If you’re struggling to make good contact with your fairway woods when the ball is on the ground, I’ve got a drill that will help you get a better feel for how these clubs are meant to be swung. In short, it’s all about the approach.
Perhaps from listening to commentators on TV, a lot of my students mistakenly think they need to pull the handle of the shaft downward before the club releases into the ball. This notion of pulling typically puts the club on a steeper approach, makes it harder to square the face and produces all kinds of poor shots – from skied shots to tops and slices.
To get the clubhead moving on a good path into impact, address a ball with your lead hand (left for righties) on the club normally, but have your trail hand resting against the grip with the palm open. Now make a golf swing. As you start down from the top, feel as if you’re pushing the club towards the ground with that open palm [above]. You’ll find this “push” shallows your downswing, makes it easier to square the face and prompts you to rotate your body toward the target as the club moves through impact. That’s how you flush a fairway wood.
Molly Braid is Golf Digest’s No.1-ranked instructor in Wisconsin. She teaches at Westmoor Country Club in Brookfield.
