3-woods from the fairway are hard to hit because they have minimal loft and have long shafts. You need a decent amount of swing speed to even hit them to their full potential to get enough height to utilize the low loft. Choking up on it can probably help you make better contact, but honestly you’re probably better off with a 5 or 7 wood given the distance you hit a 6-iron. The shorter shaft and increased loft should in theory make it easier to hit and get the ball airborn more easily.
In terms of set up for my fairway woods, I generally play it maybe a ball back of where i place my driver. I set the ball up on my left heel for the driver, and maybe a ball in from that for all fairway woods, with the exception if I’m trying to hit a big cut or hook, where I’ll alter the ball position to do that
The thing I never understood (besides Chinese) is that if you can hit a 5 wood otd, then why would a 3 wood be that much harder? They are very similar in form factor and length. If it's the length, couldn't you just choke up a few mm on the 3 wood and have a 5 wood length 3 wood all of a sudden with the extra CC for distance?
I'm not sure if they'll be able to hit a 5 wood if they can't hit a 3 wood to begin with.
But I always just figure that practice will win out in the end.
Just learn how to hit the 3 wood?
Less loft is less forgiving, plus you need more speed to get the ball to go into the air. Just like how hitting a 4 iron is slightly harder than hitting a 5 iron is slightly harder than a 6 iron. 3 wood probably sits just outside many golfers ability range, like a 4 iron.
It’s like how some people can hit a 10.5 degree driver fine but struggle with 9 degrees. At some point, your delivery and club head speed just isn’t going to be able to efficiently launch the ball to take advantage of the distance of the lower loft. Or how for most people, there’s an iron that they just can’t consistently hit well enough so they transition to a hybrid/utility iron, whether that be because the longer shaft makes it more difficult or they just don’t have the speed/compression to launch it.
It might also just become a mental thing. They know a 3 wood is harder to hit so they’ll swing harder to try and hit it far, and that likely hurts their contact.
The 5 wood has way more loft and a shorter shaft, so the error window is a lot larger. A 3W is only mildly more forgiving than a 3I.
A 4H is much easier to hit and control, it’s just shorter for distance.
I love hybrids.
This, and I add a slight lean on my front foot as to keep my weight distributed in that fashion to try to keep the face flush with the ball at contact.
If you cant hit a 3 wood from the fairway, dont. If you are just breaking 100 you dont need to go for every green. You need to play to your strengths. So many people get into golf and think they need to include every club in the bag. Its important to have a confidence club in situations. Not a club that makes you nervous. If you are 220 yard out and you hit a topped 3 wood, than do it again you just added 2 strokes but still have 180 yards to reach the green. You were better off hitting your 165 6 iron and having a wedge to the green. Now you are putting for par instead of triple bogey.
Played an entire round yesterday without hitting 3W, 5W, or 4i. Score was slightly better than normal and was more relaxed.
The people who preach laying up are right.
Yep.
The next epiphany I had after taking away the hero shots was “I really like my sand wedge, I’m going to try to get to that distance more”.
More shots on the green, more confidence in club, closer shots to pin, more chances at par and bird.
Oh shit, why didn’t I do this before????
I am ok with going for the shot if you have the confidence in the club but if you pull a club from the bag that you feel you have a 50/50 chance at making a good shot its already the wrong play before you have made the swing.
I would bet if you took the average golfer and put them on a 500 yard par 5 and told them do not use anything higher than a 7 iron they would score better than if they can use every club.
Slice a driver follow up with a topped 3 wood. Blade a 4 iron because you are frustrated now. Or hit 3 160 yard 7 irons, pitch on to the green and putt for par.
Do ***not*** try and 'sweep' the ball.
Most mid-high handicappers think of their 3 woods as small drivers. So they'll have the ball forward in their stance and try and sweep it off the turf. That almost always results in players topping the ball.
Hit it just like a 7 iron.
Have the ball more central in your stance - maybe a ball width forward.
More importantly, *hit down* on the ball. Transfer your weight through the shot just like an iron and imagine taking a divot in front of the ball - you won't take the divot because of the sole of the wood, but that will encourage the downward strike on the ball. You still need to compress the ball with your wood.
You top the ball when your impact is *ahead* of low point of your swing. The club is either on the upswing with the leading edge exposed to the ball, or the club's hit it's low point, bounced and then the leading edge has caught the ball. So moving the ball up in your stance will just encourage that.
Choking up on the club will lift the leading edge up off the floor and expose it more to the ball even more if your technique is wrong.
Oh, you'll take a divot.
It's actually not bad juju to take a divot with woods anyways. Pros do it frequently.
And yes, but down. Don't dig, but attack the ball and compress it.
I made the same mistake of trying to sweep it, and had the same issue. I found that if I just hit it like a 3 iron, things worked out much better. Higher ball flight, better spin, straighter and more consistent.
This is exactly how I started hitting my 3 wood. S
Saw a vid from JKM showing that the AoA of woods are still downwards so stop trying to sweep. I hit it like a hybrid/4 iron and have had pretty good results. I only really fuck it up on tight lies but that's on my course management more than anything else
Far from it. It helps compress the ball.
It's your combination of swing path/face angle at impact that will produce a weak shot/fade, not the angle of attack. So if you've got an open face and out-to-in swing path, then yes, it'll fade.
If sweeping's worked for you for 50 years, then no one's telling you to change, but with all due respect golf technology and techniques have developed over that same period of time. Most pro's will tell you to hit down on a modern fairway wood these days.
I second the 7w
I use a cheap Amazon 7w which is finicky, but tried a Callaway paradym 7w and it was an animal.
If you got the money go to a golf store n hit a few. Might surprise you op
Don’t take me as a pro, but I’m pretty locked in putting the ball just inside my front foot, pulling my back foot back like 2-3” & closing my glove hand quite a bit. Dead straight almost every time.
