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Fairway wood issue

~QQ~

~QQ~

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I hit my 3 wood like a boss....off a tee. Straight and long.

Put me on the fairway and I'm toast. Thin, fat, slice, etc. Not sure which will happen. Any ideas?
 
I would suggest moving it a bit further back in your stance. You also really need to make sure your mind is not trying to get you to subconsciously pick the ball of the turf. You have to really hit down into the back of the ball to create the backspin needed to launch off the ground.
 
DataDude said:
I would suggest moving it a bit further back in your stance. You also really need to make sure your mind is not trying to get you to subconsciously pick the ball of the turf. You have to really hit down into the back of the ball to create the backspin needed to launch off the ground.
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Which is funny, cause I would highly disagree with hitting down on a fairway wood. If I take a divot with my fairway wood, I'm usually confused by it. What you need to do though is don't help it. Speed creates height, and the spin you need all on its own. You just can't have that panic thought at the bottom of the arc, or you're gonna have a terrible result.

My best 3w's off the ground are where I'm focusing more on the target, and thinking hit it as fast as I can. No extra hands, no hanging back trying to help it, just hit it fast.
 
Make sure you are finishing your backswing and making a full turn.
 
Ball position should be ahead of center maybe two balls. Make sure you are getting a good turn. Play with the ball position a bit.
 
That's the thing, feeling like I am swinging the same way I do when it's tee'd up. But I'm either hitting it thin or fat. Going to the range today so I'll work on some of this.
 
~QQ~ said:
That's the thing, feeling like I am swinging the same way I do when it's tee'd up. But I'm either hitting it thin or fat. Going to the range today so I'll work on some of this.
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How high are you teeing the ball when hitting a 3 wood. I would suggest practicing gradually teeing it lower and lower. I position my 3w in the fairway and swing it the same as I do on a tee but I tee it very low barely above the ground to make sure I get a clean lie.

I would say make sure your ball position and set up is the same off the fairway as it is off a tee. I will say my driver set up is a bit different than my driver set up so if you are setting up to the 3w the same way you do the driver it may be tough to hit the 3w off the deck.
 
Love the trying shorter tees on range and other posts. Honestly it could be in some part your club as some so called FW are in fact mini old hi loft drivers. It your club is adjustable play around with loft setting (actually changes other things but that another topic). I game an older 3w that I can hit off ground very well but have struggled in past with some others. Also some newer 3w longer in past so simply choking up an inch is worth a try. Finally I hit a 4w most of the time unless great lie as my go to FW.
 
~QQ~ said:
I hit my 3 wood like a boss....off a tee. Straight and long.

Put me on the fairway and I'm toast. Thin, fat, slice, etc. Not sure which will happen. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

What 3w head and shaft are you hitting?
 
I agree with others about ball position.

Practice hitting that 3 wood off a tee just barely off the ground so that the ball is below the top of your 3 wood. Take note of your ball position. When you're hitting it well that way, remove the tee and move the ball back one ball width in your stance and swing away. Good Luck!
 
SunnyWalker said:
I agree with others about ball position.

Practice hitting that 3 wood off a tee just barely off the ground so that the ball is below the top of your 3 wood. Take note of your ball position. When you're hitting it well that way, remove the tee and move the ball back one ball width in your stance and swing away. Good Luck!
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I don't actually move the ball back I play it in the same place.
 
Mentally, when I move the ball back in my stance, I feel like it will create a slice because the face is a little more open as it's coming through at that point in the swing. Thoughts?
 
~QQ~ said:
I hit my 3 wood like a boss....off a tee. Straight and long.

Put me on the fairway and I'm toast. Thin, fat, slice, etc. Not sure which will happen. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Probably a release issue, i.e. you are actively releasing your hands through the swing...And to do that consistently is pretty darn tough.

Post a swing: Odds are, whatever happens on the turf is likely happening on the tee, but the room for error is so much smaller, so you're getting away with it more often than not.
 
