Trouble with Fairway Woods

[Divot Dan]

One of the biggest frustrations I have with my game is that after a decent drive, I consistently flub my fairway wood shot (3 wood/5 wood). I don't know if I rush the swing or try to hit the shot too hard, but when I mess up, I usually top the ball. Any advice? Thanks.

[bcheeks]

i had trouble at the end of the year with my 3 wood.  after a tip from rexwrx i found that i was up on my toes and jumping at it trying to get too much out of the club.  once i got myself balanced and just made a normal swing it got much better.  i make a conscious effort over the ball now to make sure i'm balanced and my weight is not up on my toes and my troubles have seemed to have gone away.  it may not be what you're doing but it's worth a try.

[mr_divots]

It's hard to stay down and trust the loft to get it airborne. Have you ever practiced taking like half swings w/ the 3 wood on the range and just learning to trust the loft and also to practice your weight shift onto your front foot? Getting stuck on your back foot will lead to tops/screaming low hooks. Been there. 

[plateful]

That's a pretty good tip.  While you're hitting the fairway woods, put your 7 iron tempo/effort into it.  That should fix a bunch of what ailes you.

[Divot Dan]

Thanks for the responses so far. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'll go to the range and work on your advice. Keep the tips coming!

[Sillybodkins]

that ProLaunch Blue shaft that you have in your driver can be a really good fairway wood shaft.  The softer tip helps in head feel, and helps the club swing through and get the ball up in the air. 

I play stiff in my driver, but I play a ProLaunch Blue 75R shaft in my TEE cb2.  It's a great combo for me.  I am a sweeper more than a hitter or digger, particularly with my driver and fairway woods and hybrids.

Balance and good swing mechanics are really important.  Swinging "within yourself" is really important.  And, having fairway woods that you trust is also important.

Perhaps it's time to try a new 4-wood, with a ProLaunch Blue shaft, and go from there?

[bl8d]

On tight lies play the fairway wood from approximately the middle of your stance and forget about sweeping the ball off the turf. Position it like you do for a 5 iron. In my case that would be 1 ball dia. ahead of center.

[Sillybodkins]

On tight lies play the fairway wood from approximately the middle of your stance and forget about sweeping the ball off the turf. Position it like you do for a 5 iron. In my case that would be 1 ball dia. ahead of center.

Well,.....

You could play it that way, like an iron, but there is a better way.

Imagine that, instead of hitting the ball, your effort is directed at throwing your club toward the target.  In throwing your club at the target, you would sweep the ground with the club before you let go of it toward the target.

Now, if you can make that motion with the club, you can make a swing the same way, without worrying about the ball.  The ball just gets in the way of your fairway wood and happens to make a little journey.  Your swinging of the club gets the club to swing down the line, back in, and up to a nice follow-though position.  Ball just gets in the way.

If you can learn to make the swing out to the target, with the "marshmellow" just getting in the way, you should have no problem hitting a fairway wood.  If you have some old golf clubs laying around, swing them out toward the target and let them go, to get a feeling of swinging to the target.  Of course, you won't stop your swing there, you will let the club, if you hold on to it, swing up to a nice follow-through.

[bogeycentral]

I try to keep an extra fairway wood around that I don't care about for skymarks. I have one that has a senior shaft in it and it mentally helps me to remember to stay down and through the ball. The whippier shaft improves my tempo and helps me from feeling the need to overswing. My biggest fault with fairway woods is that I dig tend to really want to swing out of my shoes. The softer flex shaft really has made a difference in my control with a fairway wood. With the softer shaft I found it is very easy to work the ball and often the club gets played during the round. I know where my limits are with it though.

[Sillybodkins]

I try to keep an extra fairway wood around that I don't care about for skymarks. I have one that has a senior shaft in it and it mentally helps me to remember to stay down and through the ball. The whippier shaft improves my tempo and helps me from feeling the need to overswing. My biggest fault with fairway woods is that I dig tend to really want to swing out of my shoes. The softer flex shaft really has made a difference in my control with a fairway wood. With the softer shaft I found it is very easy to work the ball and often the club gets played during the round. I know where my limits are with it though.

Me too.  I play a stiff shaft in my driver, but a regular shaft in my 3-wood.  The softer shaft helps me get the ball airborne, and helps me feel the head (subconsciously, i believe). 

On a frequency machine, they both frequency the same.  Trouble with using the same shaft in your driver also in your fairway wood is that the shaft gets a lot stiffer at the shorter length, and your body/subconscious/whatever won't be able to feel the head - so sure, you'll rush the swing.

[bogeycentral]

Maybe another option worth looking into is pursuing a heavier weight shaft in your fairway woods than normal with a softer flex. If I could have it my way I would swing all out on every swing and know I would catch the screws each time. Oh how I can dream and at the same time realize I haven't even mastered that on a video game.

[jape]

Maybe another option worth looking into is pursuing a heavier weight shaft in your fairway woods than normal with a softer flex. If I could have it my way I would swing all out on every swing and know I would catch the screws each time. Oh how I can dream and at the same time realize I haven't even mastered that on a video game.

This is a good thought. 

I have never been able to hit a fairway wood off the deck if it has a light shaft.  When I've tried lighter shafts in my FW's, I could usually hit decent shots off a tee, but if the ball was on the ground I just could not figure out how to make solid contact.  I have had the best results with shafts that weigh at least 85 grams & my favorite FW shaft has been the TT DGSL.

The question is, what shafts are you playing in your fairway woods?  As a reference, maybe tell us what weight the PL Blue shaft in your driver is also?

[ShaneNZ]

ditched my 3 wood for a Adams Pro Gold 16 degree hybrid - problem solved