Do you want to hit more fairways? How to hit more fairways? One of the reasons you might miss fairways is the width of your swing arc. We see many of the best golfers in the world have big backswings. This has several advantages for the pros.
First, it gives them more power hitting 300-yard drives with a short backswing.
Hit More Fairways With Better Equipment
Second, you have more time to bring your golf swing into the plane and get it under control.
In this article, we bring together the most important tips on winning your game on fairways and we'll tell you how to hit more fairways.
The fairway on the golf course
The fairway is a lawn that is usually mowed once a week. Sometimes there is also a two-week rhythm, depending on the climate and requirements. The height of the lawn is two centimeters, making it much easier to play on the golf course than in the deep rough. If there is no surface of the water between the tee and the green, the fairway leads directly to the target of the course.
However, the fairway is not a motorway. It can have sharp turns and it can also be interrupted by bunkers, which can sometimes also be to the side of the fairway. Most of the bunkers are around the green to make the final of the track more exciting.
Strong Sides
Not So Good
Strategy how to hit your fairway: hitting 300 yard drives with short backswing
Golf strategy is closely related to the fairway. A dream of each player is hitting 300 yard drives with short backswing. You have to know the course and be able to estimate the paths and directions of the fairway in order to approach the green from stroke to stroke, whereby with the exception of the par 3 holes the green should be reached with two strokes. There is only a detour into the rough or even into the bunker in the event of unlucky hits or extreme wind conditions.
But that's exactly what you want to avoid in order to risk as few strokes as possible and therefore you should stay on the fairway. But it's not that easy and the pros end up with their ball in a sand bunker next to the fairway or even in the water that has built up in front of the green.
Actually, golf strategy is very easy. The ball is defined, you have the driver, and you can hit a long way with it and the fairway runs dead straight towards the hole - towards the target. There is hardly any wind and so nothing can go wrong, but for some reason, you hit the ball unfavorably and it flies more to the right than it should and lands next to the fairway. That is exactly not supposed to happen, but it is always the thrill because you know this situation very well.
It will be easy if you don't leave the fairway, but if you are just a little unsure you will have your first problems and have to see that you can return to the fairway. You can also try to play directly on the green from off the fairway, but that depends on the situation. A tree can stand in the way or you risk being hit by the water.
Useful Tips on How to Hit More Fairways
- Keep your swing arc wide
When you keep your swing arc wide, you will have more room to hit the ball in the center of the clubface. This will help you send the ball a long way down the fairway. You don’t need a big backswing to achieve this – just make sure that you swing the club back from outside the target line.
You can check out a great example of this with Rickie Fowler, who has one of the widest swings in the game today. In this video, you can see his swing arc is just inside his shoulder line – not too far to the left at all. Although he does have a wide swing arc, he still makes a great impact position and perfect ball striking. This allows him to stay in control and hit more fairways!
- Keep your front arm straight throughout your entire swing
Make sure that your front arm remains straight during your swing – even on shots with plenty of loft-like hybrid or fairway woods. Your front arm acts as an axis for rotation throughout your golf backswing and downswing. That is why it is so important for both your power and accuracy.
If you don’t have a straight front arm, then that means you need to bring the club back lower. This will cause your arc to become less wide, which in turn reduces how far down the fairway you can hit your shot. However, if you can keep everything perfectly on the plane with good timing then the ball will fly much further than usual – even off tight lies! You can see an example of this here:
- Keep your left shoulder under your chin throughout the swing
Remember to build your swing from underneath so that there is more room to go up at the top of the backswing. If you look at great players like Tiger Woods, then you will see that the shoulder is well below his chin at the top of his backswing. If it is too far forward, then your arc becomes smaller and tighter. This means you cannot hit as far down the fairway. In general, keeping your left shoulder under your chin will give you more room to build a bigger swing arc through impact.
- Aim your feet at where you want to hit the ball
You should aim for an imaginary target with both feet locked in place towards the top of your backswing – this is where you want to hit the ball! By doing that, it gives you more room for error throughout each shot on shorter grass. You can purposely play balls offline or mishit shots and still have a chance to make par or better.
- Practice with a shorter backswing
If you find that you are having trouble keeping your swing arc wide, then try practicing with a shorter backswing. This will help ingrain the correct motion and build muscle memory. You can gradually add more length to your backswing as your confidence grows. Remember, it is more important to swing the club back on the plane than it is to generate huge power.
- Use a club that is the same length as your regular driver
When choosing a fairway wood or hybrid, make sure you use the same club length as your regular driver. This will give you more consistency and make it easier to hit good shots down the fairway. A mismatched club can lead to all sorts of problems, including topped shots and pulls off the tee.
- Don’t try to scoop the ball into the air
Many amateur golfers make the mistake of trying to scoop the ball into the air with their fairway woods or hybrids. This often leads to a lot of top shots and pulled shots. Instead, try to hit down on the ball with a descending blow. That will help you create more backspin and send the ball further down the fairway.
