A journalist for more than 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long.

A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A’s prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.

Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men’s Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.

A part of NCG’s Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He’d like to tell you he floats around 10. The reality is more like 13.

Steve plays at Sandburn Hall, in York, and is a country member at Close House in Newcastle. He has served on various club committees during his time in the game, and is the current Rules Secretary at Sandburn.

Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NCTJ exams at Darlington College of Technology. He began his career working on weekly papers in Newcastle, before joining the York Press in 2001. After five years as a news reporter, he joined the sports desk – specialising in horse racing and snooker – and was Digital Sports Editor when he joined National Club Golfer in 2016.

What’s in Steve’s bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Odyssey 2Ball Microhinge putter.

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Learning how to hit a fairway wood could transform your golfing game in par-five or particularly long par-four holes. Gaining the ability to reach the green in just a couple of strokes is a hugely significant advantage, and mastering the required technique could result in your handicap shooting down.

But it’s not easy. If you find yourself topping your fairway woods or struggling to get them off the ground, this guide is for you. Who knows – getting to grips with one of the trickiest clubs to use could be the key to moving to the next level.

Where to use a fairway wood

The first thing to understand when learning how to hit with a fairway wood is when to use it.

A fairway wood – particularly a 3-wood – is primed for use once you’ve teed off and have found yourself in the middle of the fairway on par five holes. Or even par four holes, which are particularly long. The aim of the game with a fairway wood is to fire yourself within touching distance of the green, rather than getting all the way there.

This makes them especially useful for these longer holes.

You can also tee off with a fairway wood; however, the technique required differs slightly from when it’s used off the ground on the fairway.

How do you hit a fairway wood?

Once you’ve recognised that you’re in the correct position to use the fairway wood, it’s time to get out your club – and it’s a long one. There’s a high chance the fairway wood is the longest club in your bag, and this is part of what makes the technique so challenging.

Instinctively, you might want to swing upwards and lift the ball to maximise the height and distance of your shot. But striking the ball upwards could result in you hitting the ground before the ball or topping the ball.

Instead, you want to be hitting down into the ball. And the first step to getting this right is practising the correct stance.

The stance

When using a fairway wood, a wide stance – with your feet a little wider than shoulder width – will help you hit down on the ball.

The ball should be positioned slightly forward in your stance, approximately one ball length to the left of centre. This will also help you achieve the downward angle of attack necessary to get the most out of the club.

Your sternum should be positioned in line with and over the top of the clubhead so that your stance is nice and straight. You don’t want to lean back, as this will make it harder to hit down on the ball.

The ideal contact

Because it’s such a long club, correctly gauging how the club is going to make contact with the ball can be one of the trickiest parts of using a fairway wood.

Try placing the clubhead on the floor behind the ball to help you do this. You’re going to be making contact with the ball first, before following through to make a little divot in the ground after you’ve hit the ball.

You’ll notice that the fairway wood is quite flat. This prevents the club from digging into the ground and making a much larger and more noticeable impact on the turf.

Now you know what to expect when the ball makes contact, it’s time to think about the swing.

The swing

You can compare the swing of a fairway club to that of a 7-iron. The most important thing is to let the club do the work. There’s no need to attack the ball really quickly, because the club is already weighted towards the back. A nice, consistent and smooth swing is going to help you maximise the distance of your shot much better than just hitting the ball as hard as you can.

What you don’t want to do during your swing is lean back. You instead want to move your bodyweight to the left so that you’re moving with the swing and allowing the club to work for you instead of the other way around. Aim to shift your weight onto your left foot by pressing it into the ground.

While you’re hitting down towards the ball, you want to keep your club low. You’ll know it’s a good shot when you’ve made that small divot in the ground just after contact, or if you’ve just scuffed the grass.

A good drill to help get to grips with this idea of keeping the club low and making your divot only after the ball has been hit is to put a tee peg all the way into the ground, a little over an inch in front of the ball. After you’ve made contact with the ball, focus on trying to bring that tee peg up.

How to hit a fairway wood off the tee

From the tee, your technique with a fairway wood is different because the ball is above the ground. This gives you more freedom to drop your right shoulder and hit the ball more upward.

In this case, position the ball slightly further to the left so that it’s closer to your left foot than the centre of your stance. From tee, you don’t need to worry about creating that divot in the floor either.

The key points to remember

When using a fairway wood in the fairway, don’t let its length deceive you. You might instinctively want to place the ball really far in front of your stance, but the length of a golf ball is all that’s really required.

Keep your stance relatively neutral. Don’t lean back – you’re not trying to hit up on the ball. Instead, hit down on it. And after making contact with the ball, aim to make a small divot in the ground.

Don’t rush the swing or try to hit the ball too hard. Let the club do the work, shift your weight, and focus on a consistent swing. 
That’s how to hit a fairway wood and really shoot yourself towards the green on those longer holes.

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Now you know how to hit a fairway wood correctly, you may want to consider protecting yourself and your golf equipment with specialist golf insurance. Get a quote online today.

