Equipment

3 tips for hitting your fairways


three-golfers-teeing-off-watching-the-fairway

Depending on how you approach the ball, getting a 3-wood out of the bag either fills you with confidence or dread. Some players find the 3-wood to be a reliable club while others just can’t hit them.

It’s quite commonplace nowadays for players on tour to have 5 and 7 woods in the bag to help them get out of scrapes easily. These clubs can be a real godsend if you need to punch your ball out of the rough, but the 3 wood has a notoriously love-hate reputation.

We want you to be smiling each time you head to the tee knowing you’ll be knocking a drive squarely down the middle, so here’s three tips to help you make amazing shots with a fairway wood.

 

Off the tee

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With fairway woods being half the size of a driver, many golfers struggle to have the confidence to smash one down the fairway — they’re just a lot harder to hit and less forgiving.

One mistake you may be making if you usually hit a driver off the tee is teeing the ball up too high for your 3-wood. While you might initially think this will make the ball easier to hit, you’re actually shifting your weight onto your foot furthest from the tee, causing you to scoop the ball upwards.

To hit a 3-wood you need to tee the ball much lower down. Imagine you’ve found the perfect lie on the fairway for reference, that would be an ideal length. Instead of hitting up on the ball as you would with a driver, you need to approach the ball with a slight descending blow to make a good connection.

When teeing up a shot with the driver, we place the ball near our foot closest to the fairway. To pull off a great drive with a 3-wood, you’ll want the ball towards your front foot but a touch more central in your stance. This will help you flush through the ball rather than scoop it.

 

Off the deck

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Being able to hit a 3-wood off the deck is a skill that you might not need for every single round of golf. But when you’re approaching a par-5 or a long par-4 and you feel like going for the green, it helps to have the right technique in mind.

When you approach the ball on the fairway, position yourself so that the ball is central in your stance. As you swing, keep turning your body through the ball and let the club’s loft get the ball airborne rather than your hands. It can be tempting to shy away from what may feel like an unnatural strike.

As your club makes contact with the ball, be sure to swing through the ball and not take any divots, you’re not hitting down on the ball like with an iron. If you make good contact you’ll be able to sail the ball down the fairway to find your target.

 

Finding the right club for you

Technology can give you an edge on the golf course, and Titleist golf clubs are full of hardworking tech.

The fairway woods in Titleist’s latest range, the TSR, have been specifically designed to give you excellent turf interaction. Titleist make their clubs using an aerospace-grade aluminium, so you know you’ll have the durability to power through undesirable lies.

The TSR1 fairway wood has an ultra-lightweight construction and will feel great to you if you play with a moderate swing speed. The club has a deep center of gravity to give you a high ball launch, both off the tee and off the deck. This wood also has an impressive MOI, which basically means the clubhead is very resistant to twisting when making impact with the ball, so you’ll be making some very accurate shots.

If you want to improve your ball striking, the TSR2 wood will be your friend. This club has been engineered to produce a desirable sound and feel when you strike the ball to increase your confidence and performance. The player-tuned club will give you impressive launch and ball flight to your strikes too. You’ll love watching your shot go after you’ve hit this club!

You may be wanting to build up a little more consistency in your game to get your handicap down, if this sounds like you, the TSR2+ is the right tool for the job. This fairway wood is similar to the TSR2 but has a larger profile and offers a little more forgiveness. It has the deepest center of gravity out of all the clubs in the TSR range, so you’ll be getting maximum height on your shots even if you don’t make the best connection.

If you like to switch up your approach shots, the TSR3 offers tons of workability. The club has an adjustable track system that lets you fine tune your setup so you can produce exactly the kind of shot you need. If you’re an adept golfer that wants a club that will offer absolute precision, this club will see your shots fly high, far, and straight.

However you approach the ball and whatever your ability, we’ll have a fairway wood in the shop to suit your specific needs. We’re open and available to help you out, just get in touch.

Contact us today