Tips for hitting on the fairway

Hi all,

I started playing golf around 3 years on and off, (im 19 now)  been playing at least one or two times each month ( now playing once or twice a week ) I can hit the ball of the tee using a driver around 200 - 230 yards straight and can also chip onto greens from around 60 yards or less well and also putt ok. The problem im having is getting any distance with my iorns or hybrids on the fairway after coming of the tee, Its taking my around 4 - 5 shots to get anywhere near the green and its really putting me off playing golf as im only hitting the ball 10 - 20 yards at time.  does anyone have any tips at all to hit irons or hybrids further If i can get this sorted i can really knock some shots of my game.

Thanks

It's up to you, do you wanna improve really much? Then you have to work with your swing, film it, analyze, get information, get help from others and be ready to make changes and train on them. The swing won't get good by one mysterious secret.

If you just want to have fun playing golf that's fine too :-)

Thanks for reply,

Yes i really do want to improve, would you say the best thing to do is get down the range and just keep practicing my swing untill i start hitting it ok?

Yes...stay on the range and work on your game.  It sounds like you're struggling to make good contact with your hybrids and irons.  Spend some time at the range and you should be able to improve your game in no time.

No. Chances are you wont just start hitting it ok. You have to invest time and money into it. You can study up on the internet, film your swing and then analyze it and make changes that way. Or spend the money and get a pro to do it for you.

As a beginner you probably slice the ball meaning you probably have an out to in swing path so the main thing id work on if i were you is making sure your swing path is slightly inside the line. What ive done in the past is swing back and stop when your club is parallel to your hips. If your club is pointing left your backswing is outside the line and you will slice. If its straight you will hit it straight. If its right you will hit a draw. That is if your doing everything else right haha. But its a start.

Thanks for the replys

Im willing to invest some money for lesson to get this sorted, Think this is the route im going to go down. Thanks once again.

No offense, but if he's a beginner why do you feel he is capable and making the necessary swing adjustments to advance his game to the next level.  Many high level pro's aren't capable of doing this, that is why they hire golf coaches.  In addition, you say he most likely slice's the ball.  While this may be true for his drives, he's not looking for help with that.  He's seeking advice for his fairway shots which he appears to be hitting fat.

Well i just thought if hes having trouble maybe try and start with taking the club back on the correct line (although i dont actually no if he is or isnt as i havent seen a video) he might have a better chance of making better contact. I didnt mean to offend him in anyway by saying hes a beginner that slices, i still hit the occasional cut, just trying to help out a fellow golfer

There's a difference between a golf pro working with details and a beginner working with basics though. Why would he be able to make swing adjustments by going to the range and work on his game on his own?

I'm not saying he's going to get an ideal swing by going to the range and practicing, but he will no doubt get better contact with the ball.  Once the basics are their and a little more consistency present he can take lessons are post a swing video here for additional help.

Sounds like you are hitting fat shots if they are only going 10 to 20 yards. I would say try hitting down on the ball to get the right feel. Really try and "compress" Nothing is more important that hitting the ball first before the ground. Once you do that I would say start working on swing path and face angle. For me my best contact started with wedges. Hitting ball first and still taking 8 inches of divot really instills hitting down on the ball. Give that a try

Move the ball further back in your stance. For me that's about midway.  You really want to be making club/ball contact first, it sounds like you're probably hitting it fat (striking the ground first)  Choke down a little on the club, 1/2" to 3/4", this helps with control along with compacting the swing slightly.  On the practice range, using the above, take a slower swing until you start to see that ball first contact.  If you're swinging to hard you may be going back on your heels and hitting the ball thin or topping it.

thanks for the reply and tips. I am going to go down range tonight and will try making contact with the ball first.

Thanks!

As one who wishes he'd taken the advice I'm giving now, many years ago, the young fellow should spend the dough (not much really, considering the cost of playing this infuriating game ) on professional assistance.  It is well nigh impossible for anyone, esp. a beginner, to figure out and correct his or her basic swing faults all on their own.  Also, it is very unlikely to happen in a reasonable period of time, which is why so many people try golf for a short while and then give up the game even if they're quite talented physically and could have played well.  Where's the fun in mishitting balls on the range for hours and hours (like I did ....), with no real idea of what the heck is going on?

Once he gets an idea of the sort of mistakes he's making (way outside the plane on the way down? way inside in the early backswing? ball too far forward at address?  grip too weak? no weight shift? whatever ....), he'll enjoy hitting on the range much more - because he'll know better what to do to adjust after he hits a big push or slice for example - AND he will continue to improve more rapidly.  It is the sense of improvement that keeps people in the game in the early stages, and the lack of it which is often a deal breaker.

I'm not in the business and have no axe to grind, other than wanting to see more people get into and stay in this great game.

I had the same issue.  Still do to a certain extent but it's getting much better with my hybrid and 3W from the fairway.  I figured out that my angle of attack was too steep when trying to hit the hybrid and 3W from the fairway.  I was topping shots all the time and it was frustrating as hell.  Sometimes I would not top the ball but hit it fat instead and the ball would only go 30 yards and sometime go from fairway to rough.  It was driving me nuts.

For me what I figured out was that I needed to shallow my angle of attack.  This has done wonders as now I can hit the hybrid and 3W very far and accurate.  It has/will do wonders for me as it will eliminate strokes and will eliminate topping or hitting it fat and then having to come back with a 4 iron or something and hit the ball again.

My advice is to examine the results of how you are hitting the ball and play around with ways that would eliminate that.  For example if you are hitting it fat, then work on hitting the ball first and not the ground behind the ball.  This may entail making your angle of attack shallower or something.  Everyone is different so play around with it.

Best of luck to you, let us know how it works out!

--BJ

I believe anyone can get better. But hitting balls on the range does not do it -- alone. Hitting balls with a purpose or without knowing what you are working on is call exercise not practice. More people get worse than get better.

IMO, fastest way to improve is to pick a swing model (if you pick a pro, make sure you think you can mimic him/her and do not pick some freak of nature) and work toward that swing. Copy the grip and setup. Learn the take away. Use video all the time and see how you swing compares. See how what you feel is not what is happening. Get to the point where you feel a correct setup and take away. Get to the point where you feel proper start of the downswing. Use video. Use more video. Spend more time looking at each shot as you do taking each shot. Lessons can speed the process. Learn to hit positions before you learn to hit balls.

Practice with a purpose. Or get a good workout at the range.

Agreed!  Practice makes permanent .  Poor practice will more likely ingrain poor skill.

If angle of attack was too steep you probably were picking the club up with your hands on the start of the backswing instead of swinging it back with your body.Once again this is only a guess but usually the reason for people starting out.