golfinstock

Fairway woods are perhaps the most underutilized clubs in the average golfer's bag. Fairway woods can be used from a variety of lies---in the rough, in the fairway, off the tee---but many golfers feel completely out of place with a fairway wood in hand. Learn to hit your fairway woods and you'll add a valuable variety to your golf game.

Ball Position

The ball should be positioned slightly in front of the center of your stance, but not as far as the inside of your front heel, where you might position a driver. This position allows your torso to make a full turn back and then forward through the ball, making contact with the ball at the nadir of the club head's path. Don't overswing with a fairway wood; make a simple, compact swing and let the extra weight in the club head do its work to provide extra ball speed, carry and distance.

Low Point of Contact

When you're hitting a driver, optimal contact consists of making contact on the upswing (that's one reason why you tee the ball up). Fairway woods are different: perfect contact with a fairway wood means making contact with the ball exactly at the lowest point of your swing. The added loft on a fairway wood provides all the lift and backspin that you need; there is no need to try to scoop the ball into the air. Swing down to the ball to make the crispest contact and impart the backspin that will give your shot extra loft and carry and allow it to land soft, with reduced roll.

Sweeping Motion

While you should not hit your fairway woods the same way you hit your driver, you should also avoid making a swing and contact too similar to a low iron or wedge. With a wedge or low iron, you make contact with the ball by hitting down on it. This action traps the ball against the turf and produces exceptional backspin. But with fairway woods, you don't want to drive the ball into the turf. Instead, practice a sweeping motion, a swing that just brushes the ground at the point of contact, driving the ball neither down (like a wedge) nor up (like a driver), but straight forward.