I cant hit my fairway wood.

[zmwendland]

Period. I can't hit it. I top it every time or create a divot behind the ball. Help!!

[JetFan1983]

I wrote this yesterday on the same topic to someone who said he was a 9.3. It will ring more true for your level. Weight location and handle location are the top primary factors that determine how solidly you contact the golf ball. Also, head movement -- if any -- contributes to this as well, but if you can get your weight forward correctly, the head movement would be stable.

The three biggest keys here though are 1) weight forward 2) steady head and 3) a flat left wrist.

Originally Posted by JetFan1983

Topping is a form of extremely thin contact. Thin and fat contact are both the result of the same problem: The swing's low point is behind the golf ball. Why is the swing's low point behind the golf ball? There are a couple reasons why this happens:

1) Weight location. If it's too far back, it's difficult to reach the ball without making compensations with other parts of your body, like your wrists, hands, arms and spine.

2) Handle location. Where is the handle of the club located at impact? If it's leaning back, you are the most likely to the contact the ground before reaching the ball. If you've hit fat shots before, then you know that after a while, those shots become thin shots after a while. This is because you realize you'll hit behind the ball if you don't change something. Usually that change is retracting the arms or to lift your head up/stand up to shorten or change the swing's arc. Over-do it and boom, topped shot (A high handicapper common fault. As a 9.3 you are more likely to be extending too early or something, but we can't know without swing video).

Two of the most important things in golf are getting over 90% of your weight onto your front foot by impact and having a flat left wrist at impact. I'm going to guess you are deficient in one or both of those areas for your topped shots. Try taking some half swings with your fairway woods where you are focusing on just getting your weight forward, maintaining a flat left wrist, straight arms, and a steady head. Four things to work on is difficult to do, so that's why you use only half swings at a slower tempo.

Ultimately, if you want help, you should seek out lessons where the instructor uses video, or film yourself and look for these key things in your swing. If you are overwhelmed by this information, then seek out an instructor who can walk you through these ideas and changes. Self-teaching is a difficult process. But since you are a 9.3, you have a better chance than most at fixing this on your own, I would think.

[Goonsidious]

It's all in your head.. you swing it like a driver and think you'll get the same result. except it's not on a tee, and you dont have that huge face to save you.

just stay steady and make an easy swing. It really is easier than you think, I used to have trouble with them, but once I found my flow with it and stayed level throughout my swing, weight slightly forward, it turned into a huge hit down the fairway. It is a hit and miss club, and i see plenty of decent golfers on the course hit poorly with them. gl to you.

[stogiesnbogies]

If you are short like me (5' 6") a fairway wood can indeed be difficult as they have longer shafts than hybrids....but reward you with greater distance...for me the key is to slow down -especially on the backswing and "SWEEP the dew" with the clubhead while keeping head still and watching club meet ball.......that said, I will hit them only when a situation does not allow for say a #3 Hybrid shot to eat up somewhat similar distance with less risk...

in practice rounds I will be more aggressive and hit woods whenever possible...and surprisingly , with pretty good results...but they do require building some confidence...through experience ...

[zmwendland]

I keep hearing to keep my left wrist flat, but I dont understand what that means... haha

[Jakester23]

If you have time go to the driving range and work on hitting your fairway woods with an 75 or 80 percent swing with mostly arms. You will get the spring feeling when you hit it good and feel the ball jump off the club. Most peoples problems (which I had earlier this year purchasing my 1st 3 wood) is that they over swing to make the ball go far. I got a G15 and when I do a full swing with a good turn but only give it like 80 % with my arms I kill that club when I try to amp my swing up I have problems. The thing my friend told me to do which worked also is to tee it up a 1/4 inch or so for 10 balls or so then put it on the ground.  If you struggle put it up on the tee again until you get good shots again. so on and so on

[Topper]

Originally Posted by zmwendland

I keep hearing to keep my left wrist flat, but I dont understand what that means... haha

To me, it's like hitting a backhand in tennis.  If you've never played tennis that won't mean anything.

