1 of 24

Update: 5/24/2020

I don’t play Golf Clash anymore, and I’d forgotten all about this presentation. The reason I now remember it is that I got a request from someone to edit it.

Sorry, Rodrigo. You seem super nice, but I’m gonna just say no this time around.

2 of 24

Golf Clash Wind Guide

From “wtf is a ring?” to recognizing key considerations when setting up your shot

Created by the friendly admins and mods of Golf Clash University

3 of 24

Disclaimer

Everything contained herein is based on observation, testing, and experience. We do not have access to game code and cannot affirm that the game mechanics and models actually behave this way. It is, however, at least a good approximation in most cases.

4 of 24

SUPER basic stuff

  • Take a look at the picture to the left. Let’s imagine that the ball flight shown is a perfect shot with no wind at all.
  • Now imagine the exact same shot, but there’s 3 mph of wind in any direction. The ball will instead hit the ground in the direction of the wind on the black circle.
  • That 3 mph of wind will have the exact same effect, regardless of the club’s accuracy.

Key takeaway: Any ball hit x distance will be affected by your wind in the exact same manner regardless of accuracy.

5 of 24

SUPER basic stuff (continued)

So the primary purpose of adjusting for the wind is changing your initial aim point such that the wind will carry the ball to where you want it to land.

The most accurate way to adjust your aim to compensate for the wind is to make use of the colored rings around your aim point. Read on to learn why this works and how to do it.

6 of 24

Rings (not talking about wind yet...hold that thought!)

The concentric circles around your aimpoint in the fairway are commonly referred to as “rings”. There’s a yellow ring that just looks like a circle, surrounded by an orange ring, surrounded by a blue ring, and so on.

These rings correspond to the circles you see on your swing meter when taking a shot. If you release your shot in the 5th (white) ring on the meter, it will land in the white ring you see in the fairway, off to the same side.

Aimpoint on the fairway

Swing meter

7 of 24

Accuracy

A club’s accuracy determines how large the rings are for the target you move around to set up your shot.

A “great” shot with a less accurate club will be more punishing than with a more accurate club.

Check out the image here that shows the difference in ring sizes for accuracies of 0, 50, and 100.

Image created by Jeff Sellers

8 of 24

An observation that changed everything

It turns out that there is a direct relationship between the accuracy rings you see on the ground and the amount your ball will be pushed due to wind. The fact that this works is what has given us the tools known collectively as the “ring system” of wind adjustment.

Roughly stated, the observation goes like this: at a club’s maximum range, 1 ring is the amount the ball moves for a certain amount of wind as follows:

  • 3 mph for 0 accuracy
  • 2 mph for 50 accuracy
  • 1 mph for 100 accuracy

9 of 24

Observations give way to math

The relationship between accuracy and the amount of wind it takes to alter the ball flight by a single ring is linear, and the math is very easy. From just the 3 data points shown on the previous slide, we can derive the following:

Wind per Ring = 3 - A/50

Example: A club with 75% accuracy would have a wind per ring value of 1.5 because

3 - 75/50=1.5

You should prove to yourself that the formula works. Plug in accuracies (A) of 0, 50, and 100 and see the calculated Wind per Ring.

10 of 24

Basic stuff wrap-up

  • Use your club’s accuracy to determine its Wind per Ring
    • This is the “ring number” for that club.
    • You can also just look it up in pre-made charts that are readily available.
  • The amount you should adjust your aim is given by:

Adjustment = [wind] / [ring number]

  • Figure out where you want the ball to land, adjust your aim by the calculated Adjustment in the opposite direction of the wind, then take your shot.

There are also plenty of charts out there that you can use to generate reference figures ahead of time. However, you should know WHY it works instead of blindly following someone else’s numbers.

11 of 24

Shall we continue down the rabbit hole?

  • If the basic stuff up to this point is ALL you learn, you are in great shape and will likely be able to compete easily up through Tour 8 (or so).
  • The problem is that the remaining concepts are a bit more complicated… so you have a choice to make.
    • Red Pill: continue on and learn where the basic stuff breaks down
    • Blue Pill: take what you got and run (this is the recommended option if this is all completely new to you. Get some practice with the basics, then come back for more.)

12 of 24

There’s more to a shot than the first bounce

The math presented in the basic stuff can only take you so far. The purpose of all of that is to dial in where that first bounce will take place. But guess what? The ball will bounce a couple more times, and every moment that the ball is in the air, the wind will have some effect.

You must be aware that headwind will compress subsequent bounces compared to what the ballguide shows. Tailwind will stretch them out. Side wind will push ever so much more slightly to the side.