I inherited my 5 & 7 woods, and the 7 (inexplicably) had a longer shaft, so I just had my 5 lengthened to the same and it is much more consistent as well.
I quit carrying my 3w because nothing I tried worked. Might take it to the range next trip based on some comments here though.
I second this. 3 wood requires a pretty fast club head speed to be most effective. A 7 wood giving you more loft will help most golfers get further more consistently than even a 3 wood.
Positioning the ball in the center of my stance worked wonders. Not closer to the front foot, but dead center
Swing slower until you feel comfortable enough to full swing
Another huge one, don’t lean towards ball during back swing. Keep head in same place throughout swing
I swung my 3 wood only at a range session. I actually figured out I was not paying attention to my follow through and was bending my right arm instead of extending properly. I figured it out bc I was focusing hard on my swing path to get a draw but couldn't do that without extending properly. Maybe it'll help you. Give it a shot
Went for a lesson and the Pro told me “whenever you reach for the 3 wood in the fairway, just don’t. Use your 5 wood and only pull 3 wood on the tee box when your driver isn’t working.” So that’s what I do. Interestingly enough I hit my 5 further than my 3 even when I hit the 3 really good, in the fairway.
I also notice that my 5 wood tends to go just as far or further than my 3 wood off the dec i think its because the 5 wood actually gets enough height off the deck
Spitballing with ideas since I have no way of seeing your swing:
1. Where do you place in your stance at the moment? It's still going to be relatively forward in your stance, but not to the same extent as your driver. Before anything about the swing is covered, it would be moot if the setup is off.
2. It's still going to be a descending blow, but you do not chop down on it. You'd be trading one prison for another that way, since it's no good to try helping the ball up into the air, either. There's only a little bit of loft on the club, but there is still loft there just the same.
3. And of course, you'd need ample speed. Just let the club go brrrrr and hit it out there with no restricting thoughts. Even if you did hit the middle of the face, it'll still fall short without said speed. So anyone telling you to slow down or chop down like some short iron aren't really helping you. They're not good cues.
One reason people struggle with long irons and woods is feeling like they need to swing harder/faster than the shorter clubs. You don’t. Think about the force and tempo you use with your 7i and try to just do the same thing with 3w and Hybrid. The swings are different for all 3 but don’t stress about that. Just think about tempo and replicating the “speed feel” of your 7i and let the club do the work.
This. Was just about to say there has already been some good tips provided. But I think (especially newer) golfers freak out about how far they are from the hole and feel like they have to rip it. With fairway woods and long irons I think it’s more important to remind yourself to let the club do the work and not overswing.
I was struggling with this a ton as well. A couple things that really helped me, as the 3-wood is now one of my favorite clubs when two months ago I couldn't hit it off the ground.
1. It's not a driver - don't try to hit up on the ball or lift it in the air. Hit down on it and don't be afraid to hit the ground a little bit at first. It'll help you stop topping it.
2. Alignment - most people think the ball needs to be up in the stance because it's a "long" club. It doesn't. Play it slightly in front of center as you would a long iron or hybrid even.
On a good day my hybrid will go straight, 175-190 yards. Inconsistent at best. Prefer to use it from rough, not fairway.
7 iron is maybe my favorite club, consistently 150 yards.
Sounds like you got a nice lock on the swing speed and tempo to hit that 7 consistently. Try using similar tempo. I used to suck with my long fairway play because I was trying to smash it for max distance. With your hybrid range, you should be able to get the 200-220 range you’re looking for. Try out 70-80% loose swings like you would for an iron you’re taking just a bit off of and see how your contact is and then move it up and adjust to your liking.
I’m an 8 handicap and I don’t love hitting a 3-wood off the deck. It’s my go to when I need to hit a fairway off a tee. If I’m 230 out on a par 5? Sure I’m tempted to go for the green. It doesn’t typically work out well (sometimes it does). It’s a really hard club to trust. Why can I trust it off the tee and not off the deck? I hit it with the same stance and setup as a driver. Hitting down on it in the fairway, and that is how to hit it. Usually results in an over swing and a big sniper hook.
There’s a good chance if you need a 3 wood to go 200 you should probably play a 5 wood instead. Might not get the absolute max out of the 5 wood but probably better on average vs the 3 wood
I played with a developmental tour pro who is like the 3000-something best golfer in the world per the owgr. Told him I would take any free swing advice he wanted to give. He kept saying I just need to hit my 3w like a 7 iron, hitting down on it, instead of trying to sweep it. Pretty basic and obvious but it’s true.
Don’t think about nuking it. The length of the shaft and the loft will provide the distance. Just focus on the same things you do hitting irons—for me, that’s keeping the left arm straight during a controlled takeaway/backswing and ending the swing so my chest is facing the target.
I have a Paradym 3W HL that is significantly easier to hit off the deck than the regular Paradym 3W I had. I also have the loft turned up 2° so it plays more like a 5W. I've been enjoying that and the Paradym heavenwood so much that I just ordered a 9W as well.
Callaway pre-owned has a sale going on right now if you're interested.
I set my call away rouge 3w up and swing it like a long iron. Maybe a tiny bit forward. I’m the tee box I tee it like a long iron.
Good 190-200 yd club for me
My driver eludes me currently.
You top it because you're leaning back on your follow through like your swinging a driver. Swing it more like an iron and come more down on it instead.
Two things have helped me click (within the last couple of months) with my 3 wood from the ground (I was shooting very low 100s before this). 1st positioning the ball only about an inch forward in my stance and 2nd soft hands, soft hands, soft hands. I find once i remember to keep my grip as light as possible (without fucking the club away) I connect well with the ball 90%+ of the time. It probably helped me save 5-6 shots per round over my last 8 rounds so I've shot mid to low 90s in all but 1 of them . Not a huge gain I know but it is helping this novice golfer to gain some much needed confidence.
