Too much wind?

[KniceZ]

I've gone out the last couple days to throw a round but had 15-25+ mph gusting winds - I couldn't get anything within 50' of a wide open 230' hole that I use to warm up and can usually get in two. I'd try to throw flat and it would flip & burn. The next throw I'd try to compensate with more hyzer and it would hook horribly when the wind got under the edge and blow it away. Even throwing with the wind it would just beat the disc down and I couldn't throw much more than 225'. :wall: I tried a roller and it hooked around and actually started rolling back towards me!! :wall:

I just packed up my discs and went home.

Got any suggestions on how to deal with high winds (so I don't whimp out) or is it best not to fight it, go home and grab a beer.

 

[Mr. America]

Practice! Sometimes when the wind is too strong to fight, you just have to try to learn how to go with the wind. Try rollers too depending on the ground.

 

[BullyBull]

throw your zone, invest in silly overstable plastic. I enjoy the predator, but some like the firebird, or so Ive heard.

 

[Jay Dub]

I do best into the wind when I make sure not to throw my disc as hard as I can, which seems to be my instinct. I use an over stable driver and throw with an easy smooth release on the angle I would throw my normal disc with no wind.
I end up in the middle of the fairway more than half the times doing that...when I remember to not throw so hard.

 

[ceteebird999]

I've gone out the last couple days to throw a round but had 15-25+ mph gusting winds - I couldn't get anything within 50' of a wide open 230' hole that I use to warm up and can usually get in two. I'd try to throw flat and it would flip & burn. The next throw I'd try to compensate with more hyzer and it would hook horribly when the wind got under the edge and blow it away. Even throwing with the wind it would just beat the disc down and I couldn't throw much more than 225'. :wall: I tried a roller and it hooked around and actually started rolling back towards me!! :wall:

I just packed up my discs and went home.

Got any suggestions on how to deal with high winds (so I don't whimp out) or is it best not to fight it, go home and grab a beer.

From looking at your list of discs, the only two I see that could possibly handle any wind are the starfire and the zone. Also, that really depends on what plastic you have them in, what weight and how new they are. What you are describing sounds more like 40-50mph, because 15-25 should be playable, but difficult yes.

 

[joe_kool315]

there are many stated where a 15-20mph wind is considered a breeze. Texas for one when I lived out there for 4+ years if the wind wasn't blowing people was looking arouns to see where the storm was at and if it was headed our way LOL. Into the wind I throw a more stable disc than I'd normally throw for the shot. Depending on how much wind ... go very overstable and higher weight before messing with nose and release angles. IME a disc thrown well, flat is affected much less than a hyzerd/annied disc. Nose angles issues will also make playing in the wind a nightmare. into the wind nose down will kill a drive and nose up will end up with a sky-stall. With the wind throw a more understable/lighter disc. nose agnle issues aren't a devistating here and you can typically hyzer/anny easier with the wind as well. Cross/swirling winds are where the biggest issues come in for most. crossing winds will definately affect anny/hyzer drive/approach/putt shots in a major way. wing up into the wind will get carried away with the wind, wing down will get knocked down very quickly.

I'm sure some of the midwestern folks will have more/better tips for wind play as I just play in my normal 5-10 mph beach breezes with the occasional windy days that drives everyone around here nuts, myself included sometimes. I do tend to adjust better to the wind than most of the folks I play with regularly though.

 

[crusadersounds]

I laugh anymore when I hear the phrase "too much wind for DG." My friends and I played in 40mph winds with gusts to 60+. Throw understable with the wind and STOOPID overstable against it. Now, granted, it feels REALLY weird to hyzer flip a max weight Z Crush, but that's what you do. We had a long gully that contained 3 of our baskets, and so on really windy days, I would go and throw my whole bag different ways into, against, and crossing the wind. I know this is going to sound elementary, but the way to learn how to throw in the wind, is to throw in the wind.

