STRONG FAIRWAY WOODS

With the ability to eat up the yards on long par 4s and perhaps even set up the odd eagle attempt on par 5s, the fairway wood has the potential to be a really importantally.

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However, the difficulties of applying such a large-headed and long-shafted club to a ball lying tight to the turf ensure this option is often overlooked, in favour of a more hittable but less productive option. At all levels of the game, if we can improve our confidence with the fairway wood we can reap the scoring benefits that come from getting as close to the green as possible with those long approaches. Different abilities typically need different approaches - so let's see how this breaks down for the golfer aspiring to shoot in the 90s, 80s and 70s. Train low point control for a solid strike

BREAK 100 Train low point control for a solid strike

SWEEPING STRIKE

According to Shot Scope, the average 25-handicapper hits their 3-wood around 175 yards and averages 5.5 shots to complete the hole from this range. Those figures would get substantially better with more consistently solid ballstriking, and for this we need to look at controlling the swing’s low point. A fairway wood demands a level attack, the club ruffling the grass through the strike, and this means training an impact with the club at the flattish base of its circular swing arc. Here is a simple exercise to train this sweeping strike.

1. LEAD HEEL MARKER

We might think that as the club is effectively swinging in a circle, its low point would be midway between the two feet. In fact, because of the dynamics of weight shift and rotation, it is further forward than that. For an effective guide, build a shoulder-width stance, both feet slightly splayed, and position the club vertically over your lead instep. Consider this the point opposite which the club is swinging neither upwards or downwards.