CHAPTER 9

Wind, Lopsided Balls, Dimples, Rain, Sleet, and Snow

（风，球的重心，球面窝点，雨，雪，冰雹）

9.1 Are You a Real Golfer? (球痴？)

I’m not asking how well you score or anything about your handicap. What I want to know is, how much do you enjoy playing the game? When I lived in Abilene, Texas, I played with a group of friends; we had a regularly scheduled game. The only time we didn’t play was when the wind conditions of the day failed the “chain test”: if the wind wasn’t holding the chain horizontal to the ground, we played. We are real golfers who love to play the game.

“球痴”们不是以成绩或是差点来评定的，而是以对高尔夫的热爱或者叫狂热来测定的。我住在德克萨斯州阿比林的时候，我们有一群定期打球的球友，只有在一种情况下我们会取消我们的球约，就是当这天的风力没有通过我们的“链测试”：只要风没有把手中的链条吹成一条直线，我们就下场，我们是一群真正的“球痴”。

9.2 Does Wind Effect Putting? （风对推杆有影响？）

Wind speeds do, indeed, drop as they get closer to the earth’s surface. However, we found that they don’t get to zero until they reach absolute ground level. And at the height of a golf ball – 1.68 inches above the ground – the wind can be blowing at a relatively rapid pace. Balls sitting stationary on the green don’t move, even when the greens are pretty fast, until wind speeds reach about 25 to 30 mph an inch off the ground, at which point you would call it a very windy day.

越接近地面，风速越小，除非是绝对贴着地面，否则，风的影响总是有的。球的高度是1.68英寸，在这样的高度，风对球的影响是不能忽略的。即使是快速果岭，停在果岭上的球也不会滚动，但是如果离地1英寸高的风速达到了25-30mph，也就是我们说的大风天，那就保不定了。

Reviewing the highest-scoring rounds on the PGA Tour over the last few years, we find that essentially all occurred on high-wind days. Golfers assume that most of this difficulty comes from the wind blowing balls in the air, leading to missed greens and found hazards; the date indicates putting performances also suffer on those days.

回顾PGA 巡回赛中平均成绩最高的日子，无不是大风天。球员们的球在风中失却方向，误入障碍区；数据同时也显示，在这样的日子里，他们的推杆表现也大失水准。

A 10-mph wind will completely change the roll direction of a putt on a desktop.

10mph的风力完全改变了一颗在桌上行进的球的滚动方向。

 

Impact energy moves your putts forward, air resistance and green friction slow them down, while wind forces and slopes (gravity) can move them sideways.

推力让球滚动，空气阻力和果岭的摩擦力让球慢慢减速，风力和坡度让球偏离起始推击方向。

 

9.3 Detailed Experiments Prove It （实验室数据）

We set up our indoor tilt-green for wind testing, making it dead level with a Stimp speed of 9.5. We rolled nine-foot putts through a 20-mph crosswind field. With a near –ground wind speed of 20mph, the putts were moved about 12 inches off-line by the time they reached hole-high. When we rolled putts through the same wind field on the green Stimping at 10.5, putts were blown approximately 38 inches wide of the hole (that’s more than three feet on a nine-foot putt). But you say, golfers don’t play in winds this strong. Yes we do, because a 20-mph wind just above ground level is roughly a 30-mph wind at eye level, and we play in gusts that strong frequently.

我们用室内的倾斜果岭来做风的测试，保证绝对水平和9.5的果岭速度。从9英尺开外用True Roller（一种能控制速度的推杆仪器）推击球通过侧风为20-mph的区域。当接近地面的风速是20-mph时，球到达洞口的距离时，偏离了12英寸。但如果同样的情况下，果岭速度是10.5，那么，球会偏离洞口38英寸，偏离超过了3英尺而球离洞的距离不过是9英尺。有人会说，打球的时候，没有这么大的风，可是实际情况却是比赛时经常会有这么大的风，在地表20mph的风速在眼睛高度大概是30mph。

9.4 What Wind Means to You（对风，我们能做什么？）

So why don’t we see our putts blow three feet sideways? Because we don’t get precisely these circumstances very often.  Rather than a 20-mph wind blowing constantly for the full roll of the putt, what you might encounter on the course is a wind that gusts to 20-mph, quartering across your ball track for just a second or two, pushing your ball two inches left of the cup. Under this kind of circumstance, you probably would never notice the wind effect, and blame your left-edge miss on a pulled stroke instead. What about 5-mph wind, which you enjoy so much as it caresses your face, it can move the ball 2^1/₂  inches off-line on a nine-foot putt (on a green measuring 9.0 on the Stimpmeter).