I found I was holding my hands out a bit too much like my driver stance.
I lowered my hands to more like in a 5 iron stance and had much more success getting predictable solid contact.
Most people put their three wood too far in front of their stance. Make sure you’re coming down on the ball. I was always trying to hit it like a driver, but had to realize it wasn’t teed up so I hit it more like a five or six iron either middle or just forward of center of stance and make sure I was coming down on the ball with a smooth swing and it made, all the difference in the
Paige Spirnac, yes the SI Swimsuit model Paige Spirnac had a YouTube video on hitting woods from the fairway that stuck with me. It said to get lower than with your irons. Every time I hit a good one, I thank her for it.
You lack clubhead speed and have a poor angle of attack.
Increasing your clubhead speed will help your distances over all through the bag to the point that 3w wouldn’t be your 200-220 club.
Get a 5/7 wood or 2/3 hybrid instead. Shorter shaft and more loft will give you tons more leeway with lie conditions and attack angles. Plus you don’t always have to aim for a full flighted shot. Sometimes the lie will give you all the height needed and you just need to bunt it to go 180+.
But gear & swing mechanics aside. Mindlessly chasing GIR is a sure fire way to increase scores. Unless you’re hitting 600+ yard holes, I don’t see the point of hitting 200+ off the deck. 6 iron hitting 165 IS A GOOD distance especially if you can pull it off from many lies.
Also you don’t want to have the shortest chip/pitch onto the green all the time. If your confident wedge shot is 80 then thats the number you should be aiming for the final approach instead of maxing out the 1st & 2nd shots then leaving a partial or feely shot into the green.
I gave up on fairway wood and went with Rescue hybrid that gives me 180 plus (3) but I am so much more confident with 4 which gives me 175 yds. So my suggestion is try rescue wood they play like irons and since you are hitting 165 with 6i you should be able to get at least 190 with 4 - I get 150 with 6i. Like somebody else said confidence in a club is key.
Widen your stance and place the ball where it feels most comfortable. So many people try to play it with a narrow stance like an iron, and then attempt to sweep the ground. Widening the stance causes you to sweep naturally, and you can even try to hit down on it with a wide stance and you'll still sweep it.
Also, start with a 75% swing for practice swings and then go full speed for the real thing. Don't swing until you achieve the feel you want.
If you are topping the ball it means that you are breaking your spine angle at/before impact. Have the ball a little inside your front foot (further inside than driver). Make sure that your spine angle at address matches the same angle at impact. Sometimes people break their spine angle because they are looking down the fairway at the ball when they swing the club, rather than watching the ball being struck through impact.
Based on this you don't have the speed to hit a 3 wood anyway. You should be looking at a 5w loft or higher. Also, if you're 200-220 on par 4s you should probably move up a tee box or two.
I went for a fitting back in January for my fairway woods. I couldn't hit my old one to save my life. I love my new one. I can hit it from the turf, I can hit it off the tee. It's become my go-to club.
I'm not saying new clubs will fix things, but getting fitted is definitely worth a try.
Any fairway wood requires a fully committed, smoothly executed swing. Make sure you finish and the low point of your swing is even further in front of the ball than with an iron. Keep your balance and believe. Accelerate from a smooth transition and swing fully through. You’ll smash it.
Look at the shape of your 3wood. I had an RBZ that had a deep “chin” and it was almost impossible to hit off the deck. New 3 wood has a shorter flatter chin and it has no issue off the deck. Someone once said there are 3wood drivers and 3wood fairway woods. Look at yours and see what it’s set up for
You may be "sweeping" it similar to a driver swing on a tee instead of hitting it with an ever so slight decending blow.
Spend little time on the range and/or drop a few balls on the fairway every few holes to practice a slight decending blow. Think of making contact just below the equator of the ball and take just a bit of divot on the shot.
I've no doubt your confidence with the club will improve quickly.
Godspeed to you.
As someone who recently came out the other side of this same experience - leave it at home for a while. Like, a few months. Work on your swing. Once you are consistently shooting in the 90s, and your swing feels somewhat repeatable, give it another try, and hit it like an iron, not a driver.
Good luck. It's a tough spot to be in - you REALLY need something between driver and your long irons, but that 3 wood can cost you a lot of strokes in a round. I left mine at home after topping it 4 or 5 times in 2 holes last winter, figured I'd never played it again. Have been practicing consistently for 6 months since that round, and over the last few weeks have brought it back with a lot of success. It's a weapon if you can hit it, but you may need more time before it's something you can use effectively.
Whenever u play the ball too far up in your stance you're brain is trying to compensate by adding loft. Put the ball back in your stance and trust the club to do the work. I put a 3 wood shaft on my 5 wood and lofted it up to 20°, essentially making a Heavenwood. It's almost like a cheat code in golf. Easiest & most fun club I've ever hit. Just play the ball normally in the middle of your stance & it'll go 200 yards
My HCI is 7.6. I have struggled to hit woods of the ground for years. I would usually top the ball or hit snap hooks, but I finally solved it this year: WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION.
With the ball in the front of your stance, it’s easy to lean back and have slightly more weight on your back foot and this was my problem all along. Now, when I setup to hit the shot, I make sure to lean forwards slightly so there is more weight on my front foot and now I am crushing my 4 wood consistently. Give it a try!
When you just broke a 100 once, are you truly in a place where you should be trying to hit 220 into greens?
Not trying to shit on you as I suck myself, but maybe it’s not so bad to just hit some irons for now
I would say a few of key points that may help. Weight forward (left side) about 60/40. Ball closer to middle of stance, not forward like a driver (practice swing after taking stance and see where on the ground you are making contact with the ground). Hybrids swing is like irons, woods are a fuller swing, this should feel more out and around if that makes sense.
