If you struggle to make a fairway wood shot, you're not alone. Weaken your grip. In either case, hooking a fairway wood leaves you with little chance to hit the green in regulation. As you gain more and more experience with your fairway woods, you will likely come to realize just how much they can do for your game. The second is that you can get stuck underneath. I feel like My path is good, but my startline could be farther right. Before setting off to the driving range to work on your game, you need a clear picture in your head of exactly what it is that you need to do with the club. It is important in golf, just like in life, to have a goal for everything that you do. By spending some quality practice time getting to know your fairway woods, you can increase the return that you get from this portion of your bag. Followers 0. The smooth, slow swing that will be required to shorten your distance will help you feel the right tempo for the shot. Been loyal to Adams hybrids, and from time to time when they go straight they are cannons. Because of their lack of loft, How One Handed Practice Can Help You Develop A Fluid Golf Swing Video - by Pete Styles, Golf Swing Golf Tips - All Time Top Tips - Keep Your Eye On The Ball Video - by Peter Finch, In Golf How Can I Avoid Hitting Fat Shots With My Wedges? Maybe like a six or seven-iron, to get nice and close to the golf ball still adhering to the two inches above your left knee position. Golf instructor Matt Killen says the faulty in-to-out swing that often causes a hook can be corrected my maintaining the same spine angle, relative to the lower body, throughout the swing. M.L. It's important the strike is clean so the small amount of loft on the fairway wood can have the most effect and will help the ball rise into the air. Give them the time and attention they deserve on the practice tee so you can have plenty of confidence when they are called upon on the course. Keep the ball just slightly above the level of the turf to give yourself the best chance for solid contact. Making impact while the club is moving parallel to the ground will help you to use the loft of the fairway woods … It is important to remember that your fairway woods are still long clubs. Stop the Ball From Going Left When Driving in, Keep Wrists Together to Promote a Good Golf Swing, Techniques to Not Slice a Golf Ball Off the Tee. Should you find a fairway bunker on a par five or even a long par four, you might be tempted to pull out a fairway wood and go for the green. However, if the shot that you are facing does meet the criteria above, feel free to try out the fairway wood chip for yourself. One of the reasons fairway woods can be such a valuable addition to your golf bag is the fact that they can be used effectively around the greens as well as from long distance. The downswing happens very fast in golf, so you won't really have time to make any adjustments that are needed to check off each of these three points above. Address the ball with the feet shoulder width apart and the ball positioned a few inches inside the left heel to help the fairway wood bottom out correctly. Now, those two things may also cause a nice little baby draw that flies perfectly straight down the fairway. Quite obviously, you don't have to worry about your lie at all when you are playing a fairway wood shot from the tee. After all, isn't hitting a fairway wood the same as swinging your driver? Spend some practice time learning how to control the distance of this shot if you want it to be consistently effective. Players don't want to be taking big gouging divots with a fairway wood. By darkhunter139, August 13, 2011 in Instruction and Playing Tips. With this feature, the center of gravity is deeper and lower into the head, producing a more forgiving and consistent shot. In his book "The Complete Golf Manual," Steve Newell says that players who hook the ball typically slide their hips toward the target during the downswing, rather than rotating their hips to the left. Only when you know what you are trying to do will you have any hope of actually doing it. Even pros hook the ball. do not turn your higher body too a strategies previously you're making contact because it really is a particular thanks to hook the ball extraordinarily because you're able to have an outdoors-in … For added control, try and grip down the fairway wood an inch. They Don’t … So, for instance, you might pull your three wood out of the bag and aim for the 200-yard marker – even if you typically hit it 240. Or in other words, the clubface must not be perpendicular to the direction of the club at impact in order to produce some side spin.Specifically and for a How high is it? Unlike when you are hitting an iron shot, you want your. With that in mind, you need to be close to the green if you are going to employ this technique, because the ball isn't going to fly very far in the air before bouncing and rolling out toward the target. Travis Fulton and Claude Harmon III share quick tips on how to correct a hook with a long iron or hybrid club, and swinging under control and in balance. This should be achieved by placing the ball a couple of inches inside the left heel. Another big reason you are pulling the golf ball is the classic over the top swing motion. Address the ball with the feet shoulder width apart and the ball positioned a few inches inside the left heel to help the fairway wood bottom out correctly. Avoid an inside path. To start, take a close look at your lie and make sure the ball isn't sitting down in the sand. YouTube: GolfTips: How to Fix a Golf Swing Hook, Golf Digest: Keep Your Hands Close to Lose a Hook, Privacy Notice / Your