Hitting Fairway Woods; How to hit a Fairway Wood from the Fairway

br> Hitting fairway woods off the turf can be the hardest shot in golf because you have very little angle of attack with which to work compared with other clubs.

What I mean by this is that with irons you can hit down on the ball steeply or even sweep the ball with an angle level with the ground.

With a driver you can swing at an angle level with the ground or more optimal, slightly upward into the teed up ball.

With the fairway wood you can only attack the ball on an angle level with the ground or very slightly hitting down on the ball.

This sweeping blow is necessary to get the ball properly in the air. If you get too steep on the swing angle, you will usually make the club bottom out behind the ball meaning fat or thin shots as a result.

The ball should be positioned just forward of the middle of the stance a few inches inside your front heel. With a longer shaft than an iron and the fact that we need to contact the ball at the bottom of the swing, ball position is very important.

To help create a shallower swing we want to swing more around our body making a wider swing arc. The hands position should be directly above the ball and not too far forward as when you would hit an iron shot. Tilting you head slightly to the right at address will help you to create more of a sweeping action at the bottom of your swing.

Lastly, make sure you transfer your weight forward to your front side and swing through the ball letting your arms stretch out, fully extending through the shot to a full finish. Many golfers try to help the ball into the air when hitting fairway woods and get stuck on the back foot.

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