Master Your Woods With These Golf Tips

Do you always have problems playing a specific hole? Students in golf lessons often ask me how to play a hole. Usually, it’s a par 5. With par 5s, a good player is expected to hit five strokes to complete the par. Since making par usually includes two putts, you’re expected to put your drive in play, advance the ball with your next shot, and then hit the green with your third shot.

Obviously, your second shot and third shots are critical. Ideally, you’d like to hit the green with them or get them close enough to hit a chip or a short pitch into the green. If you miss-hit these shots, you’re probably in trouble. You usually hit your second and third shots with fairway woods—clubs weekend golfers often find hard to master. Below we give you some golf tips on hitting these clubs well.

1. Setup Is Crucial

Your setup with fairway woods is critical. The key is to place your hands directly below your chin when hitting fairway woods. If your hands are too close to your body, you’ll have a hard time making a good turn. If you start them under your chin, they’ll be the right distance from your body. You’ll have an easier time turning your shoulders and swinging on an elliptical path, which encourages a level or slightly ascending strike of the ball.

2. Maintain The Triangle

Your takeaway is also critical. When you first set up with a fairway wood, you form a triangle with your arms and shoulders. Try to maintain this triangle as you turn your shoulders over your back hip. Keep the clubhead low as you go back for the first foot or so. This establishes a wide swing arc, which helps store more energy to drive the ball. Judging from our golf instruction sessions, players with high golf handicaps tend to pull fairway woods to the inside when starting their swings. This narrows their swing arcs and reduces power.

3. Shift Weight Correctly

You also want to watch your weight shift with fairway woods. As you start your down-swing, your weight should naturally shift toward the target, while your body remains coiled before starting to turn. This initial forward move shifts your weight to your front foot, initiating the correct downswing action. It also ensures the right angle of approach to the ball.

To get the feel of making this shift correctly, try a drill we use in our golf lessons: Put an orange (or a lemon or a tennis ball) under the toe of your front foot. Squash the orange as you come down as a reminder to shift your weight while keeping your body coiled. A good weight shift transfers all the stored energy in your backswing to the ball at impact.

In addition to shifting your weight, work on maintaining a nice smooth tempo throughout the swing. Rushing the swing doesn’t help. It often throws off your timing. Also, don’t try to lift the ball in the air—something we often see in our golf instruction sessions. In-stead, let the club do the work. Fairway woods, like hybrids and irons, are designed to help you get the ball airborne.

Ingrain the golf tips described above and you’ll find yourself hitting fairway woods straighter and longer. Hitting these clubs well is critical to conquering those stubborn par 5s that give you trouble. You have to conquer these holes if you want to break 80 consistently.