Joel Dahmen explains genius “Faldo method” to judge wind strength

We’ve all found ourselves throwing grass into the air on the golf course to work out which way the wind is blowing. But, according to Joel Dahmen, this force of habit can tell us a whole lot more.

You see, the PGA Tour star, and face of Netflix’s golf docuseries Full Swing, has been having some off-season fun, playing with YouTube stars the Pointer Brothers, in what they’re calling the Long Drink Classic.

While most of the video is good fun, one section in particular caught our eye. As the group play on a particularly windy day at TPC Scottsdale, they find themselves hitting an approach shot into the wind.

And Dahmen, who has a win on the PGA Tour, drops a piece of golf knowledge that not many will have heard of.

“This is called the wind method, right here,” says Dahmen.

Dahmen throws some grass up in the air, which goes behind him, before pacing out to where the grass eventually fell back to the ground.

“Into the wind, you take however many paces it (the grass) flies. That was probably three steps, for every step it’s four yards into the wind, so you have 12 yards of hurt.”

Understandably, the amateurs in Dahmen’s group are somewhat perplexed.

“Nick Faldo. It’s called the Faldo method,” says Dahmen, when asked where his system originated.

“He won British Opens a lot. He was pretty good.”

And apparently, this method works for shots where the wind is helping, but with a twist. On downwind shots, you half the impact of the breeze.

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“So, you go four yards into the wind, and then you do two yards downwind, because it doesn’t help as much.”

In this instance, the number to the flag was 157 yards, but with Dahmen’s ‘Faldo Method’ applied, the shot will actually play 169 yards, thanks to the 12 yards of hurt. If the wind had blown the grass an extra yard further back, the shot would play 173 yards, and so on.

Now, we’ve looked, and we can find no indication that Sir Nick Faldo came up with, or ever used this method to calculate wind strength.

Regardless, whether this is simply an urban myth or a piece of golf wisdom that’s stood the test of time, we’ll be trying it out next time we’re on the course.

Lewis Fraser As bunkered’s Performance Editor, Lewis oversees the content that’s designed to make you a better player. From the latest gear to tuition, nutrition, strategy and more, he’s the man. A graduate of the University of Stirling, Lewis joined bunkered in 2021. Formerly a caddie at Castle Stuart Golf Links, he is a member of Bathgate Golf Club where he plays off four.

Performance Editor