MILLION LESSON SECRET #89:
HITTING FROM THE FAIRWAY

BRUISE THE GRASS WITH YOUR
FAIRWAY WOODS
by Nathan Morris, GolfTEC Coach
Denver, CO

REASON SECRET IS REVEALED:
Most golfers I work with attempt to sweep the ball off the ground to help get it in the air. This is incorrect and it leads to poor contact and ball flight.

CHANGE RECOMMENDED:
Taking a little divot, or a “grass bruise,” ensures a downward strike that creates better contact and more spin. Spin gets the ball into the air and keeps it there. Taking a divot will help you hit the sweet spot more consistently. As club design and technology has changed, the sweet spot on fairway woods has not only gotten bigger, but also moved higher up the face.

OTHER FACTORS:
I firmly believe that the 3-wood is the hardest club to hit from the fairway. In fact, all five pros here at the Denver Tech Center store are hitting a 4-wood instead of a 3-wood this year. Through a lot of testing using the Vector Pro launch monitor, we have actually found that most golfers will hit a 5-wood better than a 3-wood off the fairway. The Vector Pro shows more distance and a tighter shot pattern almost every time. In fact, if your swing speed is below 65 mph, you may hit a 7-wood better. I recommend taking a serious look at replacing your 3-wood (if you play one) with a higher lofted club.

RESULTS TO ANTICIPATE:
Expect to see more consistency in making solid contact and getting the ball up into the air. With more loft also comes less side spin. A higher lofted club will minimize your mistakes and keep you on the golf course more of the time. As you start to take a little divot with your fairway wood, you should expect a lower initial launch angle. The ball will rise into the air as it travels down the fairway. Trying to take a divot will steepen your approach into the golf ball, and could cause a fade at first. By trying to make your divot go right of the target you can fix this problem fairly easily.

COMMON FALSE STARTS:
The biggest problem I see when trying to take divots with any club is that a student will swing over the top, or outside-in, to create a steeper path. This causes pulls and slices instead of straight shots. The key is to hit down through the ball by retaining the angle between your left arm and club longer into the swing, not by steepening the downswing.