How To Hit A 3-Wood Off The Fairway

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How To Hit A 3-Wood Off The Fairway

A lot of club golfers find it difficult to hit solid fairway wood shots, to the point that they stop trying. As a result, the 3-wood becomes redundant, which just limits your scoring potential. In the video and article below, PGA pro Dan Grieve demonstrates how to hit your fairway woods sweetly, and offers some tips and advice for you to take to the course and lower your scores. 

The quality of the strike is won and lost with the set-up position. Incorrect 3-wood ball position is often the first mistake amateur golfers make – it’s typically too far forward, which often leads to a top, because your angle of attack is too far on the up. 

If you watch the best players on the world, they tend to take a little bit of a divot, so I would suggest putting the ball position a ball back of where you would have it for your driver, and making sure that your shaft is in the middle of the ball. This will help you to get that little ‘pinch’ and elevation that’s required.

One of the other fairway wood keys is to let the arms hang naturally. Those who find this shot difficult, tend to tense up and grip the club really tightly, which makes it very difficult to get the flow and release in the swing. 

Try letting your arms hang to get used to that feeling of being more relaxed. Note the good angles that I’ve created at address in the picture below. I’m standing nice and tall – no slouching, which is another very common mistake.

In terms of weight distribution, I’m looking to set myself so it’s fairly even. With the driver, you’re looking for a little extra weight on the back foot, but with fairways, I like to feel very much 50/50.

What you may also find useful is to grip half an inch or so down on the club, which should give you an extra bit of control and encourage you to find the middle of the clubface more often. Don’t worry… doing so isn’t going to sacrifice too much distance.

The swing itself is all about balance. Generally, because you’re trying to search for distance with this shot, players tend to go at the ball way too hard, particularly from the top of the swing. Rhythm is the key for this shot. Trust your set-up and the timing of the strike to get you that distance you’re after.

Think about starting the swing smoothly in the takeaway, completing your backswing and making sure that your transition isn't rushed, so you get the speed after the ball. Finally, work on holding that balance in the follow-through.