- Pay attention to your setup position
Make sure that your setup position is correct before you even take your first practice swing. Your stance should be wide with your feet parallel to each other, and your shoulders and hips should be fairly square. If you are too tense, then you will struggle to hit the ball cleanly with your fairway woods or hybrids.
- Maintain a flat back throughout the swing
Your body position shouldn’t change during your swing – it should remain fairly flat whether you are at the top of your backswing or in your downswing. The only reason that your pelvis moves are because it keeps your club on a plane during the entire movement. Remember, if the club isn’t on the plane then there is no chance for perfect impact!
- Finish with an open face
Even though this may seem unusual because so many golfers want to have a closed clubface at address, it makes a lot of sense for a golfer to have an open face through impact. If you want to hit the ball further down the fairway, then you should try to make a pendulum swing and release your wrists at impact. That will allow the clubface to rotate open naturally throughout your follow-through.
- Be careful with steep ground slopes
If you are struggling from tight lies around the green then be careful when hitting into or across a steep ground slope. Make sure that any shot you play will fly high enough so it won’t land on a downslope and run back towards you after it lands! By doing this, there is a big chance that it will miss the green altogether and end up in trouble out of bounds.
- Use a practice tee
When practicing with your fairway woods or hybrids, it is always a good idea to use a practice tee. This will help you get the correct height and distance on each shot. You can also use different tees to simulate different types of lies, such as tight lies around the green or shots from the rough.
- Don’t try to hit the golf ball too hard
One of the biggest mistakes that amateur golfers make is trying to hit the ball too hard with their fairway woods or hybrids. This often leads to topped shots and pulled shots. Instead, try to swing the club at a comfortable speed and let the clubhead do all of the work. That will help you hit the ball further and more accurately with your fairway woods or hybrids.
- Make sure you have an open or closed stance
Some golfers prefer to have an open stance when they use their fairway woods and hybrids, while others prefer a square stance. Whatever you decide, just make sure that you are comfortable with the alignment of your feet and hips and that it allows you to swing freely throughout the movement. Remember: A square clubface means a square swing path, which will allow you to generate consistent shots!
- Don’t stand too close to your target line
One of the common causes for fat shots is standing too close (or too far) from the target line when addressing the ball. Since this affects the angle of attack, you need to make sure that you are standing in the correct position before taking your practice swings. This will help you ensure that your swing is on a plane and that you are making a good connection with the ball.
- Experiment with different clubs
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of fairway woods and hybrids in order to find the perfect club for your game. Not all golfers are able to use the same club and achieve the same results – it all depends on your personal swing mechanics and what feels comfortable for you. By trying out a few different clubs, you may be surprised at how much easier it is to hit more fairways!
- Use a launch monitor
If you really want to improve your game, then you need to have access to a launch monitor in order to analyze your swing motion. If the club is not on the plane when you are at the top of your backswing or in your downswing, then it will lead to inconsistency and poor performance.
- Practice off the grass when possible
Another great way to practice is with an old club that has no loft whatsoever. This can be done by removing the heads from old iron shafts, which provide even more accuracy when hitting shots over and over again! Always make sure that the lie (flat ground) is relatively flat so there isn’t too much resistance, because it may tend to cause hooking or slicing depending on steep the lie angle is. This will help you perfect your swing and learn the right distances to carry the ball in various conditions.
- Practice in different conditions
Some of the best practice for any golfer is in different types of weather and windy conditions. This will help you see how much more challenging it can be to hit fairway woods or hybrids when you are faced with a strong crosswind or gusts that constantly blow your shots offline. Once you get used to hitting with such obstacles, then no shot on the golf course will ever seem like a challenge again!
- Use an alignment stick
Even when playing at home or in an indoor facility, it is always nice to place an alignment stick behind the ball so that it points towards your target. This allows you to have an idea of where you are aiming without having to look at the actual flagstick on the green, which can be very distracting!
- Make sure your eyes are behind the ball
It is important that you keep your head directly behind the ball throughout your swing motion since this will help you ensure that your weight doesn’t shift too much during impact (which leads to thin shots). By ensuring that you see both of your feet behind the ball at all times, then it should correct any issues with weight distribution and help reduce mishits.
- Practice grip consistency
Grip pressure is extremely important when hitting fairway woods or hybrids, especially if there is a little bit of wind in play or the lie is not ideal. You want to make sure that you are gripping the club tightly enough so that you can still control the swing but not so tight that your muscles get tired easily. Experiment with different grip pressures until you find what works best for your game.
- Use a mirror
One of the best ways to improve your swing plane is by using a mirror to watch your backswing and downswing motion. This will help you see if your clubface is staying open or closed throughout the entire swing, which can be a common cause of poor shots. By making small adjustments to your swing path, you can start hitting more fairways in no time!
