fairway wood off the deck

[MIKE1218]

I can kill it off a tee, but I can't hit a fairway wood solidly off the deck. I don't understand it at all. Sweep it off the turf, make a little roughed-up spot behind the ball, should be fine, right? It could go anywhere; block, blockslice, pull, pullhook, hook, slice, wormburner, etc. Off a tee, it's a piercing 3 yard draw that carries 235ish, which is pretty much in between driver and 3 iron. It must be mental. WHY?!?!

 

[mont86]

In the fairway I have a tendency to try to swing harder to reach the green or clear the water. I have to slow my tempo down.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Sweep it off the turf, make a little roughed-up spot behind the ball, should be fine, right?

Could just be a matter of what you are focusing on. Off the deck, even though I want to sweep it off the turf, I want to make clean contact with the ball and that is what I focus on at the time, the back of the ball. Not making clean contact with the ground behind the ball. What do you think of off the tee? I would bet it is not hitting behind the ball.

 

[nututhugame]

It's not just you. It's not just mental either... it's different than on a tee. On a tee you know you're gonna get that leading edge below the equator with no interference. I very rarely have a good enough lie to confidently try to "sweep" the ball. Off the deck i've had more success hitting my 3w like an iron. Hitting down on the ball. Maybe i'm just a tard too though. I hope to learn something from this thread..

 

[BStone]

I generally attempt to have a shallow swing into the ball off the deck, but still with slight downward impact taking a very small, thin divot after impact, this ensures solid contact and slightly downward impact will get the ball in the air.

 

[MIKE1218]

Could just be a matter of what you are focusing on. Off the deck, even though I want to sweep it off the turf, I want to make clean contact with the ball and that is what I focus on at the time, the back of the ball. Not making clean contact with the ground behind the ball. What do you think of off the tee? I would bet it is not hitting behind the ball.

Well I certainly don't want to focus on hitting the ball, on any swing. Focus on hitting through the ball and taking a divot, or roughing up a divot-sized area like I said. Let the ball get in the way of my club.

I generally attempt to have a shallow swing into the ball off the deck, but still with slight downward impact taking a very small, thin divot after impact, this ensures solid contact and slightly downward impact will get the ball in the air.

Maybe I'm not hitting down enough then? Not really taking a divot per se, just tearing up grass.

 

[warbirdlover]

Easy swing. Let the club do the work?

 

[kwcsports]

I am not a long hitter averaging 225-235 off the tee. Because of this I hit a lot of fw's on long 4's and as lay-ups on 5's. I have had great success by swinging within myself and not trying to kill it and also hitting down slightly and taking a small shallow divot. I think overswinging is the biggest problem most of us have with fw's. The other thing I have discovered for myself is that my 5 wood flies higher and therefore longer than most 3 wood shots. I have given up on 3 woods from the turf and my scores have improved because of it.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Well I certainly don't want to focus on hitting the ball, on any swing. Focus on hitting through the ball and taking a divot, or roughing up a divot-sized area like I said. Let the ball get in the way of my club.

Hard to say. While I agree and understand philosophy of hitting through the ball, in all the time I have played I more concentrate in making clean contact and let my swing dictate the follow through. Any time I would concentrate on "letting the ball get in the way", I would many times not make clean contact with the ball. To me it is all a matter of perspective in that I know the swing does not end at contact, although mentally I need to use the point of contact as my focus point in order to strike the ball well.

I guess I separate my swing from my setup, in that my focus point is the back of the ball and not my swing path. Then just make the normal swing. Hope that make sense. I know if I do not do so, my game suffers specifically with my Fairway Woods. For me just concentrating on hitting through the balls does not give me a direction on where to hit, and could result in a fat shot, a topped shot, off the toe, or heel on any given shot.

Not saying my approach is the right one, as it is more likely the minority. Although it is different for each person, and if I am striking the ball poorly it is usually time to re-evaluate my fundamentals in how they relate to my game.

 

[SiberianDVM]

I have been strugling with my fairway woods off the deck for years. Lately it has gotten so bad that I won't even try one in a tournamen round.

Yesterday, mid round, I discovered something that helped and I hit 2 good 3 woods off the deck.

Keep my weight on the left side, sorta like a low grade stack and tilt swing.

I think it helped me get a more consistent impact, as I was not moving around as much in my backswing.

 

[WMitch6]

For some reason I've always found fairway woods easier to hit than long irons. As I got older I added more and more fairway woods to the bag. For me the key has always been an easy swing. I never try to nuke a fairway wood.
Hitting an iron I focus on the front of the ball. It helps me hit down. For a FW wood I focus on the back of the ball.

 

[eclark53520]

I definitely hit down on my fairway woods off the deck. its the only way to achieve clean contact.

I always used to have an issue with worm burners using these clubs, not so much anymore...however i rarely use my 3w off the deck. If i am that far away i almost always lay up

 

[wirehair]

Unless it's a soft fluffy lie, I generally don't get a good shot with a fairway wood. When I do, it's because I focus on a flat sweeping swing and making solid contact, letting the club do the work.

 

[Jimc11]

Take your driver and hit 10balls of the deck with it...then move to your 3 wood...alternate a good 3-4 times...this basically how I was taught to hit 3 wood off the fairway...it served a dual purpose...It taught me to hit 3wood of the deck AND I can hit a nice cut shot with my driver off the fairway now...although it is not a high percentage shot for me I probably use it once every 2 rounds...

 

[eclark53520]

Take your driver and hit 10balls of the deck with it...then move to your 3 wood...alternate a good 3-4 times...this basically how I was taught to hit 3 wood off the fairway...it served a dual purpose...It taught me to hit 3wood of the deck AND I can hit a nice cut shot with my driver off the fairway now...although it is not a high percentage shot for me I probably use it once every 2 rounds...

I honestly have NEVER been in a situation where hitting the driver off the deck was necessary...

I have practiced it. I can do it, but its about 10 yards short of my 3wood distance off the deck and about the same trajectory. My 3wood just as tons more spin so it has a climbing trajectory once it gets out there where the driver just dies and rolls forever.

If i am that far out on a par 5, or anywhere for that matter, i will either lay up, or use my 3w as its much easier to control off the deck. The driver is just out of its element on the fairway for me anyway.