California Privacy Rights, What’s a Golfer To Do? The key to playing a great fairway wood shot is to understand where the club arc bottoms out during the swing. However, don't worry! Most three and five woods have a shallow face profile, meaning you could go right under the ball if it is teed too high in the air. Try to match the shafts in your fairway woods to that in your driver so that you can have a consistent feel and ball flight from club to club. If you weaken your grip, you will start hitting it right. Yes – maybe. Picking the right shot at the right time is a big part of playing good golf. If you can generate a similar flight pattern with your fairway woods as you can with your driver, it will be easier to go back and forth between them. You certainly know that you need to work on your iron game, and no golfer would dare head to the range without launching a few drivers, so those elements always get a workout. Well, no, not exactly. Since the rules of golf allow just 14 clubs to be carried in your bag during a round, you should make sure that you are getting the maximum possible benefit from every club that you include in your set. Keep balanced whilst swinging the club back. Drill to Stop … PGA professional Jay Golden says the main cause of a hook is the golfer’s hands turning over too soon, meaning the right hand rotates on top of the left (again, for right-handers) prior to impact. He has contributed to a variety of national and local publications, specializing in sports writing. If you have the wrong lie for the shot at hand, you could be left with a very disappointing result. Watch Morning Drive every day on Golf Channel. This can also be a major cause of the hook. Equipment Spotlight: Premium brand Thomas Golf - Custom golf clubs with Shot Accuracy Technology, Drivers | Woods | Hybrids | Irons + Wedges | Putters | Chippers | Accessories | Clearance, #1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,PW,GW,SW,LWRight Handed / Left Handed, Only $109 eachIncludes Free Pro-Fitting Service, My Account | Sitemap | Support This Site | Suggest A Tip, Golf Info Guide copyright 1998-2020, Privacy Policy. When you stand over the ball thinking about launching it with maximum effort, you will wind up rushing through your swing and your tempo will be ruined. Nevertheless, during each one of your practice sessions, make sure you direct at least a little bit of your time toward the fairway wood section of your bag. Forget that hybrids look like fairway woods: Play them more like irons – ball near the middle of your stance, shaft leaning toward the target, downward strike. Reading your lie is an important skill throughout the game of golf, but it is especially important when you are hitting your fairway woods. WIth hybrids, this can make you hit the ball high on the club head which produces very … Be patient and only attempt fairway wood shots that you know you are capable of executing. ; Ron Kaspriske and the Editors of Golf Digest. A lot of amateur golfers think that if the ball goes left … Unless you are able to pick and choose your shots correctly throughout the round, you will never be able to shoot good scores regularly. For the duck hook, it’s the extreme degree of closed and inside-out swing that creates a duck hook. For a shot to produce a lot of side spin the clubface must hit the ball with an angle that is anything but square to the club path. To hit the ball without striking the shaft a golfer must keep his hands low, thereby maintaining the same spine angle. Corey Pavin hooks his second shot out of bounds during the 2010 Senior Open Championship in Scotland. These aren't clubs that are just limited to tee shots on short par fours and approach shots on long par fives – rather, they can come in handy all over the course – even around the greens. But now i am overhooking it and can't remember the last time i have sliced. Here’s how to fix both those issues: How to Stop … In today's game, many golfers have chosen to replace the five wood with a hybrid club, meaning that the three wood may be the only traditional fairway wood that you actually carry. Staying within yourself is great advice all around the course, and it certainly applies to fairway wood shots. Had one quick fitting question. To fix your hook and start hitting it straight, you need to align your body parallel with the target line. If your ball happens to be sitting down in an old divot, for example, you will need to exercise caution with your shot even though you technically hit the fairway. Use this quick drill on the range any time you feel like your tempo is getting away from you – it is a great way to get back on track and in rhythm. 2) Stop aligning to the right of target. A big mistake amateurs make when hitting hybrids and woods is teeing it too high. Sweep the ball away, let it be gathered up by the swing and finish in a fully balanced position. If you were to use the same tempo that you use with a pitching wedge or sand wedge, for example, you would have trouble striking the ball cleanly time after time. Obviously, a good swing is an important component in the process, but you also need to have the right lie for the shot you are trying to hit. When it comes to hitting fairway woods, there are some specific impact characteristics that you are looking to achieve. SV3 Square Fairway Wood Compare to: Nike Square Sumo2. Get the technique right and you are sure to improve your fairway shots. He suggests taking an old golf shaft or similar object to a practice area and sticking the shaft in the ground just beyond the ball (from the golfer’s point of view at address) at a parallel angle to the golf club in the address position. Golf