Fairway wood off the deck.

[inthehole]

1. CHOKE UP on that 3 wood about 2 inches or more.  Leave gripping it all the way down for tee shots.

2. Hit down on the ball - trying to sweep it doesn't work for me.

3. SWING PAINFULLY EASY - problems arise when you try to hit a 3 wood as hard as you do a full 6 iron  - back off it & the ball will fly.

I hit mine really well doing this off the fairway ... I'm not as long as a good player because I'm not trying to hit it as hard as I can - it's still longer than my hybrids that I swing harder.    The 3 wood is all about smooth tempo ...

Lastly, be selective about when using it - if the lie isn't really good, pull a hybrid - the risk/reward almost always bites me when I pull the 3 wood for questionable lies (it did just that this afternoon... had 205 yards in with my feet slightly below the ball - thought I could make it with the 3 wood - I was wrong, horribly wrong - should have laid up with a 6 iron) ...

[billchao]

Originally Posted by TTH83

In short, how?

I typically leave my fairway woods untouched during a round because it's just a comedy of errors when I try to swing them. I'm not much better with my long irons, though, and I'd like to have one semi-reliable shot in my bag for the second shot of a par 5. Any tips? (Will post a swing video when I get the chance)

Also, how do you practice hitting woods off the deck? Hit off the carpet at the range? The grass tee areas at my range don't really reflect fairway conditions.

I'd go with hybrids if I were you. I carry a 3 wood, but I hit it off the tee mostly. When I do hit it, like some others have mentioned, I choke down a bit on the club and swing easy. The focus is on solid contact. Let the club do its thing. If there is any doubt in the lie, I'll go 3 hybrid all the way. I'll trade the loss of yardage for better contact any day.

As for practice, if you have the option to hit off grass, go for it. Mats can hide swing flaws and give you a false impression of your progression with your practice.

[the chopper]

Hi, try putting a tee in the ground(not a range mat and get used to making the tee pop up and out. If conditions are soft then knowing you clipped the tee clean is enough. Although there is a weight transfer to the right on the backswing, make sure you are not swaying.

The right hip draws back behind its starting positionbut not to the right, the backswing pivots around the right leg and the opposite is true for the downswing.

A sweeping motion with the ball just right of centre of your stance will help and swing easy. Start with tees in the deck though! I hope that helps.

[sportsnut]

I had a lot of trouble to begin with when it came to my 3w, consistency was my biggest error with the 3w and 3h. swinging easy and complete follow through helped but mainly it was ball position that proved to be my key for success with both of them and that took a lot of range time and some help with my golf instructor, and making myself use it on the course till I became almost completely consistent and comfortable with it, so be brave and make the choice to have the 3w or 3h a useful tool in your bag. once you commit you're more than half way home.

[Tom Shanks]

3W use to be my worst club.  Now it's my go to in every sort of lie/situation once I learned how to swing it.  Love hitting it out of fairway bunkers.

4 inches left of center in your stance.  A big tip that helped me was to angle my right shoulder down as you would with a driver.  Like people have said, swing easy!  The club will make the ball go.  I feel like I'm hitting at around 85% when I'm taking a full swing.  I'll also back off it a bit on par 3's around 185.  It's a very versatile club that you should get comfortable with.  I find it easier to slice, hook, or punch through if you find yourself in the trees.

[TTH83]

thanks for all the tips, guys.

Thought I'd give an update. I kept working with the 3W and 5W throughout the late summer and got more consistent with it (not consistent, mind you, but more consistent). I worked on setting up properly, choking up, swinging easy, and using a flatter swing arc, and I've got to where I'm hitting maybe 3 out of 5 shots with it for good yardage in the general direction I'm aiming.

Look forward to working on it more over the winter (which reminds me, oh-god-I-need-to-get-to-the-range-I-feel-my-swing-getting-worse-with-each-passing-day).