When and how to hit driver from the fairway golf tip pulling out the driver for a shot from the fairway might seem like a risky play, but if the. In his book how i play golf, tiger woods recommends using a fairway wood from light rough, rather than a long iron. You cant hit the sweet spot because you are swinging too hard. Apr 07, 2018 phil mickelsons third round at the masters got off to an inauspicious start. I am a firm believer that you can get into the mid teen handicap with nothing more than a fairway wood and hybrid, but if you do want to get some more distance off the tee, for some more in with the crowd feeling, make sure you can hit it well at least 7 out of 10 shots before bringing it to the course. Sometimes, you need to hit a long shot over a hazard or to reach a long, tough par 4 in two strokesor even to hit a par 5 in two and have the exciting opportunity for an eagle. Watch vijay driver set up and he doesnt set up ball and driver club face on center but the end result is center solid contact. There are plenty of holes that call for a fairway wood, hybrid, or iron off the tee, but overall the driver is the best club off the tee. His drive on the 1st hole found the bushes right of the fairway, and he legitimately whiffed when trying to hit a. This drill really helps the golfers who have a struggle with falling off the driver. Top 5 easiest to hit fairway woods for high handicappers.
So, why in the world would you ever want to hit your driver off the deck. The fairway wood is categorized as wood club and originally made out of wood, but to be able to minimize damage, metal is now incorporated. Tee the ball lower to the ground than you would when using a driver. While you can hit it off the deck, i dont recommend it for most amateur players. With most fairway woods, it either bounces up or digs, resulting in thin or fat. If your golf ball is nicely on the grass on the fairway or first cut, you might choose to play with your driver. Hitting driver from the fairway also known as hitting driver off the deck is a specialized golf shot that you dont see much anymore even. I had a bridgestone xdrive aka j38 driver that i swear i could hit further off the ground than a tee. But for the other 99 percent of us, we dont even put that option in the realm of possibilities. If it isnt really going to come into play in your game, there isnt much point in wasting valuable range time on this skill. Bubba watson driver off the deck compilation duration. Michael breed, host of the golf fix breaks a tee to show you how to hit a fairway wood off tee.
The secret to hitting your driver better the left rough. Fairway woods can be utilized both off the tee and off the fairway when faced with a long approach shot into a green. The percentage of time a tee shot comes to rest in the. When and how to hit driver from the fairway golf tip. Remember that the original big bertha driver was only 190cc in size. Back when driver clubheads were below 200cc in size, the odds of making good contact with a driver off the fairway were much better. When hitting fairway woods, players tend to swing up on the ball and end up topping the ball or hitting it fat. Thats not bad advice from the fairway, but with the ball teed up a downward strike is less effective. Higher lofted woods are the most forgiving fairway woods in a similar way a pitching wedge has a higher loft than a 4 iron and is easier to hit. Aug 12, 2014 not as far as your normal drives but you wont loose much yardage and you have a higher percentage of fairways hit.
Thankfully hitting fairway woods off the deck hasnt been an issue for me, in fact i got to the point at the end of the summer where i was even hitting driver off the deck with surprising success. On a long par five with a wide fairway, feel free to tee it high and let it fly. They make the mistake of trying to sweep the ball off the ground, sometimes even trying to lift the ball with the club. Now that you know the best strategies for playing it off the tee, lets talk about hitting a 3 wood off the fairway. When and how to hit driver from the fairway golf tip pulling out the driver for a shot from the fairway might seem like a risky play, but if the circumstances are right, its actually quite safe. The teeless driver as easy to hit off the ground than it is off a tee. Im not suggesting hitting driver off every tee which i mentioned in the article. Lets say youre on a long par 5 with around 280 yards to the green. Many players struggle to hit their fairway woods solidly. The smart play on any given hole takes into account a lot of things. Lots of players start swinging harder if they couldnt hit it far.
How to hit more fairways with your driver golficity. You may not hit your driver quite as far when it is teed lower, but the accuracy you gain will be more than worth it. Then, when you swing, use a smooth, even motion, and keep the club low the ground as you go to hit the ball. So instead of trying to scope the ball, feel like you are going to sweep the ball off the turf. Tight treelined fairways can cause second thoughts in even the most skilled of golfers. Phil mickelsons third round at the masters got off to an inauspicious start.
Now that you have the proper setup for your woods, its time to evaluate the lie. I cant hit fairway woods and hybrids dont give me enough distance. This is called hitting it off the deck and is extremely difficult and unless you are a single digit handicap and know how to do this shot, you should not attempt it. Heres top coach andrew jones on how to hit 3wood off. What would you say is the easiest and most forgiving to hit out of the fairway.