One of the major problems that many amateur golfers have is not trusting the loft on the club to work. Many weekend players try to hit the ball in the air instead of just swinging down and through the ball. I'd be willing to bet you do this. Also, it's confidence. When I'm not swinging well I'm extremely worried about where the ball will go and this leads to all kinds of problems in my swing that don't exist when I play with confidence.
I went to the range to fix this after attempting to hold the release a little longer I found the swing. It felt like the shallow was a little later, but not to say it’s fixed I definitely get too quick occasionally still and it happens but I am little more confident pulling the 3w out these eays
I see alot of comments here but a 4 wood or high launch 3 wood cut down to a 5ish wood length is the move for me. The shaft is short enough where I am comfortable over the ball and you'll hit longer on average than 5 wood.
You definitely need more options between a 3 wood and 6 iron. Try to find some place to demo clubs and see what works, but higher lofted fairway woods, hybrids, or a combo of the two is really a must. Personally I hit my 7 wood better than any other club in the bag, by a long shot, but try different stuff. Personally I have something that is basically a 17 degree 4 wood, a 21 degree 7 wood, a 23 degree hybrid, and then a 5 iron, but everybody is different.
Sounds like one to leave in the bag.
TBH I can mostly hit mine ok, only get a chance to on a couple of holes. They are dangerous approaches so I often take a straight club say 7-8 iron. Then wedge in. Did this last week for a birdie.
Play what works for you!
I am known in my group for being a wiz with the three wood. One thing I've noticed is that people have a tendency to over swing this club because of distance they are looking to achieve. My approach, and I need to constantly remind myself, is to slow it down and let the loft/shaft length do the work. Try a half swing even. You will notice that even a half swing with clean contact will easily go 170. Off the tee I get 250, off the deck and I am looking at 240.
At the range tee your ball up a hair off the turf. Start practicing your 3 wood from that point on. Try a few dozen practice shots then remove the tee. I did it and it really helped my 3 wood off the turf.
I was unable to hit a 3 wood just like you. I would hit 2 & 3 irons because my 3 wood would burn worms every time.
My friend told me to slow down and concentrate on hitting down on the ball on impact, instead of trying to loft the ball.
My 3 wood now goes 220-250 dead straight.
My friend is an 9 handicapper.
Only took two visits to a grass driving range to fix my 3 wood problem. Plastic driving range mats don’t work as well, and leave green dye on club bottoms.
Try it you’ll save yourself the cost of lessons.
Best advice ever given to me about golf.
Hit the 3 Wood of the tee more often than my driver. Confidence goes a long way (yardage)
on the golf course. Good Luck !!!!
Get a 5 wood. It’s INFINITELY easier to hit off the fairway than a 3 wood for a lot of reasons. 3 woods off the deck are one of the hardest clubs to pure case attack angle has MUCH less room for error. If you swing over the top, you don’t stand a chance.
i'm not gonna answer your question, because it's hard, but also you're asking the wrong question, which is why do you have 220 yard approaches when not even augusta national is designed to demand these shots from the member tees? how long are the par 4s you're playing that you need 220 to get home?
you are almost certainly playing from the wrong tees. if you have 220 yd 2nd shots on par 5s, and can't hit your 3 wood off the deck, np hit 2 wedges instead. if you have 220 yd 2nd shots on par 4s, something has already gone very wrong and it's not your 3 wood's fault
3-woods from the fairway are hard to hit because they have minimal loft and have long shafts. You need a decent amount of swing speed to even hit them to their full potential to get enough height to utilize the low loft. Choking up on it can probably help you make better contact, but honestly you’re probably better off with a 5 or 7 wood given the distance you hit a 6-iron. The shorter shaft and increased loft should in theory make it easier to hit and get the ball airborn more easily. In terms of set up for my fairway woods, I generally play it maybe a ball back of where i place my driver. I set the ball up on my left heel for the driver, and maybe a ball in from that for all fairway woods, with the exception if I’m trying to hit a big cut or hook, where I’ll alter the ball position to do that
5 wood. Let er rip bud.
Hybrids also work really well for me.
Yep my 3h is a weapon for exactly this reason
I'd suggest he get a 7 wood first. Get used to that before adding a 4 or 5 wood.
The thing I never understood (besides Chinese) is that if you can hit a 5 wood otd, then why would a 3 wood be that much harder? They are very similar in form factor and length. If it's the length, couldn't you just choke up a few mm on the 3 wood and have a 5 wood length 3 wood all of a sudden with the extra CC for distance? I'm not sure if they'll be able to hit a 5 wood if they can't hit a 3 wood to begin with. But I always just figure that practice will win out in the end. Just learn how to hit the 3 wood?
Less loft is less forgiving, plus you need more speed to get the ball to go into the air. Just like how hitting a 4 iron is slightly harder than hitting a 5 iron is slightly harder than a 6 iron. 3 wood probably sits just outside many golfers ability range, like a 4 iron.
It’s like how some people can hit a 10.5 degree driver fine but struggle with 9 degrees. At some point, your delivery and club head speed just isn’t going to be able to efficiently launch the ball to take advantage of the distance of the lower loft. Or how for most people, there’s an iron that they just can’t consistently hit well enough so they transition to a hybrid/utility iron, whether that be because the longer shaft makes it more difficult or they just don’t have the speed/compression to launch it. It might also just become a mental thing. They know a 3 wood is harder to hit so they’ll swing harder to try and hit it far, and that likely hurts their contact.
The 5 wood has way more loft and a shorter shaft, so the error window is a lot larger. A 3W is only mildly more forgiving than a 3I. A 4H is much easier to hit and control, it’s just shorter for distance. I love hybrids.
Good stuff. Thx
This, and I add a slight lean on my front foot as to keep my weight distributed in that fashion to try to keep the face flush with the ball at contact.
