hitting a 3 wood off the deck

[Johnnyallthetime]

i love my 3 wood off the tee on really tight fairways, but i can't hit the club off the deck worth a damn. i was reading that longer shafts need a more flatter swing plane and was gonna go try and play with that tip when it gets warmer. anyone else have any ideas or tips that might help?

[Buckswin]

I have more success hitting 3-woods/5-woods by doing a couple of things:

1. choke up on the club a little bit (about 1" or so)
2. flare my left foot to about 45 degrees


I find that I'm much more successful doing these 2 things. Natalie Gulbis said the same thing on her show recently.

[Trev]

If you can hit any club from the tee then you can hit it off the deck.
It's been a while since I've used a 3 wood as I just use 2 drivers an a 4 wood but 2 of these get the fairway usage when needed.


Best advice I can give you is: trust the loft!
You dont have to change your swing or do anything different to get the ball airborn, just swing smooth and thru the ball, try to brush the grass just in front of it.

When starting golf I used to almost use my woods like a sand wedge allowing the sole to bounce under the ball, I don't now but this did seem to work at the time although I think I was just odd

[Johnnyallthetime]

i'm not quite sure what it is wrong i am doing. here's my set up:

1. position the ball between my left heel and middle of my stance.

2. flare my right foot about 30* for a bigger turn

3. shallow out my downswing angle by picturing my club contacting a wall at the top of my backswing and holding it against the wall until it reaches about 1/2 - 3/4 of the downswing, at which where i release my hands

4. keep my hands in front of the clubhead

5. i hold the 90* angle made by my arm and club fairly long to create clubhead lag and have a strong grip

the shots tend to end up fat shots (even after shallowing out my downswing angle) with the ball going about 150-175 yards (compared to 260-270 off the tee). any diagnostics or tips? anything is appreciated!

[RX Phoenix]

Sounds like you are releasing a little too late which means too much left side influence resulting in fat hits.

The lag and the hands in front can easily result in too much left side. On the other hand too much right side will result in thin shots, so at the range exaggerate these two variables until you can see cause and effect, then work on getting the release balanced.

You might be trying to hit it too far, thus trying to use a powerful 90* lag position. Are you trying to reach par 5's in two with these shots?

[J.P.]

1. position the ball between my left heel and middle of my stance.

BOY JATT! That is a whole bunch to remember & clutter up the mind with!!! If I asked you to tell me how you use your fork to pick up and eat a piece of steak, would you break it down like this? Probably not! Still, some technical precision is necessary. Couple things I will suggest. 1. Is this set up any different than when you are teeing up the ball and if so, why? IMHO should be no different. 2. Flaring out the right foot this additional amount for "more turn" does achieve this end, BUT it actually will INHIBIT the right knee/hip from coming through on the downswing - the lower body leading & shifting weight from right to left (for righties) is very important with regard to the "bottom" of the swing. If you are "stuck" back on that right leg cause you made it more difficult to transfer weight off of, you will hit behind the ball. Just some thoughts to consider! Good Luck!!!

[Johnnyallthetime]

thanks for the tips guys! i'll be sure to experiment the next time out.

this is usually my 2nd shot on a long par 5 (564 yds). i can usually reach the green in two on shorter par 5's with my halo hybrid, but am looking for extra juice for the extra yardage the hole tacks on.

as far as swing thoughts go. i try to separate my thoughts and swing. if i'm working on my swing, i'll swing without a ball, and sometimes only a shaft i have handy in my bag. when i'm looking to hit the ball, i do my best to relax and put a good swing on it. sometimes my thoughts do shove their way into my head during a round, and that's when i tend to fade/slice the ball.

my set up for my 3 wood for a tee shot and off the deck are pretty similar, with the only change is putting a little more weight on my back foot and lowering my right shoulder (from parallel shoulder line) to encourage hitting the ball on the upswing. that's the only difference that i can think of.

thanks again guys.

[Johnnyallthetime]

i tried flaring my left foot out and gripping down but to no avail. i also tried a more flat swing plane but that just made the ball go low to the ground and about 50-100 yards. it's looking more and more like my 3 wood is gonna end up my alternate driver instead of hitting off the deck. is there much of a difference between hitting a fairway wood and a hybrid? i have no problems with my hybrid at all, yet my 3 wood gives me problems.

[sungho_kr]

If you have a goodswing, and ur topping, usually ur flipping with ur hands, so try to hit down or keep ur hands about an inch or two ahead at impact, works everytime.

[paddy_0_bar]

try keeping the club low as you take it away,(slowly) so you will have more time to square up on your follow thru.