How to hit Fairway Woods
The fairway woods are becoming the most difficult shots to play in golf. With the Driver head much larger and tee pegs much higher they have become more favourable in our bag. The process is the same as the Driver we just have less margin of error with the ball being much lower to the ground.
How to play your Fairway Woods – 3 main steps
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1. Ball Position
The first area to becoming more consistent with this shot is having the correct ball position.
I would like you to use two clubs to help ensure that you are placing the golf ball in the correct position in your stance. The first club is going to be placed on the ground and aiming down the target line.
The second club will be placed perpendicular to the one on the ground, and opposite of the golf ball. (as shown below). Now, if you have a driver you would normally want your left heel touching the alignment rod at address. (pic 1). If you’re using a seven iron, for example, you would place the club in the middle of your stance, with both feet equal from the alignment rod on the ground. (pic 3). This helps ensure that you establish the correct ball position in practice. Now for the fairway woods and hybrids it should be somewhere in between, I want you to set up with your left heel an inch to three inches from the club shaft and see which works best for you. (pic 2)
Pic 1: Driver set up
Pic 2: Fairway Wood set up
Pic 3: Iron set up
2. Weight Distribution
You need your weight to be evenly distributed in our stance, so fifty (50%) left, and fifty (50%) right.
Because the ball forward in our stance, there is going to be a slight little tilt in our spine
This slight tilt will help increase our chances of having a shallower angle of attack and we will be able to strike the ball as the club is levelling out and get a smoother or brushing of the ground (rather than ‘digging in’)
3. Use the Loft
The last thing for you to do is to make sure you are allowing the loft of the club to get the ball into the air.
We don’t want to see you hanging back on your back leg in an effort to help the ball up into the air.
When you hang back, this leads to a lot of inconsistency and you won’t get that consistent quality strike that you’re trying to produce.
Why have a pre-shot routine?
The reason we would like you to have a routine is to talk yourself into the positives of the shot.
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I have the correct club
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I am aiming in the correct position
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I need to make this swing
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I commit to the shot because of the above
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If any doubt sets in then the swing can collapse and not finish causing poor contact.