There are few golf shots that feel worse than topping a fairway wood.
You finally have a chance to get close to a par-5 in two or hit a long second shot into position and the ball barely gets off the ground. It rolls 40 yards, your playing partners pretend not to look and you start wondering why you even carry a fairway wood.
The good news is that fixing a fairway wood top is relatively simple and usually requires simple adjustments. Here are three I would make today to fix it.
1. Move the ball back from your driver position
A fairway wood looks more like a driver than an iron so a lot of golfers set up to it like a driver. The stance gets wide, the ball moves way forward and the trail shoulder drops. With a ball that’s not on a tee, this setup can create some issues.
The club may reach the bottom of the swing before it gets to the ball. By the time the club arrives, it is moving up. The result is you hitting the top of the golf ball.
Try this instead:
Set the ball about a clubhead inside your lead heel. Your stance can be a little narrower than driver and your weight should feel fairly balanced, maybe even slightly favoring your lead side. If your fairway wood setup looks exactly like your driver setup, the ball is probably too far forward.
2. Use a club on the ground to fix your low point
My favorite swing thought for hitting great fairway wood shots is to brush the ground. This is a great drill that helps reinforce that concept.
Place a club on the ground parallel to your target line. Put the grip end toward the target and line the back of your golf ball up near the start of the grip. (As seen below.)
Now make practice swings with your fairway wood. The goal is to brush the ground on the grip side of the club.
If your club is brushing the ground behind the ball, your low point is too early. That is the topping pattern. If you can start brushing the ground slightly in front of the ball, you are training the club to keep moving down and through impact.
Start with small swings. Then go to half swings. Then hit a few at 70 percent speed. You don’t need to hit a ball while you get used to this feeling. Once you have it down, start hitting some shots without changing the concept.
3. Hold your finish on your lead side
A lot of fairway wood tops happen because golfers hang back and try to help the ball in the air.
When your weight stays on your trail foot through impact, the club usually bottoms out too early. By the time it gets to the ball, it’s already moving up. That’s when you catch the top half of the ball and send it skidding across the fairway.
Instead, use your finish as a checkpoint.
Take a few fairway wood swings at about 70 percent speed and hold your finish until the ball lands. For a right-handed golfer, you should be balanced on your left leg. For a left-handed golfer, you should be balanced on your right leg.
If you fall backward or can’t hold the finish, you need to work on getting your weight to your lead side. Turn through the shot, get to your lead side and prove that your body kept moving through impact.
Final thought
Most golfers hit a few fairway woods in a round. Take some time to practice these things on the range so you can develop confidence in your woods.
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