Best Golfers Into The Wind 2023

Best Golfers Into The Wind 2023

Hitting into the wind is almost a game on it’s own. It takes years of practice to perfect, and even once you have mustered it, it can still bite you.

Many times players that are known to play well into the wind are favorites going into the week at a coastal course or a venue where bad weather is predicted and they miss the cut.

Generally you would think players from the UK are going to be your best wind players, but some of these may surprise you.

Having said that, here is a list of the top 10 golfers that can play into the wind in 2023, they are in no particular order.

Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson is 51 years old, he has the famous nickname Lefty. He has won 45 times on the PGA Tour, six of which are Major Championships.

He recently won the 2021 PGA Championship, making him the oldest Major Championship winner.

Phil is married to Amy McBride. They have three children, Amanda, Sophia and Evan.

He has been ranked in the Top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings for 25 consecutive years.

Phil was born in 1970 in San Diego, California. He grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona.

He attended Arizona State University in Tempe on a golf scholarship and not after long became one of the most famous amateur golfers of his era.

He is actually right handed, but swings left handed as he mirrored his fathers swing in the garden when he was younger.

Phil is a great player in the wind, he has incredible hands and is able to manipulate the ball extremely well.

Although in the beginning of his career he struggled in the wind, this was prominent when playing in The Open Championship, he quickly learnt the art and has become one of the best players in the world.

Tommy Fleetwood

Tommy Fleetwood was born in 1991 he is from England born in Southport, Merseyside.

He is married to Clare who is also his manager, Clare has two kids of her own, and together they have a boy called Franklin.

His wife Clare is also his manager. Along with Clare’s two children, the couple have a boy, Franklin, born in October 2017.

Tommy had a steller amateur career, he was ranked world number one and made the Walker Cup team (The amatuer version of the Ryder Cup)

Tommy had a slow start to his professional career, but over the last few years has really stepped up his game. He has won five times on the tour.

What makes Tommy so special is his ability to to really grind out a round and play in windy conditions.

Coming from England and growing up on Links courses taught Tommy at a young age to play in windy conditions.

His abbreviated finish, almost like a knock down shot, helps him control the ball into the wind.

Tiger Woods

We cannot leave Tiger Woods off this list, he is arguably the most famous golfer of all time. He was born on December 30, 1975.

He grew up in Orange County, California, but now resides in Jupiter Island, Florida.

He has the most PGA Tour wins, tied with Sam Sneed. And has the second most Major Championships.

Tigers Woods had an incredible amateur career, He went to Stanford University after High School in 1994 on a golf scholarship, He completed two years of college before dropping out to turn professional.

His Tiger Woods foundation has reached millions of kids around the world helping them with unique experiences and innovative educational benefits.

This ranges from, science, technology, engineering and math, together with college-preparation workshops.

Undoubtedly the best ball striker of all time, Tiger Woods is almost unbeatable when playing in windy conditions.

His ability to take spin of the ball allows him to control his shots off the tee and into the greens.

His ability to see shots that no one else can gives him that extra edge when playing into the wind.

His course management is unbelievable, which helps him with always being in play when the conditions get tough.

Brooks Koepka

Brooks Koepka is only 31 years old. He was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, and was raised in Lake Worth.

He went to Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he played on the golf team. He won three college events and was a three-time All-American.

Brooks has 15 professional wins including 4 Major Championships. He has previously been the World Number 1 for 47 weeks in 2018.

He is a sports lover, his favorite teams are Manchester United Football Club, the Los Angeles Lakers and Green Bay Packers.

He is engaged to actress Jena Sims.

Brooks Koepka’s brute strength is what makes him a great player in the wind.

His ability to hit it miles off the tee gives him an extraordinary advantage over the rest of the field when it comes to windy conditions.

With speed somes spin, which is not ideal into the wind, but Brooks is able to keep spin low, allowing hits shots to fly unaffected by the wind.

His bombs off the tee and precise iron play into the greens makes him one of the best in the world.

Lee Westwood

Lee Westwood was born on the 24 April 1973, he hails from England and grew up in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.

He took up the game much later than most professionals these days, he picked up his first golf club at age 13.

He is married to Helen Storey who is also his caddy on tour, Helen is his second marriage. He has two children, Samuel Bevan and Poppy Grace.

In 2007, he achieved an Honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Nottingham Trent University.

In 2010 he started the Lee Westwood Golf School, this unique school gives young golfers the access to combine golf with their education as part of their school life.

In the same year he also started a Junior Lee Westwood Golf Tour and Lee Westwood Golf Camps.

Lee Westwood is one of the only players to have won tournaments on five continents – Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania.

Growing up in the UK he has learnt to play in tough conditions. He has a unique short and flat swing, which is perfect for playing in windy conditions.

He is one of the best players to have never one a major, but this does not take anything away from him. His ability to flight the ball low into the wind gives him the edge on most players.