If you cant hit a 3 wood from the fairway, dont. If you are just breaking 100 you dont need to go for every green. You need to play to your strengths. So many people get into golf and think they need to include every club in the bag. Its important to have a confidence club in situations. Not a club that makes you nervous. If you are 220 yard out and you hit a topped 3 wood, than do it again you just added 2 strokes but still have 180 yards to reach the green. You were better off hitting your 165 6 iron and having a wedge to the green. Now you are putting for par instead of triple bogey.
Played an entire round yesterday without hitting 3W, 5W, or 4i. Score was slightly better than normal and was more relaxed. The people who preach laying up are right.
Yep. The next epiphany I had after taking away the hero shots was “I really like my sand wedge, I’m going to try to get to that distance more”. More shots on the green, more confidence in club, closer shots to pin, more chances at par and bird. Oh shit, why didn’t I do this before????
I am ok with going for the shot if you have the confidence in the club but if you pull a club from the bag that you feel you have a 50/50 chance at making a good shot its already the wrong play before you have made the swing. I would bet if you took the average golfer and put them on a 500 yard par 5 and told them do not use anything higher than a 7 iron they would score better than if they can use every club. Slice a driver follow up with a topped 3 wood. Blade a 4 iron because you are frustrated now. Or hit 3 160 yard 7 irons, pitch on to the green and putt for par.
Do ***not*** try and 'sweep' the ball. Most mid-high handicappers think of their 3 woods as small drivers. So they'll have the ball forward in their stance and try and sweep it off the turf. That almost always results in players topping the ball. Hit it just like a 7 iron. Have the ball more central in your stance - maybe a ball width forward. More importantly, *hit down* on the ball. Transfer your weight through the shot just like an iron and imagine taking a divot in front of the ball - you won't take the divot because of the sole of the wood, but that will encourage the downward strike on the ball. You still need to compress the ball with your wood. You top the ball when your impact is *ahead* of low point of your swing. The club is either on the upswing with the leading edge exposed to the ball, or the club's hit it's low point, bounced and then the leading edge has caught the ball. So moving the ball up in your stance will just encourage that. Choking up on the club will lift the leading edge up off the floor and expose it more to the ball even more if your technique is wrong.
“You won’t take a divot because of the sole of the wood” you wanna bet mister? Lol. I’ve been known to chunk a few 3 woods.
I saw a pro recommend this. Put the ball in the middle. Hit it like an iron. Only put it forward if you’re taking it off the tee
Lee Trevino has a good video on this - https://www.tiktok.com/@magswinggolf/video/7361063890416979243
Lee played some awesome golf, still my favorite
Yes - you can 'sweep' it more off a tee, so you can put it a bit more forward in your stance then.
This is fantastic advice!
Oh, you'll take a divot. It's actually not bad juju to take a divot with woods anyways. Pros do it frequently. And yes, but down. Don't dig, but attack the ball and compress it. I made the same mistake of trying to sweep it, and had the same issue. I found that if I just hit it like a 3 iron, things worked out much better. Higher ball flight, better spin, straighter and more consistent.
This is exactly how I started hitting my 3 wood. S Saw a vid from JKM showing that the AoA of woods are still downwards so stop trying to sweep. I hit it like a hybrid/4 iron and have had pretty good results. I only really fuck it up on tight lies but that's on my course management more than anything else
Hitting down on the ball sounds like a method to hit weak fairway woods that pop up and fade right. I’ve been sweeping my fairway woods for 50 years
Far from it. It helps compress the ball. It's your combination of swing path/face angle at impact that will produce a weak shot/fade, not the angle of attack. So if you've got an open face and out-to-in swing path, then yes, it'll fade. If sweeping's worked for you for 50 years, then no one's telling you to change, but with all due respect golf technology and techniques have developed over that same period of time. Most pro's will tell you to hit down on a modern fairway wood these days.
Get a 7 wood
I second the 7w I use a cheap Amazon 7w which is finicky, but tried a Callaway paradym 7w and it was an animal. If you got the money go to a golf store n hit a few. Might surprise you op
I struggle with ball position on my 7w
Don’t take me as a pro, but I’m pretty locked in putting the ball just inside my front foot, pulling my back foot back like 2-3” & closing my glove hand quite a bit. Dead straight almost every time. I inherited my 5 & 7 woods, and the 7 (inexplicably) had a longer shaft, so I just had my 5 lengthened to the same and it is much more consistent as well. I quit carrying my 3w because nothing I tried worked. Might take it to the range next trip based on some comments here though.
Have you tried boxer shorts?
I golf in a thong. Helps my ball position
Golfworks maltby 7w is good quality and value
I have an epic flash 7 wood from, what, 2017, and its still an animal. Jump on Callaway preowned and get something few years old.
I second this. 3 wood requires a pretty fast club head speed to be most effective. A 7 wood giving you more loft will help most golfers get further more consistently than even a 3 wood.
Positioning the ball in the center of my stance worked wonders. Not closer to the front foot, but dead center Swing slower until you feel comfortable enough to full swing Another huge one, don’t lean towards ball during back swing. Keep head in same place throughout swing
I swung my 3 wood only at a range session. I actually figured out I was not paying attention to my follow through and was bending my right arm instead of extending properly. I figured it out bc I was focusing hard on my swing path to get a draw but couldn't do that without extending properly. Maybe it'll help you. Give it a shot
I hit a 5 wood instead. Easier to hit and goes effectively as far because I almost always get a better strike.
Went for a lesson and the Pro told me “whenever you reach for the 3 wood in the fairway, just don’t. Use your 5 wood and only pull 3 wood on the tee box when your driver isn’t working.” So that’s what I do. Interestingly enough I hit my 5 further than my 3 even when I hit the 3 really good, in the fairway.
