How can I hit better 3 woods from the fairway?



Hitting woods from a fairway is one of the toughest things for a beginner to master. When you’re dealing with par 5’s or long par 4’s it can become vital to be able to hit these shots to be able to get a good score. Learning the basic fundamentals of how to hit woods from a fairway will help you in dealing with this shot and hopefully keep you from hitting bunkers or water and keep you safe on the fairways and greens so that you can be lining up birdie or eagle putts in the near future.
            The first thing you need to do is make clean contact with the ball. When you are using a fairway wood you’re doing it because you have a lot of ground to cover to make it to the hole. This means that striking the ball cleanly is essential to be able to get the ball to where you want it to go. The keys to cleanly striking the ball are as follows. First you need to be contacting the ball on your upswing. With irons you’re generally driving down on the ball but with a wood you’re trying to have the bottom of your swing happen just before you impact the ball so that the ball is caught on the upswing of your stroke. You’ll want to stand away from the ball and take a bunch of practice swings. You’re looking to get a feel for where the bottom of your swing is and where to stand so that the ball is properly positioned for you to hit it just after you’ve completed the bottom of the swing. Start with some small swings to get a feel for how you’ll hit the ball and then take a few full practice swings to really map out how your swing will look before you hit the ball.
            Where you stand in relationship to the ball is also vital. Driving the ball generally means that the ball is level with the instep of your front foot while irons tend to have you hitting the ball directly between your legs. You’ll be looking to play a wood from the fairway in about the middle of these two extremes. The sweet spot for a fairway wood is completely different from that a driver hitting a ball off a tee or an iron that tends to use its open face to loft the ball towards the target. This requires a slightly different stance to assure you of the clean contact you’ll need to get the ball where you want it to go.  

            Club speed is one other vital part of these shots. You’re looking to get the club to the ball with a fast club head but without forcing your body to make a lot of motion. You want an economical and fast swing through the ball. Your practice swings should be used to see how much speed you can generate while still feeling in control of the club. With good contact and good speed you’ll be finding the greens in no time.
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