但是，为什么我们在场上从来没有看到这种能把球吹偏离3英尺的情况？因为场上不同于可以设计好的室内试验果岭，20mph的风不会持续地全程地吹球，我们所经历的往往只是20mph的大风吹过球的滚动路线，时间也就一二秒，球偏离洞口2英寸而已，在这样的情况下，我们往往不会怪罪于风，而是看着从左侧滑过的球，责备自己拉杆。5-mph的和面春风让人惬意，但如果是在速度9的果岭上推行9英尺的距离，这样的风也能让球偏离2^1/₂ 英寸。

There are compensations you can make to improve your wind putting. Widen your stance to create a more stable base. Grip down on your putter, with your feet farther apart, your entire body is slightly closer to the ground. And extending your arms down the putter shaft will give you more control over the putter head.

Don’t let the wind beat you before you get started. It’s easy to overthink or get psyched out by possible wind effects. Wind usually blows much less than 50percent of the time, you don’t know if the wind will blow or not as the ball is rolling, and usually not only in the direction that will make your putt miss. So working on everything else about your putting, becoming a great putter first; then you can worry about becoming a great wind putter.

大风时，我们有一些办法来抗衡。加宽站位，降低握杆，使得整个身体离地面更近，这样对杆头的控制力会强一些。

但是风也没有我们上面说的那么严重，不用过多考虑也不必过于诧异，吹停有间歇，是否球滚动的时候，风一定会吹而且吹的方向一定会对推杆线路有影响都是不定的，所以我们还是按照我们的routine做好推杆准备，首先成为一个好推手，然后才有可能做一个风中的好推手。

 

9.5 Balance Matters in a Putted Ball （均衡性对滚动中的球的影响）

A mud would make the ball unbalanced and cause it to roll off-line. My test shows that most name-brand balls on the market are very nearly in balance but they’re not perfectly balanced. When a ball’s center of gravity (CG) is offset from its geometric center, it will roll off-line A slightly off-balance ball will roll better than a mud-lump ball, but still not precisely straight and true.

如果球粘到了泥巴，这个不均衡的球肯定会偏离滚动路线。试验表明，市场上的名牌球基本上球体是均衡的，但也不是绝对均衡。当一个球的重心偏离几何中心时，这个球就会偏离滚动路线。当然一个基本球体均衡的球相比一个粘了泥巴的球的偏离那是很小很小了。

The figure above was the worst-case scenario for this mud-lump ball, as we positioned it the worst possible way, with its off-balance axis positioned exactly horizontal and perpendicular to the direction of the roll.

上图左侧的情况是最糟糕的情况，泥巴被粘在影响最大的位置，也就是水平垂直于滚动线。

9.6 Measure and Mark Your Balance Line（测量和标记球的均衡圈）

If you’re not a good putter, off-balance balls won’t hurt your putting. But if your start your putts rolling on the correct Aim-line, the off-balance balls can only hurt you. You have to measure the Balance –line of your ball, mark them, and set them on the green so the Balance-lie with your Aim-line.

There two easy to measure golf-ball balance: spinning your balls in a Balance-line machine, or by floating them in a solution of heavy water.

如果推杆很一般，球重心的偏离对你的影响也许并不大，但是如果你是一个总能沿着瞄准线直上直下推杆的球手，就有必要测出球的平衡圈，并标记，在置放球的时候，让平衡圈与瞄准线一致，以此来减少重心不平衡造成的后果。

有两种方法可以测量出平衡圈，一种是通过测试机器，另一种是把球搁在重水中。

*** How to Measure Golf Ball Balance（测重心）

Supplies（所需物品）

1   1 wide-mouth container  宽口杯

2   2¹ /₂ cups lukewarm water  温水

3   12 tbsp. Epsom salts 

4   2 drops Jet Dry

5   1 permanent-ink marking pen 防水笔

Procedure （程序）

1         Fill container with water. 杯中注入水

2         Gradually add Epsonsalt and stir to ensure all salt completely dissolves. Place a ball in the water. If it floats, you have enough salt. If not add more salt and observe buoyancy of a ball changing. Ball will eventually float when enough salt dissolves.

