How in the WORLD do I hit a FW off the ground?

I always seem to come down too steep (I think that is correct terminology) and hit the dirt before I make it to the ball. I average a double on par 5s, and I think working in a consistent FW rather than a 5i might get me the extra 20 yards that would give me the chance at a bogey.

Don't play the ball too far forward and loose moving your body back with the club,(no body sway)Try practising in the back yard with somebody holding your head stationary in the back swing,like not moving it back towards your right heel,if you body sway you are going to hit fat shots with anything.

Hitting fat shots are caused mainly by 2 things:

1) No weight shift from the top
2) Early release of (or no) wrist hinge from the top/mid downswing

There are other things (i.e. ball position, ball above feet, below feet, etc., but try these first)

One thing, I did to help was to start by hitting a ball off of the tee. Set the tee up like a driver (equator to top of crown). I progressively worked my way down, lowering the ball position, until I finally could hit it from the ground.

fairway wood off the deck is one of the hardest shots to learn.
i know it was one of the last shots i had to master :) give it time and you will learn it.

When you're hitting a fairway metal, you want a level angle(very slightly downward) of approach to, through, and after, the ball. The best way to achieve this (I've found, for me anyway) is to think low and wide on the backswing. Sweeping through impact.

I also think its important not to overswing. I want to hit it as hard as I can, but without loosing any control whatsoever. So good tempo is key.

Hope this helps.

The way i do it is this:
Even before stepping up to address i think of a sweeping motion, i wanna pick the ball up offthe deck and send it on it's way.
I take a few practice swings in the style of hitting a baseball, imagining the ball is at around my knee height. I keep my swing long and smooth.
When i address the ball i take it about an inch back from the line of my left foot. I want to hit the ball at a level point/just on the up.
The same thinking as when i strike my driver.
Hope that helps.

Today was my first day on a golf course,tot will practise on my swing at the driving range.Well as expected took my driver out ....lets say out of the 100 balls i hit around 20 of them went over 200 or more yards a lota were to horrible to be mentioned and a quite a few were decent i guess sicne its my 1 st day 150 yards or around that ...I do have a horrible slice problem to but then wht is really worrying me now along wiht the other million problems is that I seem to be hititng my drivers head down often during the swing,there were instances when i saw sparks lol..I did see a lot of others golfers did not have so many scratchs on the driver head like i did in very first day...I do not know what is causing my problem and yes no access to a coach.So wanted to know if any one of you might be familair wiht this situation or have gone through the same ..I go to a army golf course and the only perosn who could offer some tips would be a aged retired colonel lol..I learn most of my stuff from videos..My first concern is what do i do to ensure when i drive wiht my driver i dont hit the ground during the swing .I place the ball in the right palce (i saw th on a video to)

i use a taylor made burner stiff ,9.5 and i am left handed.I am 5 11.use interlocking (seems more comfy)and weigh around 170 lbs

Sorry to barge into this thread ..Appreciate any suggestions ...

Simply play the ball further back in your stance, the ball may want to go right so compensate by aimming left more. Play with your regular swing for now and try moving the ball further back until you start making contact. This is a quick fix for now but it will allow you to enjoy the game and start eliminating the double boogies.

just my 2 cents.

I too have recently committed myself to the notion that I need a 5 wood in my bag. I hit my 5i pretty shotty to say the least, but everyone I play with tells me to swing the 4 or 5 hybrid club first and see if I don't like that better.

Not to hi-jack, but I think that the originator of this thread might consider the same options.

I have a 21* 4 hybrid that I have the same trouble with

I too have almost been seduced by the "call of the hybrid." So many SandTrap posters talk about how easy it is to hit.

But I started thinking - the problem newbies have with these clubs (driver, long irons, fairway woods) is due to the LENGTH. Unless a hybrid club has the same length as a 7-iron, I believe it would be as hard to hit (for a newbie) as the club it is meant to replace. One of the poster on this thread talked about hitting 10% of his drives successfully. Switching to a hybrid is not going to significantly improve that percentage, assuming the hybrid is as long as a 3-iron or a 5 wood.

The keys to this shot are:

1. maintain arc width throughout your swing
2. maintain your spine angle and knee flex
3. swing easy and let the club do the work
4. hit with a descending blow

For 1 and 2, I like to feel like I've got my chin up a little higher. This lets me focus on maintaining my head level. You definitely want a descending blow with your fairway woods. It isn't as much as a PW, but it's definitely descending. Practice 1-3 without a ball by brushing the top of some wet grass. Put the ball at the back of the brush mark to find your ball position. 3 is really important for maintaining your angles.

Sounds like you may be using your hands to manipulate the clubhead into the ball. My consistency suffered until I learned to leave the hands and arms totally passive in the downswing.