How to hit a fairway wood

I see a lot of golfers who, due to the advances in golf club technology over the past couple of decades, are able to hit really good drives from the tee.

The golf shots they hit with their driver seem to fly high, long and remarkably straight.

Maybe it’s the modern golf clubs or possibly it’s because the golf ball is always teed up and simple enough to hit cleanly.

It could be due to them spending hours, hitting drive after drive off the nice high tees at their local driving range or in the many golf simulators that seem to be popping up around the place these days.

In fact, most golfers these days hit their drivers so well, you would almost think that they were all scratch golfers……………………until they go to hit a fairway wood shot.

Then all of a sudden, their true ability at the game shows up and the results for most golfers, when hitting shots with their fairway woods are generally poor at best.

Those poor fairway wood results are costing a lot of golfers plenty of shots during their rounds, through the lack of opportunity to attack on par 5 holes or the ability to get close enough to make a par on longer par 4 holes.

Something that a well struck fairway wood allows you to do, as you play your 2nd shot deep on a par 5, giving you the ability to attack with your 3rd or getting close enough to make a pitch and putt par on those long 4’s.

Unfortunately, most golfers aren’t able to attack like that, as they are busy trying to save the hole after a poor fairway wood shot that’s been topped along the ground, headed off into the trees, the rough, a water hazard or a sand trap.

So why such a difference?

I think to understand why most golfers struggle to hit fairway woods, we need to look at why they can hit their drivers relatively well first.

When using a modern driver most players have the ball teed up quite high, and the practice tees they use at driving ranges are the same height which aids in consistency.

There is of course, the tendency for golfers to hit more drivers than any of their other clubs if they do practice.

The faces of most modern drivers are pretty deep, which gives a lot of room for error and mishits, while still providing a remarkably good shot.

Their golf ball will usually be positioned at the front of their stance to promote hitting it on their upswing.

There’s not much that can go wrong – is there?

The golf ball is teed up nice, nothing in the way of the club head before it hits the ball, plenty of room to hit it hard on the upswing and a big club head designed to produce a good shot however you hit it.

However, when hitting a fairway wood (on the fairway) the tables are turned a bit.

As for a start there’s no tee holding it up off the ground.

Fairway woods generally have a smaller head and face, so the margin for error is significantly smaller than that of a driver.

The ground conditions / grass on the fairway can affect the shot quality greatly depending on where you are hitting from, whether you catch it cleanly and the weather on the day.

Most golfers simply don’t practice that often with their fairway woods and if they do, it’s almost always from a nice lie or a consistent driving range mat.

Basically, the margin for error is much smaller for a fairway wood shot as the ball is on the ground and you don’t have anywhere near as much help from the club head as you do with a modern driver.

Also, for some reason, most golfers are under the impression that a fairway wood shot is more of a sweeping shot like a driver but if you watch what the world’s best golfers do to hit their fairway woods well, it’s exactly the opposite.

So how do you hit fairway woods well?

The main thing to be aware of is that you need to adjust the ball position – so that it is back in your stance an inch or two from where you hit your driver to allow you to make a descending blow on the ball (as opposed to ascending with a driver).

Suddenly realized why you top your fairway wood shots after reading that?

Read it again just to make sure you have it.

Put the ball back in your stance a little and make a descending blow on the golf ball, just the same as you would hitting a long iron (if you still have any in your golf bag).

The other thing you may find helpful is that when using a fairway wood from a teeing ground instead of a driver – hit the golf ball off the ground the same as you would do on the fairway.

Yes, I am suggesting not to tee it up!

Personally, I hit all fairway woods off the ground whether I am on the tee or not, which has allowed me to develop a single action for fairway wood shots, regardless of where I am playing it from.

I make no adjustment from tee shot to fairway shots at all and as a result, have no problem with playing fairway wood shots anywhere on the golf course.

Try doing the same for a little while and you’ll be amazed at how much better your fairway wood shots become.

Play well.

Ian Hardie is Golfer Pacific’s Golf Professional contributor. He is Club Professional at Omanu Golf Club in Mount Maunganui. Ian’s time is split between the pro shop at the club and helping people to improve, while enjoying their golf more as a result of his golf coaching. Over the past few years, in an effort to help as many golfers as he can, Ian has been sharing his common sense golf advice with golfers around the world through his website golfhabits.com. With over 500 articles to read, it’s a great resource for any golfer looking to improve their golf game.