[GaijinGolfer]

Practicing hitting it off a tee.  As you get better at it, keep teeing the ball lower and lower until its on the ground.  Also, dont play the ball too far forward in your stance.  A lot of people do that and its going to give you thin contact every time.  Play it just slightly forward of center and make sure you take a slight divot.

[onesome]

Originally Posted by zmwendland

I keep hearing to keep my left wrist flat, but I dont understand what that means... haha

Watch some video of some professionals from behind and you will see the back of the left hand and forearm are on a straight line with the shaft of the club. Anyways you said earlier you have only been playing for a couple months in another thread, you need to come to the realization that you are not ready to hit some of these clubs off the ground yet and a 3 wood is definitely one of them. Without seeing any video I would suspect there is probably a fair amount of up and down movement in your swing that basically requires perfect timing to hit a club like a 3 wood off the deck. Make life and the game a whole lot easier on yourself and you will enjoy it more if you use a 4 hybrid instead of a fairway wood at this time and if you don't have one you can get them fairly cheap at most sporting goods stores you don't have to buy some top of the line club unless you can get a really good deal on it and realize it probably is going to get the hell beat out of it from toed,heeled,idiot marks all over it (no offense).

[Missouri Swede]

Originally Posted by zmwendland

I keep hearing to keep my left wrist flat, but I dont understand what that means... haha

Explained a bit in this thread (Key #3): http://thesandtrap.com/t/55426/introducing-five-simple-keys

I'm sure there are other places it's discussed, but this is a good place to start.

[DocParty]

Had the same problem. I'm old. Know my limitations. Driver has only so much it can offer a weekend golfer if accuracy and consistency is what matters. Distance, well I'm counting on just over 200 yards on the average whether or not I'm hitting off a tee or off the grass.

So I put my driver away and started carrying my 3 and 5 woods. 5 was an easy to use fairway wood. Even easy off a tee on a par 3. But of course a 5 wood will only get me 175 yards at best if I'm really looking for accuracy every time I use it. Yeah yeah I know, 175! how puny. Well the average golfer across the USA, not pros or wanna be pros, but really honest weekend golfers actually hit their drive 195 to 210 if they consider straight down the middle. Anyone can hit a 250 yard banana ball 2 fairways over. Big deal! Check it out yourself at the many golf digest reports that have been generated. So, I'm old, I can live with 200 yards off the tee or from the fairway.

Had a hell of a time hitting my 3 wood for 3 weeks. Then it finally worked out. This only worked for me, I'm not giving instructions but I went back to a back swing that only gets the golf club parallel  with the ground and a complete follow through with my body turned pointing into the direction of the target and my right sole (i'm right handed) of my shoe was pointing 180 away from the target. I swing smoothly, almost easily and I swung more of a U shaped swing than the sweeping swing most associated with a driver; a driver swing is more like a O with the top 1/3 cut off. The U swing gets me to take a divot, small but none the less a divot and my forced follow through allows the club to do all the work.

Like I said, I'm old. Today I went out and had for the first time in 3 weeks not a single tee shot duffed or muffed. Everyone was in the fairway. On par 4's they were @ 200 yards clearly in the fairway and if they were par 3's I hit 2 of the greens and was only 5 to 10 yards from the pin on the rest. We have no par 5's on this small muni course I play. Had 5 pars, the rest were bogies. I know, not a very good score. But I'm old, have 3 herniated discs, my right knee is bone to bone and I have not played the game in over 18.5 years until my son got an interest in it @ may of this year. So with 6 or less months back into the game, after 18.5 years being absent from it, I shot better than bogie golf today.

Take a 3/4 back swing, keep the left arm straight through impact, keep the right arm straight through the entire follow through, turn your body and face the target at the end of your follow through, an swing in a U, not a V like an iron, or an O like a drivers sweeping swing. Take a divot. The sole of the fairway wood will prevent you from taking too much of one.