Another huge difference is that your driver is hit off a tee. I am an old guy 72 with a slower swing speed so this plan may not help everybody. Today, one of the types of woods is 1wood or also referred to as the driver wood and is much more shorter compared to the other group of fairway woods. The leading edge is pretty sharp and the sole plate allows for good turf interaction.
Nov 28, 2018 in this installment, marty jertson, vp of fitting and performance at ping, discusses whether or not some people would be better off hitting a fairway wood off the tee instead of a driver. If you cant hit the driver, the first thing to do is to catch the ball in the middle of the clubface. Heres the right way to hit your driver off the deck golficity. Mar 29, 2019 to hit fairway woods, start by taking a wide stance with your shoulders squared and the ball slightly to the left of center. Additionally, if youre interested in what makes a fairway wood easy to hit, please continue reading below top 5 easiest fairway woods for beginners and high handicappers to hit. How to hit fairway woods correctly, 3 and 5 wood golf tip. When and how to hit driver from the fairway golf tip pulling out the driver for a shot from. Trust me, it will make you much more comfortable over the ball after you hit some solid ones on the range. Apr 01, 2019 tee the ball lower to the ground than you would when using a driver. The longer shaft and broader sole of the fairway metal better suits a shallower angle of attack and more of a sweeping swing shape.
Apr 22, 2009 when i tee up the ball with my driver, i dont line up center square with the driver head. Instead, i line up the ball at the heel of the driver because when i hit the ball thats how i make contact center of the club. There are two parts to the equation of this shot that you need to understand before it can become a reliable piece of your game. Thats the club i started playing with, and its the one i always pound. Check out this index for easy access to all of our coverage of golf news, instruction, equipment and courses. Another rookie question for you, is it normal for fairway woods to have a slightly heavier shaft than a driver even if it is the same shaft. While golfers typically use hybrids to replace their 14 irons, and to fill that awkward gap between a fairway wood shot and midtoshort irons, you can hit hybrids off the fairway, from the rough, or off a tee. How to hit fairway woods fairway woods can be utilized both off the tee and off the fairway when faced with a long approach shot into a green.
Both fairway wood shots require similar techniques with only a few alterations. How to hit a fairway wood off the tee high elbow drill. First, you need to understand how to hit the ball off of the fairway with your driver. In fact, the first step when considering the driver off. Promote a level blow play the ball an inch or two inside the lead heel just slightly further back than your regular driver. To help your mind focus, pick out a very specific target in the distance to aim your driver at. This is the first time that jailbreak technology has been implemented in a fairway wood. How to hit a fairway wood off a tee golf fix golf channel. Some better golfers use their drivers off the fairway when they need a huge shot, and can master that rare feat with ease. Driver clubheads have gotten much larger today than they were in the golf era when hitting driver off the fairway was a more commonly scene shot. In this video, youll learn how to hit a driver off the deck. What is the difference between fairway woods and rescue clubs.
If the hole is a distance where if you hit the fairway with a driver youll have 7i, but if you hit the fairway with a 3w youll have 4i, its not super tempting to hit 3w. Check availability on amazon the m6 fairway woods feature taylor mades twist face technology which helps to keep the ball headed straight even on off center hits. Hitting driver off the deck is obviously one of the hardest shots in the. However, a well hit fairway wood shot feels solid, and the loft of the club does all the work of getting the ball into the air. But if the hole is not that penal, laying back to hit the fairway will likely cost you more strokes than you will gain because golfers are not as accurate as they think with shorter clubs off the tee.
Of course, if 3woods get bigger heads and longer shafts, they would get even harder to hit off the fairway. The long iron or strong 3 metal maybe using a long iron or purchasing a strong lofted 3 metal for hitting just off the tee is the answer. How to hit your driver off of the fairway on a par 5. How to hit your fairway woods and hybrids todays golfer. How to hit driver from the fairway off the deck liveabout. Whats the best driver to buy to maximize your chance. The main difference between hitting a fairway metal and a hybrid is the angle of attack. How to hit 3 wood off the ground fairway woods can be the hardest clubs in the bag to strike well. If you have hesitation when you pull out the driver, you may want to put it back in the bag and opt for a fairway wood. In irons, the swing bottoms out just past the ball, the evidence is the divot. How to hit your fairway woods off the ground duration.
A driver is engineered to be hit more neutral, and the 3 wood is engineered to be hit with a more descending blow to reach the center of percussion on the face. Hybrid clubs are designed to hit balls directly off a fairway, so youll struggle to hit the sweet spot if the ball is up too high on the tee. Turn your 3 wood into a secret weapon the left rough. Phil mickelson hits driver off fairway at masters, makes. Keep in mind that the data we capture is fairway accuracy. For most, that might mean a 3wood off the tee, but i see too many golfers club down and then amp up their swing because of it, and still hit it crooked. Pick a three wood better designed for being hit off the deck fairway. This months on course tip shows how to hit the driver off the deck. Here is a list of the top 5 easiest to hit fairway woods for high handicappers.
