How to drive well with the wind off the left

GM Top 25 coach Andrew Reynolds says don’t overcomplicate things with the wind off the left – one simple adjustment is all you need to make...

(Image credit: Kevin Murray)

GM Top 25 coach Andrew Reynolds says don’t overcomplicate things with the wind off the left – one simple adjustment is all you need to make...

1) Club selection The left-to-right wind is the one most right-handed golfers dread. Few golfers fancy it much if the wind is severely off their backs, especially if there’s trouble down the right. Some of it is confidence; some of it is because far more club golfers slice the ball than hook it; but some of it is down to strategy and in particular, club selection.

Instead of automatically reaching for your driver in the belief that it will help you keep the ball down, I would recommend switching to the higher-lofted 3-wood and turning the clubface to the left a little bit at address.

2) You still need loft Why not the driver? Well, if you turn or toe the clubface in with your driver that has perhaps only 10˚ of loft, you’ll end up with virtually no loft on the club or even negative loft! With a 15˚ 3-wood, turning the face in a bit will still leave enough loft on the club to get the ball up and away.

3) Keep things square Turning the clubface in is the only real change at address I would advocate with the wind off the left. Beyond that you need to keep everything else square to the target in terms of alignment.

The problem many people have is that they set up with the clubhead pointing down the fairway, but then because the wind is off the left, they set their alignment a long way left. This only exaggerates things, with the result an even bigger left-to-right flight than normal and the ball veering away right towards the very trouble you’re so desperate to avoid.

How to avoid creating too much spin off the tee

Tee height is important too. What you should do is tee the ball down a bit because it’s a 3-wood, then instead of aiming the clubface straight down the hole, point it down the left-hand side a little. Crucially, then set your feet, shoulders and hips up square to your intended line. From here, just make a normal swing, making sure you move through the ball and get your upper body weight on to your left leg through impact. The slightly closed clubface is all you need to counter the effects of the wind.

4) Practice breeds confidence It does need a little practice though, so if the wind is off the left big-time on your practice ground on a given day, rather than electing not to go out, head on down and experiment with this so you have a better idea, and more confidence, next time you face just such a tee-shot for real.

Check out Thomas Pieters' driving tips

Once you’ve seen that it really does work, you won’t be scared of really committing to such a tee-shot next time out on the course.

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response