Fairway wood tips
1 Two crucial elements
There are two fundamental keys at the heart of good fairway wood play – ball position and posture. At address, set the ball just inside your left heel. This will allow you to create a shallow angle of attack that helps you sweep the ball off the top of the turf (many amateurs are too steep into the ball). Then, if your spine angle is set correctly at address and you maintain it through to impact, your chances of a good strike are greatly improved. So when practising, think ‘ball position’ and ‘posture’ – concentrate on these elements and you’ll hit much better shots.
2 Go low
As we have already mentioned, the key to a good strike with your fairway woods is a sweeping action. However, making adjustments to your angle of attack can be difficult. A great way to help you shallow out your attack angle without thinking too technically about the swing is to picture striking the ball below the equator. Concentrate on a spot low on the ball, but try to avoid taking too much of a divot. This gives you the sort of visualisation you need for the perfect fairway wood contact.
4 Stabilise the swing
Coaches often say power comes from the ground, but what does this actually mean? Well, a strong, stable lower-body base allows you to make a full, athletic turn and offers you the purchase to drive through the downswing. Take your address position but hold the shaft of the club, imagining you are a weightlifter holding a heavy bar. You should feel that your core muscles are strong and engaged and that your legs are very stable in this position. Rotate to the top of the backswing and try to maintain the flex in your right knee.
3 Ground support
When talking about wedge play, particularly bunker shots, we often refer to the bounce of the club. I think the same principle applies with your fairway woods. Through impact, the ground should support the strike – by that, I mean allowing the club to ‘bounce’ through impact and not get stuck in the turf. Make some practice swings and feel the sole of the club ‘bouncing’ off the turf through the impact area. If the club doesn’t get stuck in the turf, you’ll have a bigger margin for error. Once you have the right feel, hit a shot for real.