Tip of the week
This weeks coaching tip is regarding playing fairway wood shots into the green. This is often the case on long Par 4’s and on second shots on Par 5’s. From some recent coaching, I have found some common set up and swing faults when playing these shots that result in poor strikes and loss of distance.
Ball Position: When playing a Fairway Wood shot, we want to sweep the ball off the top of the grass. In order to do this successfully the ball needs to be positioned between the centre and the front heel. This will give you the correct impact conditions to get the optimal distance from the shot. Having the ball to far back, will produce an angle of attack that is to steep and a low shot that will not travel as far. Ball to far forward can result in a heavy contact or making contact with the ball half way up, reulting in a low shot and loss of distance.
Weight Transfer: It is common for golfers to try and help the ball up in the air when playing a fairway wood. This is done by falling back on the downswing causing a loss of power and often poor contact. This shot requires you to trust the loft on the club and continue to transfer your weight through to your front foot. With the correct ball position, the ball will still get up in the air and travel the correct distance. A good drill to practice this is to make a backswing with your feet close together, to start the downswing, make a small step towards the target and then swing down and through.
Rhythm: Normally with this shot you are trying to hit the ball along way. In doing this, it is common to start the downswing very quickly. This move steepens the shaft plane and often causes an out to in swing path. This results in a loss of distance and no control of direction. A good thing to focus on is trying to start the downswing as slow as possible. This allows your arms and body to stay connected and ensures the quickest part of the golf swing is at the ball, producing long and accurate shots.
I have also found that in a golfers bag, there are often 2 or 3 clubs that make the golf ball go the same distance. The golfer usually will only use one of them and by having the others in there golf bag, is possibly missing a club that would be a lot more useful to them. Please enquire in the Pro Shop to find out more information about a gapping session to find out how far each club travels. This will highlight any big gaps or if clubs are going very similar distances. |