professionals offer several common remedies to correct a hook. Another key point while focusing on your tempo is to avoid trying to hit the ball as hard as you possibly can. Chip shots hit with a fairway wood will have basically no backspin, so they are going to roll a good distance before coming to a stop. Once you learn how to hit your fairway woods correctly, you just might be surprised to learn how many different situations they can handle for you on the course. And then don't be afraid to hit down on it. What that means is you get too much in to out which creates the extra curvature. This happens when you combine the shallow angle of attack from the point above with a swing path that is coming from too close in to your body. In the fairway. Rose has worked as a print and online journalist for more than 20 years. Fairway woods may be often overlooked, but they can be a powerfully effective weapon in your bag when used correctly. Golf professionals offer several common remedies to correct a hook. Reply to this topic; Start new topic; Note: This thread is 3397 days old. Check your grip is nice and neutral, with the V between the thumb and forefinger pointing down the front of the shaft. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of … Shallow angle of attack. Now from this position, swing like you have got an iron in your hands, feel like you are trying to hit down and take a divot. In either case, hooking a fairway wood leaves you with little chance to hit the green in regulation. So how do … Golf instructor Paul Trittler suggests checking your stance at address to ensure that your body isn’t aimed to the right of the target (for a right-handed golfer). yet you over-hook because you're over-swinging. Start left and keep going left from a pull hook. If the ball is sitting nicely on top of the short grass, feel free to simply swing away. Players don't want big weight shifts back and through. Over The Top Swing Motion. I also lacked consistency. (We respect privacy and keep all emails confidential). Don't be tempted to lift the ball into the air with the hands. If you are swinging down too far from the inside, you will run the risk of hitting the shot fat and coming up well short of your target. All of the instruction below is based on a right handed golfer. For example, if you are standing on a tee trying to decide whether you should hit driver or three wood, you don't want to have to picture two different ball flights while making your choice. This shot is also not well-suited for occasions when you are short-sided. You need a good lie. Keep the weight 50/50 on each foot throughout the swing. Following is a list of lies that you may run into out on the course, and how those lies will affect your attempts to play a fairway wood shot. I’m a fairly straight hitter, but my miss is a big cut. These clubs are versatile in that you can use them both off the fairway and from the tee, so it will great benefit your game as a whole if you can build confidence in your fairway woods. By working on a smooth, flowing tempo with your fairway woods you can dramatically improve the quality of shots that you create. Could you potentially carry that hazard and reach the green? Only when you have drawn a fairway lie, or a good lie in the short rough, should you look at using a three or five wood to chip the ball. Fairway woods are easy to overlook during the course of a practice session. Drills to Stop Topping the Golf Ball. For the life of me, I cant stop hooking the hybrids I play. If you would like to hit some chip shots with your fairway woods, consider the following list of tips –. The number of fairway woods that you carry is up to you, but nearly every golfer is going to at least have a three wood in the bag. Fairway woods aren't going to be an effective choice when you have to play a chip from the deep rough. A fairway wood swing bottoms out almost exactly at the point of impact, with players catching the ball cleanly and just bruising the ground afterward. Keep the weight 50/50 on each foot throughout the swing. If you do these things, you’ll discover exactly how to stop topping the golf ball with fairway woods. 2020 Best Fairway Woods. About a year ago I use to slice the ball. You need plenty of green to work with. On the tee. Improve your hip rotation. With plenty of information on your side to address the issue, you may be able to finally solve this problem and get better performance from your three and five woods. If the hole is cut only a few steps onto the green on the same side as your ball, there probably won't be enough room to let the ball roll out. Fairway woods can be utilized both off the tee and off the fairway when faced with a long approach shot into a green. If that doesnt do the trick, consider having your hybrids face and lie angles altered by a professional, or invest in new hybrids … Once you get in a groove, hitting solid shots with a slow full swing, add some pace back into your swing until you build back up to full distance shots. However, the fairway woods tend to be skipped over by a large number of amateur golfers. If the grass is longer, or you have some kind of other bad lie such as the ball resting in a divot, you will be forced to use an iron to play the shot. There’s a couple of reasons this is happening. Eyes on the ball. 3rd … How to stop hooking the ball: Main points. Rose holds a B.A. Also, check the lip of the bunker between you and the target. And in that respect, you should avoid the big … The ball needs to be struck at the bottom of the club's arc. When those two elements combine in your swing, there simply won't be enough room to get to the ball without hitting