Enjoy Your Fairway Woods and Hybrids

This week’s Swing Tip is focused on swing thoughts for your Fairway Woods and Hybrids. The facts that you are not teeing your ball up and you are hitting “off the deck”  which may be on an uneven lie will force you to consider many factors.

Club Design
The wide flat surface on the bottom of these clubs are not ideal for taking a divot after you strike the ball so there is less room for error as compared to your driver. Ideally you are trying to take a minimal divot after the ball. The bottom of your swing arc should be at the point of impact but you still need to complete your swing by transferring all of your weight to your leading foot.

These clubs are not forgiving.  There is less room for error so a consistent swing with no change in your shoulder height, is critical for these clubs:
1/ Practice with GOLFSTR+ to ensure that you are keeping a straight leading arm during your backswing and your downswing. The distance from your shoulder to your ball during your setup and at the point of impact must remain the same. A bent leading arm will result in inconsistent hits.
2/ During your swing, rotate your shoulders & hips and avoid any bobbing action with your knees. Keep your shoulders at a fixed height. You may have seen Tiger take a ferocious lung down at the ball but his killer motion is not a good idea for consistent hits. DON’T DO IT.
3/ If you rush during the transition and forget your weight shift to your leading leg, you will bottom out your swing arc before you reach your ball causing a worm burner or topped ball.  Falling back on your trailing leg is the killer for any shot.

Ben Hogan Swing Thought: Head level, shoulder rotation and weight shift to leading foot

Ben Hogan Swing Thoughts: Head level, shoulder rotation and weight shift to the leading foot.

Your swing thought has to be on shoulder rotation and taking the time for a weight shift to your leading foot during the transition. You can still take minimal divot after the ball but you need to finish your swing in balance over your leading foot.

Fix the Lie of Your Ball with Your Setup
If you are hitting with any club off the tee, make sure that you find a flat surface as many tees will start to slope toward the sides of the tee box. I often stand at the back of the tee block to check the side to side slope and watch the impact of a sloped tee while my partners complete their tee-off. The fat face of a driver is more forgiving on a sloped tee block. Unfortunately a one inch drop or rise from your feet to your ball on a tee block can create an unexpected draw or fade.

The same problem happens on the fairway for Fairway Woods or Hybrids. Often you will have an uneven lie so you should be making adjustments to compensate for the height difference from your ball to your feet. A ball above your feet will pull toward your body (to the left for right handed golfers) and a ball below your feet will tend to flare out away from your body. If the ball is above your feet you should consider taking a less lofted club and gripping down to compensate with your club. If the ball is below your feet you need to use a less lofted club and bend your knees or spread your feet further to compensate for the drop.

Minimize you swing thoughts with the proper setup. For consistent hits with your Fairway Woods and Hybrids avoid any change in your shoulder height and concentrate on shoulder rotation and weight transfer to your forward foot.

Practice with GOLFSTR+ for a straight arm swing and take any head bobbing action out of your swing. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

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