Instruction blog: In the wind, mistakes are magnified

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A controlled backswing is a necessity for succeeding in windy conditions.

What Happened
It was a last-minute decision to join the field at the Shell Houston Open last week, but it was one of the best calls Paul Casey ever made. After four solid rounds and en extra playoff hole that seemed to take a week to complete in blustery conditions, the 31-year-old Casey found himself in the winner's circle for the first time on the PGA TOUR.

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It was only a matter of time before the talented Englishman would add to his impressive European Tour record. With nine wins across the pond and a very good Ryder Cup record, it was certainly time for Casey to take the next step in the United States.

Casey's first win on the PGA TOUR nearly came at this year's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, where his good friend Geoff Ogilvy took the title. Although Casey lost in the finals, he seemed to be gaining the needed confidence to finally win in America. With impressive stats that fit the PGA TOUR recipe for winning by driving it long -- Casey currently ranked sixth at 303 yards -- and solid putting -- currently the leader in putting average at 1.677 -- Casey just might have the game and confidence to maintain his top 10 ranking in the Official World Golf Rankings.

What Can We Learn
With some serious wind in Houston, the players were challenged all week from tee to green. With winds gusting above 40 mph, only the best ball strikers were able to survive these extreme conditions.

This week it is only fitting to discuss some of the things that Paul Casey and other PGA TOUR players do when the wind becomes a major concern.

The best wind players are usually the ones that not only have lots of experience in these conditions, like Casey, but also the ones that are the overall best ball strikers. Great ball strikers can achieve the necessary impact condition to control their trajectory. For these players, a lot of wind doesn't affect the ball as much as it will for others. This impact condition will see the clubshaft return forward, so the clubhead is descending and accelerating when it contacts the ball. In addition, great ball strikers can control their clubface so they can move the ball left-to-right or right-to-left to counter the wind.

Paul Casey is one of those players that creates a great impact condition with the club shaft and clubface. Casey achieves a forward lean in the club shaft by keeping his trail wrist bent. A bent right wrist all the way to impact allows the clubhead to lag and move down through the hitting area allowing for full compression on the ball. If a player loses the bend in the trail wrist to impact this will lean the club shaft away from the target leading to inconsistent contact and trajectory -- this impact condition will create a trajectory that will simply get tossed around in the wind.

With Casey's right wrist controlling the forward lean of the club shaft and creating a descending blow, his left wrist is controlling the angle of the clubface. With his natural ball flight being one that curves left, Casey was able to control this draw spin by turning his left wrist down at impact. This can be felt by applying pressure with the bottom three fingers of the left hand rolling the knuckles "under" and towards the ground. Conversely, Casey also worked the ball the other way with some fade spin by holding the left wrist "turned" through impact. This can be felt by keeping the left-hand knuckles facing towards the sky through the hitting area.

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Paul Casey gripped down on his irons at Houston for better accuracy in the wind.

At the TOUR Academies, we like to call this "educated hands," and this can be learned by anyone who plays the game. In order to have the precision of the proper impact condition as described above, a player must have educated hands. Not only will this help your game in the wind but also on those beautiful, calm days, too.

In addition to educating your hands, here are some additional tips that will help achieve a consistent impact to better control your shot trajectory on windy days.

1. Move the ball slightly back in the stance -- I always get a little concerned when telling someone to move the ball back in their stance because this can be quickly overcooked. I would suggest moving the ball one ball-width back from where you normally play each club. This will encourage you to hit the ball first.

2. Take one more club and grip down -- One of the biggest mistakes golfers make in the wind is club selection. Generally, it is much better to take a longer club and grip down. When hitting into the wind and managing cross winds, take a longer club and swing smoothly as this will allow you to control your spin and better manage the results of your mis-hits.

3. Compact swing -- I always enjoy watching PGA TOUR players shorten their arm swing to a three-quarter length motion in both directions in heavy wind. This keeps the arm swing tighter to the body and allows for more efficient knock-down shots, again controlling the trajectory through the proper impact.

Playing effectively in the wind is something that is not talked about often. Most golfers avoid playing in the wind or rain so they don't get a lot of practice in these conditions. However, the next time you find yourself in these less than ideal situations, you will be better prepared.

Just Because
Wow, what a great week we have coming up. How about the finals of the NCAA Basketball tournament, Opening week of Major League Baseball, the first major of the year at Augusta National, Easter and not to mention the competition between Dancing with the Stars and American Idol is officially on!

The NCAA tournament didn't exactly work out for me, once again I find myself in the bottom of the company pool among fellow employees that know nothing about college hoops. I might as well draw out of a hat for my selections next year.

Baseball is finally here and my Mariners will be looking to improve upon the league's worst record last year. Count 'em: 101 losses and I think I may have watched them all. Off-season improvements...Everything!

And oh yes -- The Masters! I can hear the piano now on CBS. The unofficial start to the golf season is here and my picks are in for the year's first major. I'm pretty sure the winner will come from this threesome.

1. Tiger Woods -- Shocking, I know.
2. Camillo Villegas -- I want Tiger and Camillo in the final group with an arm wrestling match, if a playoff is needed.
3. Geoff Ogilvy -- Hopefully, no playoff is needed.

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