COMMUNITY

  Let's face it, a lot of us just can't hit the ball as far as we would like to with our irons.  We watch the longer-hitting Tour pros, like Sergio, Tiger, Phil, JB, etc., hit irons into the green on these long par 5s and sigh in disbelief.  The reality is that we often need to hit fairway woods into the greens even on par 4s, and from playing with many, many different people over the years, I've noticed that fairway woods from the ground often pose a problem for many of us.  So if you've ever struggled with it, here are a few keys to help you with that!

The first key is to really make sure that you have the right fairway woods for your game.  Don't be ashamed if you have to have a few more in your bag than guys younger than you.  The scorecard doesn't ask you what clubs were in your bag--it only askes how many shots it took you to get into the hole.  At the very least, I would suggest having a 3 wood and a 5 wood, and possibly a 7 wood as well to replace a 3 iron.  And make sure you have good lofts on your fairway woods that are correct for your needs.  For most folks, I suggest a 15-degree 3 wood, a 19-degree 5 wood, and a 21- or 22-degree 7 wood.  Any less loft on the 3 wood, and it may become hard to get the ball airborne from a fairway lie.  With that said, my personal setup is a 13-degree 3 wood and a 19-degree 5 wood.  Why?  Well, I mostly relegate the 3 wood to tee shots where I don't want to hit a driver, and I rarely use it off the ground...and I generally hit my driver long enough (around 260 yards) that I can usually get within wedge range on par 5s with my 5 wood. 

Another thing I like to look for in a fairway wood is a pretty small head and shallow face.  Remember, I'm still a persimmon guy at heart, and I think some of the large-headed, tall-faced fairway woods we see today can be cumbersome and not very versatile, especially off the ground.  Shallow faces make it easier to get the ball airborne from a ground lie, and the smaller head lets you use the club from more types of lies (they're far more effective from the rough than large-headed designs, for example).  The best thing to do is to try out a bunch of fairway woods and see which ones produce the ball flight you're looking for--and remember to try them mostly from ground lies--not off a tee--because that's why you have fairway woods in the first place, right?

Now, the unfortunate truth here is that some folks have swings that simply don't lend themselves to fairway woods very well.  Generally speaking, those with flatter swings tend to be more successful with fairway woods.  You want a more sweeping motion with a fairway wood, rather than a downward blow as with an iron.  This is why guys like Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, Trevor Immelman, and more recent Tiger Woods are great with fairway woods.  People with more vertical swings, like Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Greg Norman, and Steve Elkington are generally more effective with long irons than they are with fairway woods.  Jack, as an example, carried only a driver and 3 wood, and then a complete 1-SW set.  In contrast, Lee Trevino was known to carry at times a 3 wood, 4 wood, 5 wood, and sometimes even a 6 wood (remember those?).  You might want to evaluate yourself before you go out and buy a whole bunch of fairway woods.  If you have a more vertical swing, like Nicklaus, you might do better with more long irons or hybrids than fairway woods.  Remember, most 1 irons (or hybrid 1 irons) have 16 degrees of loft--almost like most 3 woods.  The slightly shorter shaft of the iron/hybrid vs. a fairway wood should give the 1 iron similar distance to a 4 or 5 wood.

The next key is to define your objectives with the shot.  Most people expect too much when they face a 200+ yard shot into the green.  So let's say you're in the fairway, with 200 yards to go to the green--let's say that's a 3 wood for you--and the pin is on the left side of the green and protected by a bunker.  What do you really need to do here?  The first answer is to NOT go for that pin.  You're holding a 3 wood, remember, and no matter how accurate you may think you are with it, you're dealing with a small target 200 yards away.  There's a lot of opportunities to screw that shot up, in other words.  So your objective should be to simply put the ball somewhere on, or close to, the green.  Find the safe portion of the green to miss--there will almost always be an unguarded portion of every green, especially on those holes that require longer approach shots.  That's your new target.  So how do you get the ball there now?

Okay, so let's talk about the setup and swing.  When I'm playing from the fairway, especially on those rare occasions when I have to use that 13 degree 3 wood, I set up to play a fade 90% of the time.  Fades fly higher than draws or hooks, and therefore lend themselves to fairway wood shots...because you're dealing with relatively low-lofted clubs here.  I don't believe in changing your swing to get different ball flights, so I follow the Nicklaus method of simply slightly opening the clubface at address before taking my grip.  With my normal swing motion, this simple setup change should produce a fade.  Assuming that you probably play your driver off your lead foot in order to catch the ball on the upswing, I would also advise that you play the ball about an inch or two farther back than that, so that you catch the ball right at the bottom of your swing.  Most folks play fairway woods too far forward in their stance because they want to help the ball into the air...but if you play it too far forward, you will be swinging up on the ball at impact and usually you'll catch it thin--and thin shots don't go very high at all!

So a major key to remember is that you want to feel like you are sweeping the ball off the grass with a fairway wood, rather than compressing it as with an iron.  A major factor here is that you should never let your head get in front of the ball during your swing.  If your head moves forward, your swing will automatically steepen, and you'll either hit a low line drive or a 100-yard pop up--neither of which is what you want.  So keep your head (and as a result your spine) steady and behind the ball throughout the swing.  You'll notice a more sweeping attack immediately, and hopefully more effective fairway wood shots!

Finally, remember that you're just not going to get very much backspin with a fairway wood as compared to an iron.  So don't expect to stop a ball on the green!  You need to plan for landing in front of the green and letting the ball roll on.  If hazards such as bunkers or water make that a risky endeavor, don't try it.  Take your lump and lay up.  Fairway woods can really help your score when used wisely, but they can also ruin a score easily if you get overzealous with them.

There you have it!  My take on fairway wood play.  Let me know if you have questions.  Spring is coming, so get ready for another great year!