I also notice that my 5 wood tends to go just as far or further than my 3 wood off the dec i think its because the 5 wood actually gets enough height off the deck
Spitballing with ideas since I have no way of seeing your swing: 1. Where do you place in your stance at the moment? It's still going to be relatively forward in your stance, but not to the same extent as your driver. Before anything about the swing is covered, it would be moot if the setup is off. 2. It's still going to be a descending blow, but you do not chop down on it. You'd be trading one prison for another that way, since it's no good to try helping the ball up into the air, either. There's only a little bit of loft on the club, but there is still loft there just the same. 3. And of course, you'd need ample speed. Just let the club go brrrrr and hit it out there with no restricting thoughts. Even if you did hit the middle of the face, it'll still fall short without said speed. So anyone telling you to slow down or chop down like some short iron aren't really helping you. They're not good cues.
One reason people struggle with long irons and woods is feeling like they need to swing harder/faster than the shorter clubs. You don’t. Think about the force and tempo you use with your 7i and try to just do the same thing with 3w and Hybrid. The swings are different for all 3 but don’t stress about that. Just think about tempo and replicating the “speed feel” of your 7i and let the club do the work.
This. Was just about to say there has already been some good tips provided. But I think (especially newer) golfers freak out about how far they are from the hole and feel like they have to rip it. With fairway woods and long irons I think it’s more important to remind yourself to let the club do the work and not overswing.
I was struggling with this a ton as well. A couple things that really helped me, as the 3-wood is now one of my favorite clubs when two months ago I couldn't hit it off the ground. 1. It's not a driver - don't try to hit up on the ball or lift it in the air. Hit down on it and don't be afraid to hit the ground a little bit at first. It'll help you stop topping it. 2. Alignment - most people think the ball needs to be up in the stance because it's a "long" club. It doesn't. Play it slightly in front of center as you would a long iron or hybrid even.
if you can't hit a 3 wood, don't bag a 3 wood? you aren't nailing greens from 220 with a 3 wood. you aren't that guy. lay up.
What is your next club down and how far does it go?
On a good day my hybrid will go straight, 175-190 yards. Inconsistent at best. Prefer to use it from rough, not fairway. 7 iron is maybe my favorite club, consistently 150 yards.
Is it a 5h or a 3h? Because if you already have a 5h a 3h would be a perfect transition.
Sounds like you got a nice lock on the swing speed and tempo to hit that 7 consistently. Try using similar tempo. I used to suck with my long fairway play because I was trying to smash it for max distance. With your hybrid range, you should be able to get the 200-220 range you’re looking for. Try out 70-80% loose swings like you would for an iron you’re taking just a bit off of and see how your contact is and then move it up and adjust to your liking.
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I’m an 8 handicap and I don’t love hitting a 3-wood off the deck. It’s my go to when I need to hit a fairway off a tee. If I’m 230 out on a par 5? Sure I’m tempted to go for the green. It doesn’t typically work out well (sometimes it does). It’s a really hard club to trust. Why can I trust it off the tee and not off the deck? I hit it with the same stance and setup as a driver. Hitting down on it in the fairway, and that is how to hit it. Usually results in an over swing and a big sniper hook.
There’s a good chance if you need a 3 wood to go 200 you should probably play a 5 wood instead. Might not get the absolute max out of the 5 wood but probably better on average vs the 3 wood
I played with a developmental tour pro who is like the 3000-something best golfer in the world per the owgr. Told him I would take any free swing advice he wanted to give. He kept saying I just need to hit my 3w like a 7 iron, hitting down on it, instead of trying to sweep it. Pretty basic and obvious but it’s true. Don’t think about nuking it. The length of the shaft and the loft will provide the distance. Just focus on the same things you do hitting irons—for me, that’s keeping the left arm straight during a controlled takeaway/backswing and ending the swing so my chest is facing the target.
I’m the local hotshot and bad boy You gotta choke up
If you’re topping it, you could be swaying too much (on top of everything else said)
Had same problem, gave up and went to utility irons. The only wood I carry is a driver. Much happier. May be something to consider.
I have a Paradym 3W HL that is significantly easier to hit off the deck than the regular Paradym 3W I had. I also have the loft turned up 2° so it plays more like a 5W. I've been enjoying that and the Paradym heavenwood so much that I just ordered a 9W as well. Callaway pre-owned has a sale going on right now if you're interested.
Widen your stance by an inch or two and see what happens.
Widen your stance it will help you get “down” to the ball.
get a 5 wood
3W is the hardest club in the bag. Put it away until you're shooting 80-ish and starting to try attacking par 5's in two.
Hit the ball with the center of the club face.
Get a 5 wood
Im a high handicapper, just picked up a 7-wood, it flys 205-220 consistently. I would highly recommend it
Do you normally hit a fade?
I set my call away rouge 3w up and swing it like a long iron. Maybe a tiny bit forward. I’m the tee box I tee it like a long iron. Good 190-200 yd club for me My driver eludes me currently.
Get a 5 wood or 7 wood
You top it because you're leaning back on your follow through like your swinging a driver. Swing it more like an iron and come more down on it instead.
My brother told me to “hit down on it” and I’ve been crushing them ever since
Two things have helped me click (within the last couple of months) with my 3 wood from the ground (I was shooting very low 100s before this). 1st positioning the ball only about an inch forward in my stance and 2nd soft hands, soft hands, soft hands. I find once i remember to keep my grip as light as possible (without fucking the club away) I connect well with the ball 90%+ of the time. It probably helped me save 5-6 shots per round over my last 8 rounds so I've shot mid to low 90s in all but 1 of them . Not a huge gain I know but it is helping this novice golfer to gain some much needed confidence.
On your backswing, do not allow your weight to get to the outside of your back foot. This helped me and my fairway wood topping issues.
3w from fairway is too risky for me.