缓缓加入Epsonsalt，并搅拌，直到彻底溶解。把球放入水中。如果球能浮起，那么Epsonsalt的用量够了，反之，继续加入Epsonsalt，并查看浮起的情况，只要Epsonsalt足够，球总能浮起。

3         Add tow drops of Jet Dry and stir. Solution is now ready to measure ball balance.

加入两滴Jet Dry，搅拌。溶液就准备好了。

4         Place ball in solution at bottom of container. Carefully release ball without spinning. Let ball float to surface. After all motion ceases, mark center of exposed ball cover with permanent marker. This mark identifies light side of ball (gravity pulls heavy side down).

把球摁倒杯底，轻轻松手，不要让球旋转，球浮至水面，直至停止一切晃动，在球露出水面的部分用防水笔做上标记，表明球的平衡点。

9.7 Golf Balls Have Weird Feet (球的“脚”)

The game of golf was originally played with a smooth ball. However, once the old Scots saw that scuffed balls flew farther, the dimple race was on. The aerodynamic effects of dimples are well documented. But they make it a little more difficult to roll short putts straight. It is much less likely that you’ll contact a spherical surface on a modern ball

曾经高尔夫球是光滑的，但是苏格兰人发现被磨出棱角的球飞的更远，于是，球开始出现窝点。窝点的空气动力效应是有科学依据的。但是，这些窝点对于短推的推直会有一定的影响,因为排列密集的窝点让推杆杆面能击到球面的机会变得很小。

*** Dimples and Direction （窝点和方向）

There are two ways dimples can affect how – and where – a ball rolls. First, if the putter makes contact on the edge of a dimple rather than the smooth, spherical surface, the ball can rotate and start slightly off-line. This effect can be significant on short putts. Second, balls that are rolling very slowly can wobble along the edges of the dimples as they slow to a stop. The large the dimples and the harder the cover material, the more likely contact make on an edge will affect a putt’s roll.

这些窝点的影响首先体现在如果杆面的触及点刚好是在窝点的棱上，这时，球会转动，并稍稍偏离推击线，尤其是在短推上；第二，当球耗完推力，即将停之前，窝点的棱会让球出现晃动。窝点单个面积越大，球的材质愈硬，那么这种影响就越明显。

It’s not large effect, and it’s even less significant the harder you strike your putts. Also, the effect doesn’t occur every time, because if you place your ball down on the green in random orientations, still, the possibility does exist and there is a simple way to avoid it altogether.

Having marked your ball with its Balance – line, rotate it until you locate the largest spherical surface area on the Balance-line, then circle it: this becomes your Dot-Spot. Set your ball so the Dot-Stop is at the back of the ball when your Balance-line is aimed precisely along your Aim-line. That way, when you make contact, there will never be a dimple effect.

窝点棱不会有特别大的影响，如果推得比较重，这种影响甚至可以忽略，而且，并不会每次推击都刚好敲到棱，但是几率是存在的。有一个方法可以避免。

标记好了球的平衡点，转动球，直到找到绕着平衡点的一圈光滑表面，画上圈。让平衡圈与瞄准线完全一致，让平衡点在球的后面，对着自己的推杆杆面。在这样的情况之下，窝点棱的影响被完全克服。

9.8 Rain, Sleet, and Snow: Are We Having Fun Yet? （风霜雨雪，我们依然）

You’ve been putting all these years without think of any of these effects I’ve mentioned. So why do I bring them up? So you will stop beating yourself up every time you miss a putt. Golfers usually blame themselves for a miss even when it isn’t their stroke that’s at fault. I want you to stop doing that, because this game is hard enough without it.

许多打了很多年的球手，也许根本没有注意到我上面提到的情况。我之所以要提出这些情况，是为了让球手们不要当推击出现失误时，总是责怪自己。高尔夫球够难了，因而不要再错误地为难自己！