Arizona Wind

[Phreddy]

This is my first full winter season in southern Arizona and  I am loving it.  I've noticed in the last month or so that the wind seems to pick up in the early afternoon and builds to a solid blow.  It has been an almost daily event.  I'm just curious if that is typical of spring or all  four seasons or maybe I'm just out more.  Spring is often blustery in the midwest, but it would seem to come and go.  I'm not complaining mind you, I think if anything it is making me a better player.  Even more interested in trying to work the ball, flighting it and thinking about club selection as opposed to simply pulling a club based upon laser number.

 

Livin' The Dream

Phred 

[jlbos83]

At least in Tucson, it's Arizona in the spring!  Wind almost every afternoon.  When it gets in my head, I remember a saying I made up, "You can't hit the wind, you can only hit the ball!"  It probably doesn't help, but it makes me feel better.

Edited March 23, 2021 by jlbos83

[puttnforthe8]

2 hours ago, Phreddy said:

This is my first full winter season in southern Arizona and  I am loving it.  I've noticed in the last month or so that the wind seems to pick up in the early afternoon and builds to a solid blow.  It has been an almost daily event.  I'm just curious if that is typical of spring or all  four seasons or maybe I'm just out more.  Spring is often blustery in the midwest, but it would seem to come and go.  I'm not complaining mind you, I think if anything it is making me a better player.  Even more interested in trying to work the ball, flighting it and thinking about club selection as opposed to simply pulling a club based upon laser number.

 

Livin' The Dream

Phred 

 

Yup...Spring winds and Haboob winds at the end of summer.

 

How long do you have left bud....would love to grab a round with you.

[AZ_JHWK]

I've been here 20 months and this Valley is the most calm and wind-less place I've ever been. I'm from the Midwest too and Spring can be really windy but so can the other seasons. Spring is the more windy season here but I laugh when the big story on the news is a 15mph wind in the forecast. 😀  It's rare here when I have to think about adding more than one club to any shot. The mountains here seem to get a lot more wind.

[azmx]

18 minutes ago, AZ_JHWK said:

I've been here 20 months and this Valley is the most calm and wind-less place I've ever been. I'm from the Midwest too and Spring can be really windy but so can the other seasons. Spring is the more windy season here but I laugh when the big story on the news is a 15mph wind in the forecast. 😀  It's rare here when I have to think about adding more than one club to any shot. The mountains here seem to get a lot more wind.

Where are you playing?  I say this because in certain parts of the Valley it is crazy windy.  Gusts up to 40-50mph not long ago and sustained winds in the 15-25mph range.  I played last Friday and on our front 9 there are two holes that run parallel and with/against the prevailing wind.  On the first, downwind, I hit a 7 iron from 208 that landed on the front and almost rolled through.  It was solid but not amazing contact.  On the other side I hit that same 7 iron with similar contact from 149 and it was about 3 yards short.  Normal, no wind 7 iron for me is going to be around 172-175.  I've played enough in heavy winds in Scotland and Ireland to know how to use it.  This was wind not extreme for links courses but it was comparable and that isn't uncommon at all in the NE Valley.

[AZ_JHWK]

I play in the East Valley mainly. Anywhere from Scottsdale to Mesa to Chandler. I realize there are some very windy days, but if you take all 365 days and average it all out it comes out very favorable compared to other parts of the country. We got here in August of 2019 and from late September to December 1st that year it seemed like there were 50 perfect golf days in that stretch. Only about 10 days like that all year in Kansas. I'm only able to get out on weekends at this point so maybe I have a small sample size in my short time here. Cheers! 

[Bonneville85308]

I know it's an anti-woke position to take, but I absolutely hate playing in 20+mph wind, and I am able to avoid most of it by teeing off early in the morning and skipping the few days per year where it is forecast to be that windy even in the morning.

[Pepperturbo]

We often visit family in AZ and property in SO.TX.  Both states have more than their share of wind, mostly it comes up mid-day and hangs around the rest of the day - till cocktail time when it dies off.  Figure that.

 

The further south you get in AZ the stronger the wind gets.  South of Tucson to Tubac many times and playing the Rancho 9's 4-club winds from 11am-12pm coming from the south.. dam is it a real test of ball control, especially #6, #7, #8, and #9...

