Hitting Fairway Woods in the Air!
Hitting Fairway Woods in the Air!
Hi, I’m Mel Sole, Director of Instruction at the Mel Sole Golf School, headquartered at Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club in Pawleys Island, SC. We conduct 1, 2 and 3-day golf schools, hourly golf lessons, and senior golf schools—any golf instruction program your heart desires. Give us a call at 800-624-4653 or 843-237-4993. We will be happy to book a commuter school or a package that contains accommodations, golf, and golf school.
Monthly Golf Tip by the Mel Sole Golf School.
This month's tip request comes from Bob Harris of Toledo, Ohio, who asks: "I have a difficult time getting the ball up in the air with my fairway woods. What can I do?"
Golfers have trouble with fairway woods for two reasons. The inability to control the bottom of the arc and ball position. We will address both in this tip.
Ball Position.
Most golfers tend to play their fairway woods too far back in the stance. Even if they hit a solid shot, the trajectory will be too low. Not ideal for fairway woods. The ball position for fairway woods is directly off the lead heel. To understand this position, place your feet together with the ball right in the middle of your feet—flair your lead foot out slightly without moving your heel. Then move the rear foot so that your feet are slightly more than shoulder-width apart. This is the correct ball position!
Controlling the bottom of the Arc.
When you take your practice swings with a fairway wood, you should brush the grass slightly with the club's bottom. This confirms to you that you are controlling the bottom of the arc. You should not miss the ground completely or hit the ground too hard. When you hit the shot, you should feel the same result. There should be no divot, and you should hit the ball in the middle of the clubface.
Check out my drill on learning to control the bottom of the arc here.
1. The ball position is directly off the lead heel, as in picture #1. Go ahead and swing, making sure you get the feeling of driving the ball forward and not up. This is accomplished by keeping the clubhead low and long through the hitting area with a good extension, as in picture #2.
Make an aggressive swing through the ball, and try not to "steer" the ball down the fairway. Instead, let the follow-through go right over your lead shoulder, as in picture #3.
Source: Mel Sole Golf School.
Thanks for reading - Hitting Fairway Woods in the Air! After reading this article, you should have no more problems.
Related Posts.
Try the 6-8-10 Chipping Method.
Learn the Keys to Fairway Woods.
How to Hit Great Fairway Woods – Technical Thursday #95.
Controlling the Bottom of the Arc – Technical Thursday #27.
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