorite putter in the wind. They learned the four points of the wind compass first. Tailwind tends to knock the disc down. Headwind tends to raise/float the flight. Wind 90 degrees from the right (RHBH) makes the disc sweep right to left. Wind 90 degrees from the left keeps it on a straighter line. Once you've learned what the wind does to your favorite putter and you can throw consistently in those conditions you "may" want to try a different mold for certain conditions. IMO the two biggest factors in wind putting are confidence which comes from practicing in the wind.

I personally hate the wind but first I learned to drive and approach in the wind and I am making good progress putting in the wind but it takes a little knowledge and the best attitude you can bring. Laugh at your miscalculations and mis-throws and keep working it. Hitting that first 40 footer in a 20mph wind is a real confidence builder!

 

[Frank Delicious]

Changing your putter is not a real fix to this problem. Learn how to putt nose neutral and all your problems will be fixed.