Fairway Wood Tips – How To Hit A Fairway Wood

Are fairway woods golf’s forgotten clubs? It seems like it—at least in golf lessons. Students tend to choose hybrids over fairway woods in key situations from the fairway and the rough. In general, hybrids have all but replaced the fairway woods in many bags. Hybrids are easier to hit and control than fairway woods and work well in the rough. Hybrids have earned a place in golfer’s bags because they can help chop strokes off one’s golf handicap.

But fairway woods also have a place in your bag. Many still find them useful. The 3-wood (15 degrees of loft) does double duty for some players, replacing the driver off the tee on narrow holes.  The 5-wood (19-21 degrees of loft) produces shots that land softly on the green while the 7-wood (25-27 degrees of loft) is a multipurpose utility club that works well out of the rough, from a fairway bunker, and with a long chip.

The key to hitting fairway woods is the setup, as we tell students in golf instruction sessions. Weekend golfers tend to play the ball too far forward with a fairway wood. They also tend to open their shoulders at address with these clubs, aiming left of target (right of target for left-handers). To hit fairway woods solidly, line up your shoulders parallel to target line. Play the ball just inside your heel. Then, sweep through the shot with a slightly downward blow.

Below are some situations where fairway woods rule along with some golf tips from golf lessons on hitting them.

Fairway Woods Work Well On Long Par 3s

Fairway woods work well on long par 3s. You must be both long and precise on these holes. That’s hard to do with a fairway wood. The secret, as we tell students in golf instruction sessions, is to focus your targeting process. Pick a spot on the horizon and aim your club there before taking your stance. When setting the clubface, stay away from offsetting the ball toward the club’s toe. Center it on the face instead. And don’t do anything differently on a tee to generate height. Hitting a teed ball automatically adds height to the shot.

Fairway woods also work well on par 5s. Use them to hit towering shots that land like middle iron shots. Stay square in your set up, but open the clubface slightly to generate loft. Also, keep your chest down, covering the ball and not lifting into a reverse-C position. Keeping your chest down encourages solid contact. To get students in golf lessons get the feel for staying down, teaching pros have them it on a 3-wood by choking down on the club almost to the shaft and then making practice swings that just brush the grass. If your chest comes up, you won’t be able to reach the ground.

Hit a Fairway Wood from the Tee

Plus, fairway woods work well off the tee. The key is deciding when to use them. Here are some golf tips on using the 3-wood: Many use it instead of the driver on holes with narrow and/or difficult fairways. One way to determine what to use off the tee is to first decide how far a second shot you want to hit first, and then choose your club accordingly. If the second shot isn’t that long, you might hit a 3-wood off the tee. You also might use a 3-wood or 5-wood off the tee on long par-5s. If you know you can’t reach the green in two, even with your best drive and best 3-wood, why risk it?

The fairway woods may be golf’s forgotten clubs. But they still have a place in your bag. The heavier clubhead mass and smaller compact head of a hybrid is great in thicker rough because it slices through the grass. But the 3-wood is ideal for shots from the short rough. Its flat bottom easily cuts through the short rough—even better than a short iron. In addition, you can use a 7-wood from medium rough, but you’ll sacrifice some distance in doing so.

Fairway woods have a place in your bag.  They’re stroke savers when used in the right situations, like off the tee, on par 5s, and on long par 3s. Master these clubs with help from our golf tips and you’ll build confidence in your game while chopping strokes from your golf handicap.