Hitting the Woods

[DogGolf92]

Question.

Is there a trick to hitting woods and hybrids?  I know practice, practice, practice. I cant seem to get any loft (and i mean any!) under the ball when I pull out the woods. I can hit my 3i pretty well, almost my go to club. My buddy swears up and down my his hybrids but i have the same issue with the hybrids that i do the woods.

Thoughts and tips appreciated. 

[JonMA1]

@DogGolf92 take any advice from me with a grain of salt...

For me, it has a lot to do with angle of attack, not trying to kill the ball, and where I want to club to make contact with the turf. 

I don't hit either club exactly like an iron, but I also don't "sweep" it as many people describe the feel. Hopefully, someone a bit better will give you some solid advice, but try making adjustments at a slower swing speed until you find something that seems to work consistently (if you haven't already tried this).

[cooke119]

I hit my 3W and 5W really well, they save my ass because I'm fighting with my driver right now. Anyway, what I do is once I'm set up over the ball, (ball placed in the middle of my stance, not forward as some suggest), on the back swing I drag the club head along the ground for about 5 inches, then up into my backswing, I don't immediately pick the club head up. On my downswing I don't know if you call it "sweeping the ball" but I don't hit it like an iron, i.e., I don't hit down on the ball. I make good contact with the ball, the leading edge of the club just grazing the grass. I don't take a divot with a wood. My thoughts are to let the club do the work, don't try to kill it, and keep a good tempo. 

I'm not a long ball hitter, I'm 66 and have had three back surgeries, but my 5W goes about 185 yards and my 3W around 200, (including roll), with good ball flight, which for me I'm very happy with.

My friend can't hit a wood to save his life. His problem, as I have told him many times, is that he tries to kill the ball and ends up lifting his upper body. He hits them thin or tops them, never gets any height. I tell him to hit a long iron instead but he is too pig headed to listen.

Another thing is I never try to hit a wood out of the rough, doesn't work for me. I use a long a long iron like a 4 or 5. I feel the wood can't get under the ball in the rough given the size of the head.