- Stay positive!
Finally, remember to stay positive when practicing or playing a round of golf. If you constantly focus on the negative aspects of what went wrong in your previous shot, it can be very discouraging and will cause poor performance going forward. Just always try to have fun out there!
When playing from the rough, never try to compensate for bad shots by hitting a harder shot that may end up in an even worse position. In most cases, all you need is a little clubhead speed and good contact with the sweet spot- then you should see great results with big boosts in distance! Always make sure to play within your ability level, especially off the tee where distances are often much longer than expected.
If you want to hit more fairways, you have to work on your swing path
Actually, the path on the golf course is clearly predetermined and easy to understand. You start each hole course at the tee and head for the hitting more fairways in order to play the ball to the green from there. The hole has been created on the green where the ball should ultimately land and at a greater distance, the hole is also marked with the flag.
If the golf club is pulled up too steeply to begin the swing, it creates a number of potential problems, such as hitting the ground behind the ball, creating steep divots, and the most common mistakes are pulls and slices.
The reason many golfers lift the club too steeply is that they use their hands too much and don't turn their shoulders enough during the backswing. This also causes your rear arm to bend too much. If the back arm bends over, the hands come too close to the back shoulder.
How to manage your backswing to hit more fairways: hitting 300 yard drives with short backswing
Now you're probably thinking, “Okay, cool. Let's do one big backswing and the problem is solved."
However, many people misunderstand the technique of creating a long backswing. In an effort to swing the golf club far back, golfers exaggerate this movement, which often causes the body to move too far away from the target.
This happens early in the backswing, and the golfer gets to a point where he is swinging too far, causing his arms to collapse when he reaches the top of the backswing.
So in all of the effort to make a wide backswing, a narrower backswing is actually being created because the body cannot maintain the excessive width created so early in the backswing.
The best way you should think about a wide swing path is not by how far the clubhead is from the ball at the top of the backswing, but by thinking about where the back of the hand on the leading hand is at the top.
An effective thought is to feel like your hands are as far from your back shoulder as possible at the end of your backswing. This encourages a nice full turn while keeping the arm swing compact and wide.
How to hit more fairways and make more pars & birdies
Here are the step by step instructions on how to hit more fairways and make the most of fairways regulations:
- Begin the swing by initiating the backswing slowly and slowly with your hands and feeling them move away from the body, while at the same time you twist your shoulders and "wrap up" the body.
- As you near the top of the backswing, your guide arm should be almost vertical (perpendicular to the ground).
- Now, at the top of the backswing, your club is as far from the golf ball as possible, and your body is wrapped up nice and tight.
- You are now in a power position to give the club enough time to accelerate on the way to the downswing, resulting in massive power and a more precise tee shot.
Essential tips how to hit more fairways
- If nothing works anymore, first supply your body with nutrients. Eat a granola bar, drink some water.
- Breath deep. Realize that it is completely normal to get completely off track with your technique.
- All golfers make bad shots! Go back to your old working swing.
- Remember that your grip pressure should be light.
- Slow down your swing.
- Focus more on contact with the ball.
FAQs about how to hit more fairways
What are the benefits of hitting more fairways?
Hitting more fairways has several benefits, including improved scoring and increased confidence. When you miss the fairway, you are typically forced to lay up, which can lead to longer approach shots and higher scores. Hitting more fairways also gives you a better chance at hitting greens in regulation, which can save you strokes on the scorecard. Additionally, hitting fairways instills confidence in your game, as you know that you can consistently find the short grass off the tee.
How can I improve my percentage of fairways hit?
There are a few key things you can do to improve your percentage of fairways hit. First, make sure you are using the proper clubs for your game. If you are consistently hitting your driver out of bounds, try using a 3-wood or hybrid off the tee. Second, focus on your tee shots and make sure you are picking a target and sticking to your game plan. Lastly, practice your ball striking often so you can develop a consistent swing that will lead to more fairways hit.
What are some common mistakes made when trying to hit more fairways?
One of the most common mistakes is trying to hit the ball too hard. Many golfers think they need to bomb their drives in order to reach the fairway, but this often leads to big misses. Another common mistake is picking the wrong club for the conditions. If you are hitting into a headwind, for example, you might need to use a longer club than you would normally hit in order to reach your target. Lastly, some golfers try to make too many changes to their swing when they are trying to find more fairways. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is focus on making a small adjustment or two and then trusting your swing.
What is the best way to approach a dogleg hole?
The best way to approach a dogleg hole is by picking a target and sticking to your game plan. Many golfers try to slice the ball around the dogleg, but this often leads to big misses. Instead, focus on hitting a straight shot down the fairway and letting the ball curve around the dogleg. This will give you a much better chance at finding the short grass.