In
golf, a ball is said to
balloon if it rises strongly at the end of its
flight as a result of being hit into a strong
headwind.
The reason for this is that a well-hit golf ball will have significant backspin on it. This backspin causes the ball to act as an airfoil as it travels forward in the air. The air pressure above the ball is less than the air pressure below the ball, and this causes the ball to rise.
If a golf ball is hit into a strong headwind, the spin causes the ball to rise more than if there was no wind. This will result in the ball rising higher in the air, and thus "seeing" more of the wind. Ballooned shots will fall well short of the desired distance. Some will actually stop their forward motion entirely, and come backwards at the end of their flight!
I find that, for me, the 6-iron is the club most susceptable to ballooning. The long irons fly low enough to avoid rising all that much, and are struck with sweeping blows to impart less spin. The short irons fly quite high by themselves.