Golfing In Ireland

In order to succeed in Ireland you must learn to play in the wind.  Above all this requires good shot selection.  Trying to fight the wind is a futile battle.  

For example: I was playing one afternoon at Galway Bay (a particularly windy course) when the wind was gusting to almost 50 mph, tough conditions even for the pros. In that circumstance your personal yardage's mean next to nothing. So rather than trying to play punch shots, low fades or draws, I left my fate to the wind.  This takes a lot of faith and a little experience. Hitting a drive 50 yards out to sea in the hopes that it will come back to the fairway can be a terrifying. In one instance I hit a sand wedge 170 yards to the green, while on the following hole I hit a 4 iron 80 yards to the green.  Generally, for the average golfer, we have no choice but to play with the wind even if it means aiming well away from the target. 

Although this sounds like a nerve racking experience (truthfully it was), there is nothing better than watching a ball track beautifully to the fairway after hitting well away from it.

For the most part, learn to live with the wind, don't fight it. Choose your clubs with care, sometimes it takes a leap of faith to hit 2 or 3 more clubs into a shallow green, but you must trust your swing.

"Overcoming" the wind

Your other option is to play professional type shots. That is playing the shots which the pros might use in tough situations.  Often you will see punch type shots, low shots that penetrate through the wind. For the average golfer I wouldn't recommend it, but if you want, here goes.

Play the ball well back in your stance, right of center, right toe, or in extreme circumstances, outside the right toe. Your swing should be very compact. Take the club back to about 3/4 length and follow through the same distance.  Swing with a punch type motion, think of a nail placed directly behind the ball and try to drive it into the ground.  The result should be a low boring ball flight. Be warned though, it is very difficult to stop the ball with this type of shot, so it is best suited to drives and open greens.

Lastly, on windy days, your lob wedge is about as useful as your umbrella for hitting the ball. Leave it at home. And good luck!