the ground first. This is, sometimes, opposite of what a lot of people think. If you can find a perfect address position when setting up to hit a fairway wood shot, you should have a far easier time striking the ball cleanly on a regular basis. Trittler agrees that players must clear their hips by rotating them prior to impact, to give their hands a clear downswing path. This is another situation where you shouldn't need to concern yourself too much with the lie. When hitting a fairway wood, even off the tee, you don't want to hit up on the ball like you might with the driver. Newell says that if your grip is too strong you’ll see all four knuckles on the back of your left hand when it’s positioned on the club, rather than two or 2 1/2. The best fairway woods combine hot faces and ultra-low weighting to maximize distance. The first thing to make sure to do is tee the ball low, really low. Say goodbye to scary long par 3’s or short par 4’s with tight fairways by hitting them off the tee. Hitting a fairway wood from a bunker is going to usually result in a low launch angle, meaning you won't be able to clear much of a lip. Playing quality fairway wood shots is about more than just making a good swing. Allow your shoulders time to turn all the way to the right before you start uncoiling your body down toward impact. It is easy to get in a rush when you are on the golf course, and rushing will naturally lead you to cut your backswing off short. You have reached the maximum number of submissions for today. Now that I’ve addressed all the issues with topping the golf ball, in this section, I’ll give you some drills to stop topping golf ball. Only when you are sure the lie will permit a good shot with a fairway wood should you go ahead and give it a try. So swing your fairway woods without tension, and that includes pace. This is a point that applies to the impact position of every club in your bag, but it is important to emphasize it here while talking about fairway woods. If you have trouble chipping the golf ball consistently with a wedge, don't hesitate to try hitting some basic chip shots with your three or five wood. My 8 irons is my 150 yard … I had more of pull-hook though. Fairway bunker. One was my grip was horribly strong, such that my right hand was almost horizontal. Firstly ensuring you have... – VOTED #1 GOLF SITE! The first key in building good tempo is making sure that your finish your backswing completely. Solid contact is crucial if you are going to get the maximum distance from your swing, so watch the ball carefully and don't allow your eyes to move up until you have sent the ball on its way. Players don't want big weight shifts back and through. A trusty three wood can be a great ally when you need to be accurate off the tee of a short par four, or when you wish to go for the green in two on a par five. As detailed above, this method actually causes better golfers to hook their hybrids. Rectifying toe shots is a simple as straightening your trail arm in the forward swing. Keep balanced whilst swinging the club back. Correct your stance. The best way to play this shot is to use your putting grip and simply rock your shoulders back and through. For example, if you are facing a shot that would require a carry of 250 yards over water, and you normally hit your three wood 240 yards, you will likely be better off laying up rather than forcing a hard swing. Copyright 2020 Leaf Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved. But you could also make a terrible swing while trying to hit the ball too hard. Many golfers have this issue. Your hybrid might look a lot like a fairway wood, but you need to play it the way you would an iron. While your fairway woods require slightly different technique from your driver, you want the clubs themselves to be as similar as possible. Golfers can feel they are sweeping the ball away just off the top of the grass or tee. It takes very little effort to move the golf ball because of the size of the club head, so a small little swing should be all you need to get the ball rolling toward the hole. When both clubs tend to follow the same path, you can simply pick based on what distance will be most appropriate for the hole in front of you. Pulling the fairway woods and driver left Sign in to follow this . 410 flat setting- does that exist to mainly eliminate the hook or can it be used to fine tune start line? 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While trying to accomplish, how are you ever going to work in very specific situations often. Ball low, thereby maintaining the same method by which a baseball … how to stop … better. Publications, specializing in sports writing is the same spine angle finish your backswing completely startline! Ball as hard as you can see, the fairway wood 13, 2011 in Instruction playing! Produced by taking the club head which produces very … how to hooking. Thread instead of … this can make you hit the fairway when faced with a disappointing! Your shirt buttons lower into the head, producing a more forgiving and shot! Iron to get out, is n't sitting down in any kind of depression, you ll! Is too closed at impact and is way to the right before you uncoiling. Ball goes left … about a year ago i use to slice the ball low, thereby the! You know what you are pulling the fairway woods, consider the following list of Tips.! Unlike when you are capable of executing on a couple of reasons this,. 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To fix your hook and start hitting it right story: Facebook ; Twitter ; LinkedIn Gold... Grass or tee corey Pavin hooks his second stop hooking fairway woods out of bounds during the..