Updated on June 23rd, 2023 at 11:30 am
How to hit a fairway wood
Fairway woods are some of the most important golf clubs in the bag. If you can hit your fairway wood well, you have a backup to a driver and a great long approach to any green. Fairway wood shots can make or break your day on the golf course.
However, to hit a fairway wood well, there are some key factors that you need to know and understand. Let’s take a look at the best ways to hit a well-struck fairway wood and how this can change your golf game.
How to hit a 3 wood
A 3 wood is the most difficult of the fairway woods to hit. Since the 3 wood is quite long, it makes it more of a challenge for golfers to control the way they hit the golf ball.
Many golfers tend to hit the shot fat because of poor setup, stance, and ball position. Here are the key tips to ensure that you hit a 3 wood well.
Ball position
Check to ensure that you have the ball forward of center but not as far up as the driver. Many golfers will hit fairway woods too far forward in the stance, and it ends up becoming a problem and you end up Topping the ball. The fairway wood shot is not played as far up as your driver unless you are hitting it off of the tee.
Lie
Do not hit a 3 wood shot out of the thick rough. The 3 wood has the least amount of loft of any of your fairway wood shots, which is a problem for getting it out of the rough.
To hit the ball clearly, you must ensure that the ball is in a great spot.
Execution
Hitting fairway woods is more similar to hitting a driver than an iron. With the ball forward in your stance, a great fairway wood shot will be more of a sweep type shot than a golf shot where you hit down and through.
If you hit slightly downward with a fairway wood, that is entirely acceptable.
Ensure that when you swing your 3 wood, you have outstanding balance, a slightly abbreviated backswing, and a full weight transfer to your front foot. Hitting the ball cleanly with a 3 wood takes a bit of practice.
Thinking about buying a new 3 wood? Check out AEC Info’s review here of the best for high handicappers.
How to hit a 5 wood
Of all the fairway woods that golfers can put in their golf bag, the 5 wood is the most popular. If you want to hit good fairway wood shots, the 5 wood is a club to have in the bag.
5 wood ball position
With a 5 wood, you will need the ball forward in your stance, but not quite as far up as a 3 wood. The ball position must be slightly further than the center so that you can hit the ball a little more on the upswing.
Lie
A 5 wood is an excellent club to choose from a fairway lie and even from a small amount of rough. If the golf ball is completely buried in the rough, don’t choose the 5 wood as it will be challenging to control.
Execution
Now that you have the basics of the lie and the ball position, you can work on hitting a well-struck 5 wood. The 5 wood is much easier to hit than a 3 wood.
You can take a swing like you would with a hybrid in your hands, ensure that you get a full body rotation, and always finish with your body facing the target.
Many people choke up on a 3 wood because of the length of the club. With the 5 wood, you can do the same thing to hit the fairway woods solidly. However, the problem with this is that it can cost you a bit of distance.
The 5 wood can easily become your favorite golf club in the bag if you can learn to hit it solidly.
How you hit your 7 wood
The 7 wood is a very popular club for a senior or female golfer. This club tends to replace some of the longer irons in the bag that are just a bit too difficult to hit.
With a 7 wood, you are dealing with a shorter golf club that is easier to control and a bit more player-friendly.
7 wood ball position
The ball position on a 7 wood shot should be slightly forward of center but certainly not near the front foot. If you get this club too far forward in the stance, it will impact the ball flight and the turf interaction.
Lie
The significant benefit of a 7 wood is that you can hit it from almost any lie. Even if your 7 wood is sitting in a bit of rough, you can easily get it to come out.
With the higher loft that a 7 wood has, the ball flight is quite impressive and will go a long way.
Execution
The execution of a 7 wood is kind of similar to that of a hybrid. Ensure that your stance is well balanced, you will want to keep a smooth rhythm as part of your golf swing, and you will then take a normal swing with a shallow divot.
The 7 wood will not give you maximum distance, but you get some higher ball flight and an easy solid strike. Always ensure that you have square shoulders and proper alignment when hitting a 7 wood golf shot.
How-to hit a wood off of the fairway
Hitting fairway shots with a fairway wood is ideal. This is where you will want to get good at your fairway wood shots so that you can use them to approach greens that are a long way away.
The fairway wood shot from the fairway is the one that you should try and go after with a bit more clubhead speed and effort.
The ball is played slightly forward of center, and this should be one of those that you swing away. Although the swing will feel a bit more like a driver swing, it is entirely acceptable to take a small divot.
A solid strike accomplishes a low to mid-ball flight with quite a bit of roll.
If you make solid contact with a fairway wood, you can potentially get the ball to sit on the green when it lands. However, it is certainly a bit easier to get a ball to stop with a hybrid or long iron than a fairway wood.
How-to hit a fairway wood out of the rough
Hitting a fairway wood from the rough ensures that you first spend some time analyzing how the ball sits. If the golf ball is covered and buried in the rough, chances are you will want to choose a different golf club.
Make sure that your Fairway wood can make contact with the ball rather quickly.
If there is too much grass between the clubhead and the golf ball, the hybrid is a better club choice.
When hitting a fairway wood out of the rough, be sure to place the ball forward of center, and we recommend choking up on the club. Choking up is going to give you a bit more control.
Remember that it is very hard to get spin on a golf shot when you are hitting from the rough. This means that the ball could roll for quite some time.
How to hit a fairway wood off the tee
Hitting a fairway wood from the tee is the easiest way to hit fairway woods solidly. Place ball forward of center put the ball on a very small tee, and then swing at it similar to a driver.
Ensure that you have the proper weight transfer and that you remain in balance.
Most golfers find that the dispersion is so much lower on a fairway wood that it helps to ensure that the golf shots are much more accurate.
When hitting a fairway wood from the tee, a swing path that is a little more shallow is a good thing.
In addition, you will want to learn to develop clubhead speed so that your shots can go further without you having to change your swing mechanics.
Be sure to check out all of our recent reviews of Fairway woods here.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these tips from AEC Info on how to hit a fairway wood from any location on the golf course have made you feel more comfortable with this golf shot. Fairway wood shots are an integral part of the golf game, and you must know how to hit them solidly to succeed.
For players that struggle with tee shots or have long approaches into greens, the fairway wood is the best possible golf club to consider using.
