How To Get Best Results when Playing 3-Wood Shots Off the Fairway (Video) - by Dean Butler
How To Get Best Results when Playing 3-Wood Shots Off the Fairway (Video) - by Dean Butler

Okay, I want to let you know the best way of getting the 3-wood, the dreaded 3-wood, the fairway wood off the ground. It’s the hardest club in the back to play for this shot, because you wouldn't attempt your driver off the fairway, but the 3-wood, the second hardest wood out in the back and the second hardest club out in the back, we are going to show you how to play this shot. First of all, when you selected that 3-wood, it is very, very important to have a look at the lie. If the lie is very, very bare and the ball has sat down very low compared with the club, then really the 3-wood is not the club to select.

For the 3-wood to be pulled out and to be able to hit with some sort of commitment and conviction, the ball needs to be sat up as if it were on a small little tee peg. So that the weight, the centre of gravity will come back here and actually get the ball up into the air. But if it was like, this is an exaggeration and you can much imagine the same swing would actually hit the top of the ball and force the ball down. So look at the lie, first of all, because there is no point in trying to play a golf shot really off a lie that isn’t for a 3-wood. So let's imagine that it sat nicely, it's all to do with the setup and it's very important. You need to position this ball position of the left heel, just about two or 3 inches inside. Because we have not got an awful lot of loft, an average loft is 15 degrees in the 3-wood. So it's important that, that 15 degrees comes back into that ball, just on the moment that the club is coming up. So that 15 degrees is hitting the ball up. Unfortunately when I see with most senior golfers is that, they tend to come along for a lesson and they have got the ball position sat straight in the middle, just like you would do with a 7-iron or a 9-iron. Well, if you did that, what little loft you have got, 15 degrees is now going to come down and hit the ball into the ground and that's what I see time and time again. So ball position of the front foot about 2 to 3 inches inside that left heel, a good base, get yourself a nice base, weight 50:50 and from this position here, I just want you to just move your head just slightly behind which will encourage the club to stay a little bit lower, a little bit more shallow, that's what we want to do. So from here, I'm going to set myself up, from there, swing the club back. And I've got the full loft of the club going into the back of the ball, I have not caught the ground and I've got a nice shot finding its way out of the fairway there. And we will have to really set myself up in the right position, remember look at the lie, look for your ball position, turn your head slightly to the right, just slightly and then from there, just concentrate on keeping your left arm straight, keeping the club nice and low and from there bring that club back down. Now, I would encourage you to use a very, very small tee peg to start with, if we want to build that confidence up. And if you are sweeping the ball nicely, the tee peg will be sat there after the ball has gone, in which case that is the time to say right. Take the tee peg out, put the ball down in the mat, and do the same thing again, but this time off the grass. Remember, it's a difficult club to use, so it's a difficult club to use for the best golfers in the world, here we are as senior golfers, make sure that the lie is correct. You have got the information, go and work on this. I don't think you will have a problem with this. But if you do, go and see your PGA Pro, that's what he's there for, to help you. 2013-10-25

Okay, I want to let you know the best way of getting the 3-wood, the dreaded 3-wood, the fairway wood off the ground. It’s the hardest club in the back to play for this shot, because you wouldn't attempt your driver off the fairway, but the 3-wood, the second hardest wood out in the back and the second hardest club out in the back, we are going to show you how to play this shot. First of all, when you selected that 3-wood, it is very, very important to have a look at the lie. If the lie is very, very bare and the ball has sat down very low compared with the club, then really the 3-wood is not the club to select.

For the 3-wood to be pulled out and to be able to hit with some sort of commitment and conviction, the ball needs to be sat up as if it were on a small little tee peg. So that the weight, the centre of gravity will come back here and actually get the ball up into the air. But if it was like, this is an exaggeration and you can much imagine the same swing would actually hit the top of the ball and force the ball down. So look at the lie, first of all, because there is no point in trying to play a golf shot really off a lie that isn’t for a 3-wood. So let's imagine that it sat nicely, it's all to do with the setup and it's very important.

You need to position this ball position of the left heel, just about two or 3 inches inside. Because we have not got an awful lot of loft, an average loft is 15 degrees in the 3-wood. So it's important that, that 15 degrees comes back into that ball, just on the moment that the club is coming up. So that 15 degrees is hitting the ball up. Unfortunately when I see with most senior golfers is that, they tend to come along for a lesson and they have got the ball position sat straight in the middle, just like you would do with a 7-iron or a 9-iron.

Well, if you did that, what little loft you have got, 15 degrees is now going to come down and hit the ball into the ground and that's what I see time and time again. So ball position of the front foot about 2 to 3 inches inside that left heel, a good base, get yourself a nice base, weight 50:50 and from this position here, I just want you to just move your head just slightly behind which will encourage the club to stay a little bit lower, a little bit more shallow, that's what we want to do. So from here, I'm going to set myself up, from there, swing the club back. And I've got the full loft of the club going into the back of the ball, I have not caught the ground and I've got a nice shot finding its way out of the fairway there.

And we will have to really set myself up in the right position, remember look at the lie, look for your ball position, turn your head slightly to the right, just slightly and then from there, just concentrate on keeping your left arm straight, keeping the club nice and low and from there bring that club back down. Now, I would encourage you to use a very, very small tee peg to start with, if we want to build that confidence up. And if you are sweeping the ball nicely, the tee peg will be sat there after the ball has gone, in which case that is the time to say right. Take the tee peg out, put the ball down in the mat, and do the same thing again, but this time off the grass.

Remember, it's a difficult club to use, so it's a difficult club to use for the best golfers in the world, here we are as senior golfers, make sure that the lie is correct. You have got the information, go and work on this. I don't think you will have a problem with this. But if you do, go and see your PGA Pro, that's what he's there for, to help you.