Shift your weight to hit pure woods

In this tip, Tour Professional Pablo Larazzabal teaches you how to shift your weight to hit pure shots with your woods

A lot of amateurs shy away from using their fairway woods and long irons, or simply don’t hit them as well as they could. This leaves a big distance gap between the driver and the mid-irons and prevents you from hitting shots that could make a big difference to your score.

If you learn to hit these clubs well and love them rather than fear them, it will enable you to hit safer tee shots and more greens in regulation from outside 150 yards. Here are a couple of pointers to improve your technique with fairway woods and long irons.

Weight moves forward

Keep the upper body centred over the ball and the weight transferring forwards through impact so the low point in the swing stays just ahead of the ball. This helps you hit the ball with a slightly descending attack angle and a vertical shaft.

Don’t help it up

The most common bad shot with this club is a thin, because players try to hit up and lift the ball into the air. This only results in the weight staying back and the low point in the swing moving before the ball so the club is moving upwards and strikes the ball’s equator at impact.

Trust the club

Fairway woods are designed to do exactly what you need them to, so trust the loft of the club to get the ball in the air if you make a good swing. Once you’ve moved the ball position forward, simply swing it like a mid-iron.