Hitting fairway wood and 3H beyond 220yds

[Sai-Jin]

so I'm now going to focus on hitting my 3W and 3H. I never really bother hitting them unless I have to, but they are the final set of clubs That I need to be good with. My 3w I hit maybe 220 yards and my 3H maybe 225yds tops. My typical ball flight for these clubs are in to out fade and they are pretty low angled. My 4H which I love I can hit it 210-215yards tops. Any secrets to hitting the wood and hybrid? Specially the fairway wood? Cheers

[Hacker-G]

Strange that you hit your 3H further than your 3W!?

[Sai-Jin]

Well, I treat my 3H as an iron and try to hit it like a 4i . Was hoping I can hit it around 235yds.

3W I don't know... feels like I'm always uncertain what to do with it... I want it to go at least 250yds.

[Open-Faced Club Sandwedge]

What makes you expect that you should be able to hit a 3H 235 yards?  The average amateur certainly can't hit it that far.  I would think most touring pros would be pretty happy to hit that club that far.

Are you a very long hitter overall?  Do you frequently carry the ball 280+ with your driver?  Do you hit your 7i 185 consistently?  If so, then maybe something's wrong with the way you're hitting your 3H.  If not, then you should be very happy with 220 or 225 out of that club, and focus on other problems.

-Andrew

[newtogolf]

In other threads you mentioned you were having problems hitting your driver.  Whatever your problems were / are they could be related to your issues with the 3w since it's a similar swing with ball teed lower.

  Sai-Jin said:

Originally Posted by Sai-Jin

Well, I treat my 3H as an iron and try to hit it like a 4i . Was hoping I can hit it around 235yds.

3W I don't know... feels like I'm always uncertain what to do with it... I want it to go at least 250yds.

[Sai-Jin]

Hi Oh, I thought that since I'm hitting my 4h around 210-215, I should be hitting the 3H with a 1.5 inch extended shaft around 230 ish? If 220-225 is what it should be, then I'll be content. And yes, I'm a decent hitter, 283yds average with driver tops out at 326yds. Newtogolf, interesting, I did have issues with my new driver, but that's pretty much gone now. My old problem was my closed stance. What bothers me is with 3W are you supposed to sweep the ball or hit down and take a divot? Or is it something else that I'm not aware of? When I try to hit the fairway wood, it feels as if the ball is too small to hit. It's a different story if I tee it up, but on the fairway it scares me often, that's why I bought this new 3H to compensate it mentally.

[newtogolf]

Someone with a lower handicap can probably give you a better answer but I hit the 3w more like my driver off the tee and more like a hybrid/iron off the deck.  At set up I position the ball midway between an iron and driver and I do swing down like an iron off the deck but I don't take divots like I do with irons.

  Sai-Jin said:

Originally Posted by Sai-Jin

Newtogolf, interesting, I did have issues with my new driver, but that's pretty much gone now.

My old problem was my closed stance.

What bothers me is with 3W are you supposed to sweep the ball or hit down and take a divot?

Or is it something else that I'm not aware of? When I try to hit the fairway wood, it feels as if the ball is too small to hit.

It's a different story if I tee it up, but on the fairway it scares me often, that's why I bought this new 3H to compensate it mentally.

[Sai-Jin]

Just got back from the range. All I brought were my driver, hybrid and fairway wood. So I was able to hit my 3H around 235 yds on perfect impact. Now I still have p Problems with the fairway wood though. When I hit it right, I can hit it around 250yds ish. But thats after a few tries. I need to be able to hit the fw off the bat on the first try. So what's the tip on swinging it? Sweeping? Descending blow?

[The Gill]

It's tough to know what's going on without seeing your swing. Some fairways woods like to be hit like hybrids, some like to be hit with a much flatter angle of decent...

What shafts, shaft weights, shaft lengths, and degrees are your hybrids?

When you say you hit your woods well after a few "tries" you need to try to be more cognisant of how you're adapting. Try making it more obvious between swinging like an iron vs skipping the head in like a stone... My three wood (13 degrees) only likes to be hit down on if I'm going for a fade... If I want any kind of success with it with a draw I have to really come in shallow... If you can hit it 250 like you want, you have to pay more attention to what you're doing. I suggest using a camera.

[LankyLefty]

Some 3 woods are not as well suited for fairway as others. I have a ping rapture 3 wood that hits more like a mini driver. I also have Burner 08 5 wood. The 5 wood goes much longer off the fairway because It is simple more suited to fairway lies then my 3 wood.

[rossvanwyk]

I hit my 3W with a driver feel off the tee and descending blow off the deck. I feel it gives the best impact and gives very good distance. And that's for both shapes, fade and draw. I always hit down. Not taking divots but definitely forward leaning shaft at impact.

[Sai-Jin]

I have the R11 TP with Fujikura blur TP shaft on my 3W.

my 3H is an 18* , TM R11 TP also and I put an extension on the shaft for an extra 1.5 inches.

The one thing I noticed is that I always really try to smack the heck out of my 3W and 3H and that causes me to move my body a little bit.

I realize that problem, yet I kept doing it.

My swing is a bit more steep with these woods and I take a small divot when I hit them right.

Sometimes when I don't take a divot, my ball usually either tops or it fades and has a low flight, which is undesireable.

Maybe place the ball up like irons? I do have a lot of topped shots with FW and 3H

[dsc123]

you're handicap is lower than mine, so take this with a grain of salt, but i've found success with my 3W by placing the ball just inside my left (front) heel and taking more of a sweeping swing.  I think i still descend into impact, but i'm not taking a divot.

[Steel]

Sweep!!!!      hit it off a really low tee till you get used to it, then hit it off the deck, use the same swing.  Whenever I hit a hybrid or fairway wood I really concentrate on keeping my head still, don't slide or dip, you'll be headed for disaster.

[jefferino]

What I have found is that by taking a weaker grip on my 4H helps to get more control as well as height trajectory to the point that I can literally stop it in fairways and on greens within a yard or so. While I don't carry any fairway woods anymore, only my 4H I do suggest keeping a slightly stronger grip similar to your driver and swinging it as such.  Also the best tip for hitting more consistent with good distance...swing easier!  Don't try to force it for distance, I would rather have less distance and more control vs. longer distance and less consistency.