TrueMotionMatt said:
Probably a release issue, i.e. you are actively releasing your hands through the swing...And to do that consistently is pretty darn tough.

Post a swing: Odds are, whatever happens on the turf is likely happening on the tee, but the room for error is so much smaller, so you're getting away with it more often than not.
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this right here. When I am struggling to hit my wood off the turf (or even my long irons/hybrid), it is always when I can feel a more active/earlier release. Typically due to me not turning correctly/fully.

Ball position can help, but could also just make it worse in terms of direction/distance consistency/etc.

If you have an extra spot in the bag, an easy to hit strong (17*) hybrid like the super from callaway or the ping g410 can be really beneficial. That could just be a band-aid fix though instead of working on the mechanical issue in your swing though haha (guilty of that....)
 
My 3W of the tee is the same swing as my 3W off the turf. The only difference is the ball is farther forward when tee'd up. Maybe 1-1/2 to 2 ball widths more forward than off the turf. I'm catching the ball after the low point of my swing arc, with the club head on the up swing.

I hit the ball just before the bottom of my swing arc when hitting off the turf. I don't take any divot, preferring to sweep the ball off the turf.

This is has always worked for me.
 
~QQ~ said:
I hit my 3 wood like a boss....off a tee. Straight and long.

Put me on the fairway and I'm toast. Thin, fat, slice, etc. Not sure which will happen. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Thin is trying to help the ball up, shoulder tilt maybe because you do that from seeing ball on tee? Fat, weight transfer, trying to murder the ball from the ground. Slice, open face at impact with bad release and no full extension. Sequence needs help?

Take to range and do what everyone has been saying, Ball position back some, over left pec or shirt logo. Keep spine angle level with lie.

Think smooth and balance tempo, swing through the ball not at it! Contact the ball and just bruise the ground after.

Here's what fixed my same issue's you got. I started gripping down an inch so on club, and swinging at 60% until contact was comfortable.

Amazing what happens when you let the club do the work! Ounce your comfortable you go after them some more. My thought is always the same.

Balance, and Smooth Tempo through the Ball!

Hope Everyone helped you out? Let us Know...
 
For me, it has always been a ball position issue - usually I let it creep forward, but more so when using it off a tee and I get a case of the thins, whereas off the deck I seem to hit it okay, so I need to make a conscious effort to check the position when hitting a tee shot
 
~QQ~ said:
I hit my 3 wood like a boss....off a tee. Straight and long.

Put me on the fairway and I'm toast. Thin, fat, slice, etc. Not sure which will happen. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I see this a lot. First place we look is swing dynamics and what's happening there. I see a lot of my golfers with a positive angle of attack on a fairway wood off the deck. When the ball is on the grass, we need to be hitting down on it. It doesn't need to be drastic, but having an angle of attack around 1* down would help. If it isn't in the swing dynamics, we then check weight/length to see if we need to adjust anything there. However, you're saying you hit it well off the tee, so I wouldn't want to change that. Something I do quite often is go with a 42.75" 5 wood that's strong lofted (basically a 4 wood) and use that for off the deck. Ping's 5 woods come in at 17.5 and you're able to adjust them down to 16 or 16.5.
 
I had trouble hitting my Ping G400 3 wood off the turf. (Why do 3 woods clubheads look like 5 woods these days?). I happened to change grips to the standard sonar (promo deal) and now I can hit the club. Not sure, if it is a placebo affect. But, I have more control and like the slightly larger lower hand and the sticky grip fits perfectly.
 
I’d probably just give up on the 3w and get me a 12* Baby Blade 1 iron.

Then I’d get my 3w back out, lol.

There’s definitely some 3w’s that are more designed for off the tee than others. I find I do best with a more compact head. I may give up some forgiveness but with better contact that really doesn’t matter much.
 
Don't be afraid to take a divot, hitting it just like a solid iron shot. After gaining confidence with that, inch the ball up in your stance a hair and/or add a little more spine tilt until you can sweep it effectively.
 
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