 

[JoshEpoo]

Played in a league this Tuesday when we had 45mph gusts and 25mph sustained winds. I think the winning score was 5 strokes higher than the previous week, and it's a doubles league, so that's a big jump. Everyone is going to struggle in those conditions, but once you learn to play the wind, you'll have a big advantage over those who aren't good at it.

The biggest issue to keep in mind is that if the wind hits the bottom of your disc, it's going for a ride. If it hits the top, it's going to drill it into the ground. You can use that to your advantage. If you need extra carry, throw a shot that will expose the bottom of your disc to the wind. If you don't want to go long, throw a shot that exposes the top of the disc a little harder than normal, and let the wind push it down close to the basket. This is particularly important on short up shots, where you really need to be parked under the basket for an easy drop-in putt. If you let the wind hit the bottom of your disc, you'll have no control over where it lands.

Any wobble on your shots will absolutely kill you, so eliminating that is top priority. Beyond that, keep your shots low, throw overstable plastic when you need to, and learn to throw understable stuff in tailwinds.

 

[roadtrip]

Had a buddy throw an ace in 40+ mph on an open Oklahome lake course. His gf was playing with us and he bragged all day after that ace. The wind aced that hole. She didn't know that. Lucky jerk.

 

[smarkquart]

Get an Opto XXX, aim right, and throw hard. Do this a couple of times and get used to where it lands. From there adjust your aiming point accordingly. Wind does not play a factor in how the XXX flies. You are definitely going to lose a little distance, but as long as you have some lateral room to play with, which should be the case if wind is involved, the XXX will always stay in the fairway.

There is probably a good handful of other discs that will accomplish the same thing. That is the beauty of silly overstable discs, they remove the variable of wind.

Now, if you need a tunnel or straight shot in the wind, that is a different story. A very stable, but not overstable, mid would likely be your best shot.

 

[kevinmzane]

Read some of the threads here on playing in the wind and look at windy days like that as good practice. Living in Kansas (up until early this month), that kind of wind is no big deal after getting used to it. Certain times of the year, 15 was a pretty calm day and 25+ was pretty common. Learning what and how to throw in certain winds can give you a HUGE advantage and sometimes you can use it to pull off shots that you wouldn't otherwise be able to. Learning to putt in the wind is an extremely valuable tool as well.
Rollers are generally a bad idea in cross-winds. When you expose the bottom of the disc to the wind, it will carry it away easily. Exposing the top will generally push the disc down. Headwinds will make a disc turn over easier and tailwinds will make a disc fade more quickly/harder. I can't remember the article, but there was a great one that someone posted on here about the wind. Hopefully someone will like it for you.

 

[KniceZ]

I expected comments from the Texas and mid-West folks like : "25+ hah you whimp - 50+ is nothing out here - H*** I aced a hole during a tornado - Quit crying and throw!!"

But I was really struggling with the gusting aspect. The same disc would behave completely differently from throw to throw.

Will an overstable disc thrown flat not care if the wind changes from 10 to 25 mph during flight?
Which is harder to deal with head on or slighly quartering?

I did do a search on wind and didn't see any specific threads in the first few pages or results. I'll keep looking.

 

[chrishysell]

It's helpful if you can throw both forehand and backhand. That will allow you to play all wind directions.

 

[kevinmzane]

http://discraft.com/res_wind06_p1.html

Here is a good one

 

[mjoyce]

I learned yesterday that it's important to leave the glidey discs in the bag on really windy days. even in a tailwind. I threw a river yesterday with the wind. The wind caught my disc, the disc hit a tree and then decided to glide about 50ft the other direction. However I did find approaching and putting to be much more difficult in the wind than driving.

 

[joe_kool315]

Will an overstable disc thrown flat not care if the wind changes from 10 to 25 mph during flight?
Which is harder to deal with head on or slighly quartering?

I did do a search on wind and didn't see any specific threads in the first few pages or results. I'll keep looking.

Gusts will have a lesser effect on very overstable discs. Less glide is a plus as well as that means the disc it's self "catches" less (or is held up less by) air and cuts through better to the ground.

corss winds are the hardest to deal with as they'll affect the disc differently as it goes through its normal flight.