See the next two slides for examples.

13 of 24

Additional adjustment for effects after bounce - headwind

14 of 24

Additional adjustment for effects after bounce - sidewind

15 of 24

Elevation

When the 1st bounce is at a lower elevation than the tee, the ball spends more time in the air; and vice versa, shorter when higher elevation.

(shown effect is greatly exaggerated)

Note: the parabolic trajectory alters (the initial launch angle varies) when the bullseye target is at a different elevation. This is important, in particular, when if after wind adjustments your target is at a different height to where you intend to bounce (such as in a bunker or water). When target is lower than intended bounce spot, you will fall shorter than expected, and vice versa.

16 of 24

Change of trajectory due to headwind and tailwind

The wind, as well as moving the bounce point, affects the angle at which the ball meets the ground. This causes a change to the characteristics of the bounce, as shown on the next slide.

17 of 24

Effects on bounce caused by changed trajectory

In a headwind, the ball comes to the ground at a steep angle, carrying less forward momentum after bounce, and travels less distance after each bounce, compared to a no wind trajectory.

18 of 24

What if you’re not shooting to a club’s max range?

The really short answer here is that you can take the percentage of your club’s max range that you’re aiming and apply that same percentage to the wind speed.

If my aimpoint is only at 80% of the club’s maximum range, I can act as though the wind itself is only 80% of what’s shown!

“Great, but how do I know what % I’m at?” Oh, good question. If you’re not sure, you can always zoom out, stretch your aim to the club’s max distance, and just visually estimate the % range you’re aiming for. It helps to know your club’s minimum range, which is discussed in Appendix I. However, you can get by without looking into that much detail.

19 of 24

Ball Power for special balls

Using special balls to extend the range of your club (assuming you’re aiming into the +power range) has the same sort of effect that you see when aiming short of the full normal range, but in the opposite direction.

  • Power V: +13%
  • Power IV: +10%
  • Power III: +7%
  • Power II: +5%
  • Power I: +3%

If aiming at max range with a ball with +power, you can treat your wind adjustment as though the wind is that same percent stronger.

20 of 24

Curl & Wind together

While we don’t have any rigorous scientific study to give you solid numbers about how curl and wind interact, there are a few things you should definitely know.

  1. Using curl extends the amount of time that your ball is in the air, which gives the wind more time to act.
  2. Curling into the wind is effectively increasing the amount of headwind you’re dealing with. Curling with the wind increases the amount of tailwind.
  3. Using curl in extreme tailwind conditions (12+ MPH of wind) will cause the ball to land farther to the direction of your curl! This effect becomes quite drastic at wind speeds over 18. You’ll have to develop a feel for it, but know that the effect is real.

21 of 24

Headwind, Tailwind, and Side Wind - different beasts

When the wind gets windier (over 10 or so), tailwind and headwind (to a lesser degree) start to act a bit different from sidewind. There seems to be a compounding effect that makes tailwind push even farther and makes headwind compress even more.

Understanding how to account for this is much more art than science at this point, but you should be aware of the effect. In extreme wind conditions, this effect is very drastic. If you ever get a chance, try hitting a Power V, Wind 0 ball at max overpower in 18+ tailwind...

22 of 24

Closing Thoughts

There are a few main points we want to leave you with:

  • If you’re new to the game, don’t try to incorporate all of this at once. Just try to get the hang of everything before you took the red pill.
  • Much of this information could be wrong, or at least not completely correct.
  • Many players have progressed all the way through the game without getting this far into the weeds. They develop an intuitive sense about how to play under various conditions. The intuition of an experienced player is a force of nature, and building it up is extremely important for long-term survival.
    • Think of this guide as either a supplement to your intuition or a way of giving it a kick-start.

23 of 24

Appendix I: Max/Min Distances for Clubs

You can actually figure out the % adjustment for minimum range by looking at the max power among all clubs in the next club down. For example, let’s look at Sniper 10. Sniper 10 has 172 power. The highest power possible for the long irons is 135. This 135 is also the minimum power for ALL woods. So at minimum range, you're at 135/172 = 78.5% of Sniper 10's max range.

The minimum powers are:

  • Driver: 180
  • Wood: 135
  • Long Iron: 90
  • Short Iron: 45
  • Wedge: 0
  • Rough Iron: 0
  • Sand Wedge: 0

24 of 24

Appendix I: Max/Min Distances for Clubs (cont.)

As a club’s power goes up (and its minimum power stays constant), the minimum range for a given club becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of that club’s max range. This chart shows the extremes of how much a “minimum percentage adjustment” can vary.