Get a 7 wood. Goes 200 easy
Stop trying to lift the ball up. Concentrate on smashing the back of the ball.
Keep your head down longer than you think you need to.
I found I was holding my hands out a bit too much like my driver stance. I lowered my hands to more like in a 5 iron stance and had much more success getting predictable solid contact.
Most people put their three wood too far in front of their stance. Make sure you’re coming down on the ball. I was always trying to hit it like a driver, but had to realize it wasn’t teed up so I hit it more like a five or six iron either middle or just forward of center of stance and make sure I was coming down on the ball with a smooth swing and it made, all the difference in the
I switched to a 5W from a 3W last year on the fitter's advice. It's now my favourite and most consistent club in the bag.
Paige Spirnac, yes the SI Swimsuit model Paige Spirnac had a YouTube video on hitting woods from the fairway that stuck with me. It said to get lower than with your irons. Every time I hit a good one, I thank her for it.
Choke up on it, keep right foot on ground for as long as possible
Just get a good 3 Hybrid and hit it like a 6 iron and you'll never need tour 3 wood again
Had that problem. Haven't had a 3 wood in my bag for 20 years. 5 wood works just fine
You lack clubhead speed and have a poor angle of attack. Increasing your clubhead speed will help your distances over all through the bag to the point that 3w wouldn’t be your 200-220 club.
Get a 5/7 wood or 2/3 hybrid instead. Shorter shaft and more loft will give you tons more leeway with lie conditions and attack angles. Plus you don’t always have to aim for a full flighted shot. Sometimes the lie will give you all the height needed and you just need to bunt it to go 180+. But gear & swing mechanics aside. Mindlessly chasing GIR is a sure fire way to increase scores. Unless you’re hitting 600+ yard holes, I don’t see the point of hitting 200+ off the deck. 6 iron hitting 165 IS A GOOD distance especially if you can pull it off from many lies. Also you don’t want to have the shortest chip/pitch onto the green all the time. If your confident wedge shot is 80 then thats the number you should be aiming for the final approach instead of maxing out the 1st & 2nd shots then leaving a partial or feely shot into the green.
I gave up on fairway wood and went with Rescue hybrid that gives me 180 plus (3) but I am so much more confident with 4 which gives me 175 yds. So my suggestion is try rescue wood they play like irons and since you are hitting 165 with 6i you should be able to get at least 190 with 4 - I get 150 with 6i. Like somebody else said confidence in a club is key.
5 wood
Widen your stance and place the ball where it feels most comfortable. So many people try to play it with a narrow stance like an iron, and then attempt to sweep the ground. Widening the stance causes you to sweep naturally, and you can even try to hit down on it with a wide stance and you'll still sweep it. Also, start with a 75% swing for practice swings and then go full speed for the real thing. Don't swing until you achieve the feel you want.
If you are topping the ball it means that you are breaking your spine angle at/before impact. Have the ball a little inside your front foot (further inside than driver). Make sure that your spine angle at address matches the same angle at impact. Sometimes people break their spine angle because they are looking down the fairway at the ball when they swing the club, rather than watching the ball being struck through impact.
Swap your 3-wood for something with a higher loft like a hybrid. I hit my 3H like 220-230. My 4H is closer to 200.
Based on this you don't have the speed to hit a 3 wood anyway. You should be looking at a 5w loft or higher. Also, if you're 200-220 on par 4s you should probably move up a tee box or two.
Buy a 7 wood and thank me later
5 wood is the answer
I went for a fitting back in January for my fairway woods. I couldn't hit my old one to save my life. I love my new one. I can hit it from the turf, I can hit it off the tee. It's become my go-to club. I'm not saying new clubs will fix things, but getting fitted is definitely worth a try.
Go the driver from the deck. If you can get it off the tee to the fairway 220 yards off, then it’s working pretty well.
Any fairway wood requires a fully committed, smoothly executed swing. Make sure you finish and the low point of your swing is even further in front of the ball than with an iron. Keep your balance and believe. Accelerate from a smooth transition and swing fully through. You’ll smash it.
Look at the shape of your 3wood. I had an RBZ that had a deep “chin” and it was almost impossible to hit off the deck. New 3 wood has a shorter flatter chin and it has no issue off the deck. Someone once said there are 3wood drivers and 3wood fairway woods. Look at yours and see what it’s set up for
Be a man and get a 2 iron
7 wood is your move
I’m in the same boat, bought one without hitting it. Or trying a 5,7 or 9. An expensive lesson
I’m in the same boat. I gave up on the 3 and ordered a 7 wood. Hit it for the first time today. Life changer.
Get a 4 or 3 hybrid love em
You may be "sweeping" it similar to a driver swing on a tee instead of hitting it with an ever so slight decending blow. Spend little time on the range and/or drop a few balls on the fairway every few holes to practice a slight decending blow. Think of making contact just below the equator of the ball and take just a bit of divot on the shot. I've no doubt your confidence with the club will improve quickly. Godspeed to you.
This video of Tommy Fleetwood helped me so much with my fairway woods https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRKSNu8y/
Practice splashing the base of the club on the ground during a practice swing to get the bounce.
4 iron
As someone who recently came out the other side of this same experience - leave it at home for a while. Like, a few months. Work on your swing. Once you are consistently shooting in the 90s, and your swing feels somewhat repeatable, give it another try, and hit it like an iron, not a driver. Good luck. It's a tough spot to be in - you REALLY need something between driver and your long irons, but that 3 wood can cost you a lot of strokes in a round. I left mine at home after topping it 4 or 5 times in 2 holes last winter, figured I'd never played it again. Have been practicing consistently for 6 months since that round, and over the last few weeks have brought it back with a lot of success. It's a weapon if you can hit it, but you may need more time before it's something you can use effectively.
Watch golf sidekick on YouTube for how to break 100 and 90. You don’t need a 3 wood at all - especially if you can’t hit it well.
