Lesson 1: Wind: Air That Moves
Wind is simply air that is moving. And because golf balls move through air, moving air changes everything.
A headwind blows toward you, straight into your shot. It dramatically increases drag and can reduce distance by 10-20% or more.
A tailwind blows behind you, pushing the ball in the same direction. It reduces effective drag and the ball can travel significantly farther than normal.
A crosswind blows from the side and pushes the ball sideways while in the air. Experienced golfers aim away from the target to account for this — aiming right of the flag when the wind will push the ball left.
Headwind = more drag = shorter shots. Tailwind = less drag = longer shots.
Crosswind = ball pushed sideways in the direction of the wind.
Rule of thumb: for every 10 mph of headwind, a shot loses roughly 10% of its distance.
Hold a piece of paper at arm’s length and blow on it from different angles — in front, behind, and from the side. Watch how it responds to each. Now imagine your golf shot being the paper.
Professional golfers say playing in strong wind is more mentally tiring than calm conditions. Why? What extra thinking does wind require that a calm day does not?
Wind prediction game: over one week, check wind speed and direction each morning. Record it daily. On your windiest day, predict before hitting: ‘I think the wind will push this shot ___ yards and change my distance by ___ yards.’ Then hit and see if your prediction was right.
A child who observes wind, applies aerodynamics knowledge, makes a prediction, and tests it is doing real physics. Even a wrong prediction is valuable — it generates a question worth investigating.