Because of the shaft length and lack of loft fairway woods pose problems to a large number of golfers. Here is what you need to remember to be successful with your fairway woods:

1. Hit down on the ball for better contact and trajectory.
2. Let the club take care of the distance.

Trying to lift the ball into the air is the primary cause of topped and fat shots with fairway woods. The goal is to have the middle of the clubface strike the middle back of the ball and continue downward so it brushes the grass AFTER impact. Do not attempt to get under the ball (it is sitting on the ground). Hit slightly downward on the back of the ball and let the loft of the club and the backspin from the downward blow get the ball airborn. As with all full swing golf shots when the ball is on the ground, strike the little ball first (the golf ball) then strike the big ball (the earth).

There is no need to swing the fairway wood any harder than you would a 7 iron. The extra length and less loft will propel the ball further. All you need to do is concentrate on good contact. You do your job and let the club do its job. Think of each club as a tool, you do your best to make the same swing each time and let the different tools take care of the different distances and trajectories. See you next time, hopefully on the green.