By Gary Wiren, PhD, http://www.garywiren.com
Sr. Director of Instruction for all Trump Golf Properties
& Chairman of Golf Around the World

Dr. Gary Wiren, PGA Master Professional         I never cease to be amazed when walking the range and watching people hit terrible shots, how they don't realize that sometimes just a small adjustment, a drill, or a thought can dramatically improve both their distance and direction. Let's take a very common problem that many average to higher handicap players have, the topped fairway wood. If you were on the range you would probably be telling me that you never top your drives but you frequently top your fairway woods, but don’t know why, this is what I would do. Let’s start with the obvious. The drive is teed up, its off the grass, so you don’t have to swing with much descent, in fact, if you tee it high enough you can even swing up on it. But that “up on it” swing doesn’t work when the ball is resting flat on the grass in the fairway. The clubhead is going to have to find a bit of “mother earth” to get the face of the club on the ball and the shot airborne. Our objective is going to be to “brush the grass,” or even take a slight divot, but you are not going to do it by “hitting up.” The first thing you should check is ball positioning. You can’t strike the ball with a descending blow when the ball is too far forward. So let’s try something a little overboard just for effect. Take your most lofted fairway wood and move the ball back to the same position in your stance that you play your wedge. Also, place your feet the width you do for the wedge. Choke the club down a bit and leaning slightly to the left, hit a few shots just to feel how descent works to get the clubface on the ball. The next thing is grip pressure. Make some practice swings, still with the feet at wedge width. Do these swings with different amounts of grip pressure, starting with the tightest, lets call it a ten on the grip pressure meter. The club will swing in the air but it won’t touch the ground because your tightness is pulling it up. Gradually reduce your grip pressure to eight, then six, etc. Until you get to a #2 in pressure, which is very light but not letting go. At this level your arms will feel loose and relaxed and your clubhead will brush the grass or take a slight divot when you make your practice swings. Now, widen your stance but don’t go to the full driver width because if you do you will move your swing center (a point in your body located above the sternum and posterior to it) too far behind the ball and again be hitting “up on it.” With your better ball position and the two valium feeling of relaxation in your hands and arms the fairway woods will fly off the grass as you give it the “old brush off.”