Plus, im typically only hitting my fairway woods off a tee. A driver off the turf is a shot that few pros even attempt so stick to it being teed up. After all, even the best professional golfers dont always use the big. Im hitting my driver just as far as my 3 wood golf. In such situations, i love to hit my driver off the deck i. A beginners guide to striking a fairway wood off the tee. Becoming proficient at hitting fairway woods can help players who are shooting in the 90s to bring their scores into the 80s. Despite the name, you can tee off with a fairway wood. Its not as tough as it seems, particularly with todays generation of. The tendency to scope the ball will also cause slice. Apr 24, 2019 when to hit driver off the deck before you bother practicing this difficult shot, its worth discussing when you could actually use it on the golf course. The driver from the fairway is not a shot you will ever use with great frequency, but it can come in handy when you really need it.
I strongly recommend that you spend some time on the range learning that goto bunt driver or other shot that you can rely on when things are demanding, or your full swing gets a little. Instead, work on the more sweeping, level attack youd use with a fairway wood. A well struck fairway wood should always feel solid at the point of impact. You may be wondering how a 3 wood with a smaller face is easier to hit than that giant driver face.
You can see in the graphs that scratch golfers hit 63% of fairways 9 fairways while beginners hit around 48% 7 fairways. Which means that the golfers might have hit the driver or any other club in their bag. The best fairway woods combine hot faces and ultralow weighting to maximize distance. Off the tee, hit fairway woods basically the same as a driver.
Many players find hitting a 3 wood off the tee easier than the driver but much more technically demanding than an iron when hit from the fairway. Ill discuss the checkpoints of hitting a high and long 3 wood off the tee. Jun 10, 2014 however, off the tee, you can just fall into the trap of aiming down the fairway and not getting more specific than that. Fairway woods are versatile clubs that help you cover long distances on the golf course.
Hitting off heel of driver instruction and playing tips. I know im not the only one who hits lots of drivers, irons, and wedges on the range. Ill typically hit a couple fairway woods, but not many at all and not even half as often as i practice other parts of my game. Maybe the average players lowestlofted fairway wood shouldnt be a 3wood anymore. It is likely to be chunked, skulled, or otherwise mis hit and the vast majorit. If a player hits positive on the driver on a tee and hits positive on the 3 wood off the turf we see a good driver of the ball, but a poor 3 wood player as the 3 wood does not. Not to shill for a golf company, but i recently bought a used tour edge exotics xcg 15. If youre teeing off with a hybrid club, make it so that the bottom of the ball is just off the top of the grass and no higher. If thats the case, you might as well shell out the money and get the cream of the crop. When you find a narrow fairway that requires a deadly accurate driver, tee the ball lower and make a solid swing. If an upward hit is desired, as with a driver, the ball should be placed up in the stance and the golfer told only where the swing is to bottom out. Jordan spieths keys for hitting the fairway with driveragain and.
Many players find striking a 3 wood off the tee easier than the driver but much more technically demanding than an iron when hit from the fairway. Well, for average swing speeds, more loft means its easier to get the ball off the naked turf in the fairway and into the air to carry longer distances. I finally decided to see if i could increase my fairways hit by using some of the physics involved. To hit fairway woods, start by taking a wide stance with your shoulders squared and the ball slightly to the left of center. When youre teeing off with the 3wood and you put the ball on the tee do you hit it the same way as a driver or do you hit it as if youre just hitting it off the ground thats what were going to. A beginners guide to striking a fairway wood off the tee in. While top speed golf director of orlando instruction robin rosado demonstrates the swing tips.
The taylor made m6 fairway includes all the technology of the m6 driver into a fairway wood, making it a forgiving club that should be great for high handicappers. Check availability on amazon the m6 fairway woods feature taylor mades twist face technology which helps to keep the ball headed straight even on offcenter hits. How is bubba watson able to hit his driver off the fairway. Head pro adam bazalgette a twotime pga teacher of the year in florida. Learn how to hit your driver off the fairway instruction, like so many tour players are doing these days, from pga professional derek sanders. Scratch golf academy is your premier destination for online golf instruction. Should i play a fairway wood or driver off the tee. In this video, youll learn how to hit a fairway wood off the tee. Heres the right way to hit your driver off the deck. The small 7 ironish front blade if you can call it that digs into the ground if you do hit it fairly well and you sure just cant sweep the grass like you do with a 3,5 or 7 iron wood or your hybrid.