It’s one of the hardest clubs in the bag to hit but mastering it can give you a real advantage over your competition. Despite the performance packed into the best drivers nowadays, we all have to endure days when it misbehaves, so having a reliable go-to shot can be the difference between winning and losing. In the video and article below, PGA pro and Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Ben Emerson shares his top tips on how to hit a 3-wood off the tee...
How To Hit A 3-Wood Off The Tee - Simple Tips
One of the biggest problems when amateurs try to hit a 3-wood is that they have the ball teed up way too high, almost mimicking what they do with the driver. While it might seem like this should make it easier to hit in theory, the reality is very different.
If you tee it up too high, this encourages you to shift your weight distribution onto your trail side in an attempt to sweep the ball away. Unfortunately, what then happens is the weight stays on the back foot and you end up trying to hit up on the ball too much, which changes your spine angle. This makes it hard to strike it with any consistency and can leave some in need of an over the top golf swing drill to get rid of their slice.
It’s so important to understand that you don’t need to do this when hitting a fairway wood. You have enough static loft on the club to get the ball into the air but you need to trust it! Ideally, you want to imagine you’re setting it up in the perfect lie from the fairway, with the ball on a very small tee.
From there, I want you to feel like you’re not trying to hit up on it as you would with a driver. Instead, with the way the best fairway woods are designed, you actually want to hit it with a slight descending blow to get the ball to go into the air.
To do that, many of you will have to alter your ball position. When it comes to the 3-wood vs the driver, instead of the ball being in line with your lead heel, move it back roughly two golf balls towards the middle of your stance.
Assuming you've mastered how wide your stance should be, you also want to split your weight evenly between your left and right side. Some of you would even benefit from feeling like there is a little more weight on your lead side to start with.
But far more important than that, if you are going to go onto your back foot at the top of the backswing, you have got to make sure you get your weight off your trail side coming through impact to get energy going towards the target. A really simple way to work on this is to focus on swinging through to the finish with a nice tempo and holding the pose.
What if you are STILL struggling to flight your 3-wood?
If you are happy that you're following the technical pointers we have set out here, including finding the right ball position, but are still struggling to flight your 3-wood, you need to take a look at your equipment. For slower swingers there comes a point of diminishing returns with regards to loft. Quite simply, if you are unable to generate the clubhead speed you need to create enough spin to provide a stable flight, then you may well need more loft. A 4 or 5-wood could well be your best option.
Of course, we'd recommend going for a fitting. Perhaps there is a lighter head/shaft combination out there that will help increase your clubhead speed... A good fitter will immediately see the issue and should be able to help find a solution
Next time you go to the range, put this simple idea into practice and, over time, it'll help you add this extremely handy shot to your arsenal.
