I’ve got a five-second fairway wood setup routine that’s going to help you improve your contact with your fairway woods and even add 20 yards.
Most amateur golfers struggle with launch, accuracy, and distance when it comes to these longer clubs. And many of their problems begin in their setup.
You can’t set up for fairway wood shots the same as you would for iron or driver shots. You should even approach your woods differently than you would your hybrid.
There are three specific areas of your fairway wood setup that seriously impact the success of your shot. You’re about to master all three areas with a setup routine that gets you (and your golf ball) poised for success on every shot.
Let’s get into it.
The Perfect Fairway Wood Setup: Key Points
Everything we’re about to cover boils down to these basic steps:
- Step One: Position yourself so your hands fall directly below your shoulders.
- Step Two: Square your toes to the target to ensure better aim.
- Step Three: Position the golf ball so it’s between the buttons and logo of your golf shirt.
- Bonus Tip: Get a fairway wood developed specifically for amateur and senior golfers.
If you want to explore these ideas in greater depth, keep reading.
Step 1: Find the Proper Hand Position
When you’ve got the proper hand position in your fairway wood setup, you’ll know you’re the correct distance from the ball. The correct distance ensures you hit a clean, centered shot that launches higher and carries farther.
So what is the proper hand position?
When you’re in your setup position with the clubhead behind the golf ball, you want to feel like your hands fall directly below your shoulders.
If you feel like you’re reaching your hands out in front of you, step closer to the ball. If your hands are too close to your body, step back a bit.
Step 2: Aim Correctly
You already know it can be difficult to square your fairway wood. There’s a slight curve to the face, making it difficult to judge your aim accurately.
So I recommend focusing not just on the clubface, but also on the toe line.
When you take your setup, visualize an imaginary line running along the toes of both shoes. That line should be square to the target. If it is, you’ve got a better chance at hitting a nice, straight shot.
Step 3: Perfect Your Ball Position
This one is a little more challenging. It’s also an element of the fairway wood setup that a lot of golfers get wrong. And it all comes down to the ultimate objective of the shot.
With your irons, you want to hit down on the ball, which means you need to catch the ball right before the bottom of your swing, when the clubhead is still moving at a downward angle.
For your driver, you’re trying to hit up the ball, making contact after the low point, when the clubhead is traveling upward again.
For fairway woods, you’re not trying to do either of those things. Rather, your goal is to hit through the ball, catching it right at the bottom of your swing—not before and not after. Do that, and you’ll stop topping your fairway woods immediately.
The best way to make sure you catch the ball at the right moment is to position your ball right where your clubhead will be when it hits the low point of its arc. Assuming your swing technique is solid, that point will be between the logo and buttons of your golf shirt.
Here’s how I teach my students to find the right ball position for fairway woods:
- Stand with your feet together and the ball in the center of your feet.
- Step your lead foot towards the target just slightly—maybe somewhere between 2 and 3 inches.
- Take a much larger step away from the target with your trail foot, finding the stance width that feels stable for you.
- Check that the ball aligns with the space between the logo and buttons of your shirt. If it does, you’ve got the ball in the right position.
It’s that easy. And it makes a world of difference.
Bonus Tip: Find a Fairway Wood That Works for Your Swing
Fixing your fairway wood setup will do wonders for your contact and distance.
But I want to be honest with you: you’re fighting an uphill battle when it comes to fairway woods, because traditional woods aren’t made for your swing. They’re designed for tour professionals who have precision skills and swing speeds over 100 miles per hour.
Now, I won’t go into the details of what that means for club design exactly—you can read about that stuff here. For now, I’ll just say that the features that work for tour players actually make things much harder for those of us who don’t share their skills.
If you’re serious about getting better contact and distance, get a fairway wood designed for your skill set and swing speed. As of this writing, the Hypermax is the only one I know of that was engineered for everyday golfers and slower swing speeds. You can check it out here.
Let Us Know What You Think!
Before you head off to put these ideas into practice, join us in the comments to share your thoughts!
Do you have any questions? Anything to add? Any tips of your own?
We love talking golf, and I read the comments every day, so please chime in! The more I know about you and your game, the better I’ll be at helping you reach the goals that are important to you.
About the Author
I’m PGA Teaching Professional Todd Kolb—a five-time Golf Digest Best-in-State Instructor, Amazon Best-selling Author, and Minnesota PGA Teacher of the Year. I’ve worked with students of all ages and skill levels in my 30 years of coaching, from first-timers to an LPGA major champion. I’m also the Director of Instruction for VLS Golf and USGolfTV.
My work with VLS Golf and USGolfTV revolves around helping the everyday golfer cut through overcomplicated traditional instruction to find solutions that actually work for them.