[azmx]

Winds were brutal today. Unlike @Bonneville85308 I LOVE playing in a heavy wind. Not a woke opinion at all. Just want to be creative on the course and have to think on every shot.  I hate wind on the driving range when I am practicing though. 

[Shilgy]

I’ve been here in the Valley for almost 28 years and still recall advice my pro in Minnesota gave me about wind in Arizona.

In Minnesota the wind did not really touch your ball until you got above the tree tops. So a 10 mph wind was not a lot. But at Arizona desert courses the wind is working on your ball immediately so there is more effect on your shot. 

[Phreddy]

2 hours ago, Shilgy said:

I’ve been here in the Valley for almost 28 years and still recall advice my pro in Minnesota gave me about wind in Arizona.

In Minnesota the wind did not really touch your ball until you got above the tree tops. So a 10 mph wind was not a lot. But at Arizona desert courses the wind is working on your ball immediately so there is more effect on your shot. 

That is a really interesting observation.  The other thing I am learning is that what you feel on the tee is not the same as what is happening at the flag.  In Wisconsin the wind blows in a direction, say left to right.  I played a par 3 that is down hill from an elevated tee into a small mountain bowl or canyon.  The wind was at my back on the tee, but as it bounced off the rock walls it came around to very nearly the opposite direction at the green.  If nothing else it makes the game even more interesting.

 

Phred

[RainShadow]

 I've only been here about 3.5 years, but this has been the windiest March/April of the 3.

Just a casual observation. Many of the long time residents I talk to have said the same.

 Interesting tip from Shigly's post. I lived in Washington and played in some pretty heavy winds, but they usually didn't affect the ball as much as here due to the 80ft trees on most courses.

 The wind here moves the ball a lot more, I think, and the courses I play most here in Tucson ( AZ National, Fred Enke) it seems the wind swirls quite a bit. 

 

 

 

[jlbos83]

2 hours ago, RainShadow said:

 I've only been here about 3.5 years, but this has been the windiest March/April of the 3.

Just a casual observation. Many of the long time residents I talk to have said the same.

 Interesting tip from Shigly's post. I lived in Washington and played in some pretty heavy winds, but they usually didn't affect the ball as much as here due to the 80ft trees on most courses.

 The wind here moves the ball a lot more, I think, and the courses I play most here in Tucson ( AZ National, Fred Enke) it seems the wind swirls quite a bit. 

 

 

 

It seems like the wind has been getting turned on every day at about 11.  And it changes directions so that you are always going into it!

[Pepperturbo]

Not in AZ but a helluva WIND test on Maui.  When I go there I often play the semi-pvt "The King Kamehameha Golf Club," (the clubhouse was build by Frank Lloyd Wright for Marilyn Monroe back in the day.)  It's located in the middle of the island along Honoapiilani Hwy up on the side of the mountain.  It's always been in immaculate shape.  Most holes face either north or south, into the prevailing wind or down wind.  The clubhouse gets a great deal of international attention.

 

Anyway, click the img.  The #17 tee is on the bottom left of the picture.  It's a beautiful Par 3 that from white tees is about 130+yds.  Last time I was playing there I chose the White tees at 71.2/132 because the wind was dreadful.  It is an uphill shot, so I used a nicely struck 3i into the wind, and my ball only reached the apron. LOL chipped to save par, but the whole day was like that.  The above hole in the image is #18, it was down wind.  I was beat by the end of the round, and had a 50min drive back to Kapalua...

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[azmx]

Gusts today were 35+mph (was told that there was a 50mph gust measured at the weather station in the clubhouse but can't prove it). So, yeah, no wind @AZ_JHWK 😛 Today I played with a guy from Chicago and a guy from Nebraska.  Both said that the wind we played in today was far worse than they what they expect at home.  Oh and my outdoor furniture was blown around 70' from where it normally is located when I returned home.  This Spring has been consistently the windiest I've seen in 25+ years here.  I've had to go pick up the couch that sits on top of a viewing deck from the bottom of my yard around 10 times.  It weighs 48lbs and is being thrown over the railing like a rag doll.

[AZ_JHWK]

Touche azmx. Spring is the windiest season here and by most accounts this is the windiest in recent memory. I've been fortunate they haven't fallen on the weekends I've played. I'm pretty sure I'll have cursed myself for future outings. 

[jlbos83]

My fun summer golf league starts this afternoon.  Earlier this morning the forecast said winds of 25, now it says 15.  I hope the 15 is right!