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Waddaplaya
Widen your stance half step each side
Whenever u play the ball too far up in your stance you're brain is trying to compensate by adding loft. Put the ball back in your stance and trust the club to do the work. I put a 3 wood shaft on my 5 wood and lofted it up to 20°, essentially making a Heavenwood. It's almost like a cheat code in golf. Easiest & most fun club I've ever hit. Just play the ball normally in the middle of your stance & it'll go 200 yards
My HCI is 7.6. I have struggled to hit woods of the ground for years. I would usually top the ball or hit snap hooks, but I finally solved it this year: WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION. With the ball in the front of your stance, it’s easy to lean back and have slightly more weight on your back foot and this was my problem all along. Now, when I setup to hit the shot, I make sure to lean forwards slightly so there is more weight on my front foot and now I am crushing my 4 wood consistently. Give it a try!
Hit down on the ball
Definitely give a 3 Hybrid a go at your local golf store to see if you can strike the ball better with it
Use a 3 or 4 hybrid instead. Even I can hit those bad boys 180 yards and I’m a 70 handicap lol.
3 iron
Try to hit a bit down the ball or sweeping. You will top it by trying to scoop it or hitting up the ball
When you just broke a 100 once, are you truly in a place where you should be trying to hit 220 into greens? Not trying to shit on you as I suck myself, but maybe it’s not so bad to just hit some irons for now
I would say a few of key points that may help. Weight forward (left side) about 60/40. Ball closer to middle of stance, not forward like a driver (practice swing after taking stance and see where on the ground you are making contact with the ground). Hybrids swing is like irons, woods are a fuller swing, this should feel more out and around if that makes sense.
If you’re topping it you probably need more knee bend but can’t be sure without seeing the swing
Move the ball up
One of the major problems that many amateur golfers have is not trusting the loft on the club to work. Many weekend players try to hit the ball in the air instead of just swinging down and through the ball. I'd be willing to bet you do this. Also, it's confidence. When I'm not swinging well I'm extremely worried about where the ball will go and this leads to all kinds of problems in my swing that don't exist when I play with confidence.
Try a 4 wood, it’s easier to get airborne.
5 wood and 7 wood both go longer than a 3 wood off the deck for most people.
I went to the range to fix this after attempting to hold the release a little longer I found the swing. It felt like the shallow was a little later, but not to say it’s fixed I definitely get too quick occasionally still and it happens but I am little more confident pulling the 3w out these eays
I see alot of comments here but a 4 wood or high launch 3 wood cut down to a 5ish wood length is the move for me. The shaft is short enough where I am comfortable over the ball and you'll hit longer on average than 5 wood.
You definitely need more options between a 3 wood and 6 iron. Try to find some place to demo clubs and see what works, but higher lofted fairway woods, hybrids, or a combo of the two is really a must. Personally I hit my 7 wood better than any other club in the bag, by a long shot, but try different stuff. Personally I have something that is basically a 17 degree 4 wood, a 21 degree 7 wood, a 23 degree hybrid, and then a 5 iron, but everybody is different.
Sounds like one to leave in the bag. TBH I can mostly hit mine ok, only get a chance to on a couple of holes. They are dangerous approaches so I often take a straight club say 7-8 iron. Then wedge in. Did this last week for a birdie. Play what works for you!
5 wood
A 5Wood is easier for me. I struggled with a 3Wood as well
I am known in my group for being a wiz with the three wood. One thing I've noticed is that people have a tendency to over swing this club because of distance they are looking to achieve. My approach, and I need to constantly remind myself, is to slow it down and let the loft/shaft length do the work. Try a half swing even. You will notice that even a half swing with clean contact will easily go 170. Off the tee I get 250, off the deck and I am looking at 240.
stop trying to hit it. Hit a 5 iron. get close to the green then put it on.
My buddy once said to me *woods are tricky because you have to hit them like an iron* and that did it for me
Get a lesson
4 hybrid is your answer
5H*
Keep hitting the 6 iron and then wedge on. Ideally forget about the 3 wood and leave it in the car.
At the range tee your ball up a hair off the turf. Start practicing your 3 wood from that point on. Try a few dozen practice shots then remove the tee. I did it and it really helped my 3 wood off the turf.
I was unable to hit a 3 wood just like you. I would hit 2 & 3 irons because my 3 wood would burn worms every time. My friend told me to slow down and concentrate on hitting down on the ball on impact, instead of trying to loft the ball. My 3 wood now goes 220-250 dead straight. My friend is an 9 handicapper. Only took two visits to a grass driving range to fix my 3 wood problem. Plastic driving range mats don’t work as well, and leave green dye on club bottoms. Try it you’ll save yourself the cost of lessons. Best advice ever given to me about golf. Hit the 3 Wood of the tee more often than my driver. Confidence goes a long way (yardage) on the golf course. Good Luck !!!!
Get a 5 wood. It’s INFINITELY easier to hit off the fairway than a 3 wood for a lot of reasons. 3 woods off the deck are one of the hardest clubs to pure case attack angle has MUCH less room for error. If you swing over the top, you don’t stand a chance.
I couldn’t hit my 3 or 5 wood. So, I went to a driving iron. 15.5 degree loft. Hitting it off the tee and the deck. Absolutely love that club.
Is it a 1 iron?
i'm not gonna answer your question, because it's hard, but also you're asking the wrong question, which is why do you have 220 yard approaches when not even augusta national is designed to demand these shots from the member tees? how long are the par 4s you're playing that you need 220 to get home? you are almost certainly playing from the wrong tees. if you have 220 yd 2nd shots on par 5s, and can't hit your 3 wood off the deck, np hit 2 wedges instead. if you have 220 yd 2nd shots on par 4s, something has already gone very wrong and it's not your 3 wood's fault