I learned yesterday that it's important to leave the glidey discs in the bag on really windy days. even in a tailwind. I threw a river yesterday with the wind. The wind caught my disc, the disc hit a tree and then decided to glide about 50ft the other direction. However I did find approaching and putting to be much more difficult in the wind than driving.

putting into the wind, aim lower and use a more overstable putter. I use my Z zone and love it. with the wind the putter will drop faster so you have to putt faster or aim higher, sometimes both. you can stick with the os putter or go with your normal putter. Cross winds you really have to be concious of your release angle (especially up shots) any time you expose the bottom of the disc to the wind (hyzer with a right to left wind) it WILL take the disc in that direction quickly. you have to keep it flat. if you need to get around stuff or have to hyzer putt be very concious of where the wind is going to take your disc.

 

[jtreadwell]

Get an Opto XXX, aim right, and throw hard. Do this a couple of times and get used to where it lands. From there adjust your aiming point accordingly. Wind does not play a factor in how the XXX flies. You are definitely going to lose a little distance, but as long as you have some lateral room to play with, which should be the case if wind is involved, the XXX will always stay in the fairway.

There is probably a good handful of other discs that will accomplish the same thing. That is the beauty of silly overstable discs, they remove the variable of wind.

Now, if you need a tunnel or straight shot in the wind, that is a different story. A very stable, but not overstable, mid would likely be your best shot.

While silly overstables like the XXX ARE good in wind, it's untrue that they remove the wind from the equation. Playing in just 15 - 25 mph sustained headwind I still need to power down the XXX (opto, 170ish) or throw with some hyzer to avoid flipping it. I'm a bit of a noodle arm compared to most folks on this forum and I wasn't griplocking it either. Wind simply cannot be removed from the equation just with an overstable, it is just easier to a closer to normal flight pattern with the right type of disc. After that it's down to skill.

 

[mygunsbigger]

a good time to show off my new dye?
Monarch. my wind disc now

 

[smarkquart]

While silly overstables like the XXX ARE good in wind, it's untrue that they remove the wind from the equation. Playing in just 15 - 25 mph sustained headwind I still need to power down the XXX (opto, 170ish) or throw with some hyzer to avoid flipping it. I'm a bit of a noodle arm compared to most folks on this forum and I wasn't griplocking it either. Wind simply cannot be removed from the equation just with an overstable, it is just easier to a closer to normal flight pattern with the right type of disc. After that it's down to skill.

Okay, I was over simplifying it by saying you can ignore the wind by pulling out those specific discs. Of course you have to take the wind into account when selecting what disc to throw. Even something overstable with an incredibly predictable flight path is going to be affected differently in a tailwind versus a headwind.

I am in no disputing what your disc is doing, I am not there and I have not seen you throw, but I am not a noodle-arm (nor a canon either) and I do not get the XXX to flip. I barely get it to turn on a clean, flat release (175g Opto). I can force it over on anhyzer and it will obviously flip back into a fade, but regardless of conditions I know I can trust it. In a way, that trust reinforces the argument that it involves more skill than what disc you throw.

If there is a grand and over-simplified statement I am making, there are some great stable to overstable fairway drivers that can be trusted to get acceptable results despite of the wind. You may lose some distance, but you do not have to sacrifice much accuracy. The variable of wind may not actually be removed, but the variable of where it should land the majority of time despite the varying conditions is better controlled.


My order of trust in my bag goes like this (high to low):

Drivers - XXX - Force - Sword - Boatman - TeeBird - King - River

Mids - Drone - Roc - Axis - Meteor

Putters - I do not trust any putters in the wind. I had a Zone that was decent, but it was not that much shorter than my Drone and thus created a lot of overlap. I used to carry a Pig, but they had no glide in the wind which defeated the purpose of putting.

 

[VictorB]

The best way to get better playing in the wind is to play more when it's windy. Makes calm days seem super easy to put the disc where you want it.

Practice putt on windy days too. This cannot be emphasized enough, I think.