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When used correctly, a hybrid can be one of the most versatile weapons in your armoury. They’re great tools to help you navigate tight lies, edge yourself closer to the green on longer holes, escape the rough or even tee off on shorter holes.

But they’re very much the Marmite of golf clubs. Some swear by them, whereas others rue what appears to be an inconsistency of outcomes. If you find yourself in the latter category, constantly wondering how to hit a hybrid, you’re in the right place. Here are six tips to get to grips with hybrids and add another string to your golfing bow.

What are hybrids?

A hybrid golf club is a combination of a long iron and a fairway wood, designed to replace the former and offer a simpler technique.

Hybrids were first released in the late 1990s and are particularly useful if you struggle with long irons. They really gained popularity when TaylorMade introduced its ‘Rescue’ clubs in 2003, which are all but synonymous with the clubs to this day.

Though they look like woods with their seemingly open club faces, hybrids are really irons and are generally used in their place. That said, you can tee off with them instead of your trusty drivers, and it’s versatility like this that has made them popular with pros and amateurs alike.

6 essential tips for using a hybrid

Keep reading, and you’ll see the steps necessary to maximise the effectiveness of these jacks of all trades.

1. Treat ball positioning a little like an iron 

First things first, the position of your ball is going to have a big impact on how well you’re executing your shots with hybrids.

Imagine where your ball would be if you were using a mid-length iron. Your feet are shoulder-width apart, and the ball is about as central as it can be. Now, move it ever so slightly forward – but not quite as far as if you were using a driver.

This is where it’s easy to go wrong with hybrids. Just because it bears the resemblance of a wood while largely having the characteristics of an iron doesn’t mean you can treat it as either club. A hybrid is an iron – you’re trying to compress the ball to maximise distance, so you don’t want to position the ball as you would for a wood. A sweeping swing might initially feel natural, but you risk hitting thinner shots.

So, your ball is located slightly further forward than a mid-length iron, but not so far as a driver.

2. Get your body positioning right 

As already mentioned, your feet should be shoulder-length apart. Your grip on the club itself should be neutral, and you should lean forward slightly so your sternum is a little in front of the ball.

The point of this is to create as steep an angle of attack as possible. This is a really versatile stance too – wherever your ball is on the course, it’s an appropriate and effective way of preparing for your shot.

3. Compress the ball

As you would when striking the ball with an iron, the best way to maximise the strengths of a hybrid is to compress the ball. In layman’s terms, this means using the ground as a third party in your shot.

This is why the correct technique is to hit down on the ball, not to sweep it. By delofting the clubface and hitting down (first the ball, then the ground), you’re squeezing both surfaces against the ball and compressing it, so it shoots off and travels farther. There are few feelings in golf quite as satisfying as getting this right and watching the ball rocket off into the distance.

If your technique is correct, you’ll make a divot in the ground.

4. Trust the clubface

Though the clubface of a hybrid looks quite open and lofted, it’s important to let the club’s design serve its purpose. Your goal is to compress the club, so even though a hybrid doesn’t entirely look like an iron, you should still trust it to behave in a similar way.

5. Perfect the swing

Like with any golf club, you’re not going to reap the benefits of using a hybrid if your technique in the swing is incorrect.

A smooth, consistent swing is necessary to get the maximum out of your hybrid. It’s important to keep the speed and power the same throughout your swing, but don’t rush it.  

Really commit. Get that clubhead down and compress the ball.

6. Know where to use your hybrid

The rough, the fairway, or tight lies. You name it. If it’s outside the green, a hybrid will likely be a viable option.

There’s a reason TaylorMade called their hybrids ‘Rescue’ clubs. After all, even if you’re in a fairway bunker, a hybrid offers you a way out and back into the game.

Additionally, teeing off – particularly on a shorter course – is an option with a hybrid, though it’s important still not to treat the club like a driver.

In many ways, a hybrid is best at setting up the shot, which will get you into the green, not necessarily getting you there itself. In some cases, rushing your way to the green from miles out can have negative consequences, so a methodical extra shot with a more forgiving club like a hybrid can pay dividends – even if it’s not quite as exciting.

Ultimately, these clubs were designed for fairways, and that’s where they’re particularly effective. That said, one of the great things about hybrids is that they can be used just about anywhere except on the green itself.

Key takeaways

If you remember to treat your hybrid like an iron and not a wood, you’re already making steps in the right direction. Swinging down, maximising that angle of attack and really compressing the ball are the keys to making hybrids work for you.

But, like everything, practice makes perfect. Hybrids may have been designed as an easier option than a fairway wood or long iron, but that doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to thrive with them from the word go. Spend time practising, perfect your technique, and you might never have a bag without a hybrid ever again.

Specialist golf insurance through Golf Care

Whatever type of golf club you have, you may want to consider protecting yourself and your golf equipment with specialist golf insurance. Get a quote online today.

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