Henrik Stenson

Henrik Stenson was born in 1976. He comes from Sweden and grew up in the small town of Gothenburg. Similar to Lee Westwood he was a late bloomer and only took up the game at age 12.

He turned professional in 1998, he currently plays on all major tours in the world. He has 21 professional wins to his name including The Open championship. His highest Official World Golf Ranking is 2nd (25 May 2014).

He currently lives in Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida. He is married to fellow Swede Emma Löfgren. They have two children, Lisa and Karl.

Like most of the great players in windy conditions, Stenson has a compact swing.

This allows him to control the ball extremely well and keep the spin down. If you are a winner of The Open Championship you are bound to be good in windy conditions.

He is unique in that he doesn’t use his driver all that much, he has an old 3 wood that he can control incredibly well. In windy conditions that is the key.

Louis Oosthuizen

Louis Oosthuizen was born on 19 October 1982, he is from South Africa. He grew up in Mossel Bay.

He had a bright amateur career going to the Ernie Els Foundation in George. He turned professional in 2002 at the age of 19.

He is married to Nel-Mare, the couple got married in 2007 and have since had 3 children, Jana, Sophia and Emma.

Louis currently plays on both the European Tour and PGA Tour. He has recently bought a 86-acre farm in Ocala, Florida.

Louis has 14 professional wins, including The Open Championship, like Henrik Stenson it is his only major win. Louis however has come 2nd in every other major, giving him the grand slam for 2nd place.

Louis swing is to die for. His timing, tempo and body movements are almost perfect in every way.

Coming from Mossel Bay, which is known to be very windy, Louis grew up playing in the wind and learnt very quickly to take spin off the ball and keep the ball low.

He is sneaky long off the tee, which gives him an advantage in windy conditions.

He is known for hitting iron shots that come out like bullets, almost being unaffected by the wind.

Rory McIlroy

Rory Mcllroy was born on 4 May 1989. He comes from Holywood, County Down in Northern Ireland.

Like most top players he had an incredible amateur career, he played in the Junior Ryder Cup and Walker Cup.

In 2004, at only 15 years old, he signed a letter of intent to play college golf at East Tennessee State University, things took a change in 2005, after a number of wins he decided to stay in Europe.

He has 28 professional wins, 3 of which are Major Championships.

Rory Currently lives in Jupiter, Florida with his wife, Erica Stoll, she used to work for the PGA of America. They recently have had a daughter Poppy.

Like our previous selected players, players from the UK are tremendously good at playing in the wind.

The natural Links golf courses which are always swept by the wind provide a tough test when you are younger.

Again winning an Open Championship means you mean business when it comes to windy conditions.

Rory’s natural ability to play in windy conditions and power he has gained over the last few years from bulking up in the gym means he has a big advantage over the competitors when it comes to playing in windy conditions.

He constantly leads the field in average driver distance, which will give you a head start on the field. From years of playing in the wind Rory McIlroy is one of the worlds best in those conditions.

Gary Woodland

Gary Woodland was born  on May 21, 1984. He grew up in Topeka, Kansas. Gary didn’t always have ambitions to play professional golf.

After high school he went to Washburn University on a basketball scholarship, but left after his freshman year to go to the University of Kansas on a golf scholarship.

Gary is married to Gabby Granado, they have three children together. They currently stay in Delray Beach, Florida.

He turned professional in 2007. Gary has 6 professional wins, one including the U.S Open. at Torrey Pines.

Gary is known for his big hitting, which gives him an advantage off the tee when it comes to windy conditions.

However that is not his biggest asset, Gary has mastered the art of the stinger. A Stinger is when you hit a shot extremely low, this obviously helps into the wind.

Gary is able to keep the ball a few feet off the ground, you can imagine this is a big advantage.

Like most other good players that can play in the wind, Gary has the ability to take the spin off the ball. This helps tremendously when hitting into the wind.

Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm was born on 10 November 1994 in Barrika, Basque Country, Spain.

He graduated from Arizona State University on a golf scholarship, he studied a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications.

He has the second most college victories in history, 11. 5 behind Phil Mickelson.

He currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is married to Kelley, who he met while studying in America. They have a son called Kepa who was born in 2021.

Jon Rahm has the famous nickname ‘Rahmbo’, giving you the indication that he is a strong player.

Like Lee Westwood, Jon Rahm has a short flat back swing, this allows him to naturally keep the ball low when playing in the wind.

Like all spanish players they have incredible hands, this allows Jon to take the spin of the ball easily, helping him hit controlled shots into the wind.

Jon Rahm is one of the longest hitters on tour, giving him an advantage over the rest when playing in windy conditions.

Conclusion

It’s clear to see that all good players that can play in windy conditions have learnt the skill from a young age.

It takes years of practice to be able to take the spin off the ball. This will ultimately allow you to control the ball much better when playing in windy conditions.

All good wind players are also long hitters, this gives them a clear advantage over the rest of the field when playing in windy conditions.

Our advice to you, learn to take the spin off the ball when playing into the wind.