How To Hit A 3-Wood Off The Ground

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How to hit a 3-wood off the ground

For amateurs and pros alike, even the best fairway woods can often prove difficult to hit. However, if it's a shot you can master it'll give you a serious advantage over your competition. In the video and article below, PGA pro Nick Drane shows us how to hit a 3-wood off the ground.

With the ball on the ground, little loft to look down on and standing further from the ball than you would with a mid-iron, hitting a 3-wood can be an intimidating prospect for any golfer. And for some, this means their fairway wood becomes redundant, taking up valuable room in the bag. However, there are some basics relating to fairway wood ball striking that are well worth knowing.

Common faults

One of the most common mistakes I see is players trying to 'lift' the golf ball into the air. The weight transfer works back to their trailside during the downswing, and they end up catching it in the bottom of the club or on the top. The result? A mishit. You can see from the picture immediately below, or by watching the video, how this will happen.

Weight transfer towards target

In order to hit your 3-wood off the ground successfully, we need to do the opposite. So, as you come into impact, I like to see weight transferring through towards the target.

It's not unusual to see some of the best players in the world taking a slight divot, which implies that they're hitting slightly down on the golf ball. By having the correct weight transfer, you're going to present the entire clubface to the ball - so you're more likely to hit it out the sweet spot.

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It might feel as though you're taking loft off, but you're actually presenting the entire face to get better contact for more distance and greater consistency. Importantly, you have to trust that the loft of the club will do the work of getting the ball into the air for you. This will take a bit of practice but the more you get used to how the mechanics work, the better your fairway wood ball striking will become. 

Get fitted

Traditionally, a 3-wood has had 15° of loft, but some golfers may need more loft, initially. For example, you may find that you actually hit something like a 16.5° or 18° fairway wood further and better than a 15° 3-wood. So, be sure to see your PGA professional and get properly fitted.