On just about any golf course you play, your best opportunities to make birdies are going to come on par-5 holes. Even if you can’t reach the greens of par-5s in two shots, statistics show that just getting close to those greens (pitching range vs. a full shot distance away) greatly improves your odds of getting up and down.
Yet there are many golfers who don’t take advantage of this strategy because they can’t trust the tools designed for the job – their fairway metals. Hitting a fairway metal off the turf can be intimidating. It’s not like hitting a shot off a tee. There’s much less room for error, particularly if you don’t trust your technique.
Fortunately, Titleist staff member Trillium Rose has a way to take the fear out of this important shot. In this video, she shares three keys for hitting your long game clubs from fairway lies.
1. Grip down about one inch from the end of the club, effectively shortening the length of the club.
2. Focus on making a shorter, “L” shaped backswing – lead arm parallel to the ground, 90 degrees between your lead arm and the club shaft.
3. Stay level throughout the swing – don’t dip down or lift up out of the shot. This changes where the club will naturally bottom out against the turf.
Give Trillium’s pointers a try the next time you have long shot from the fairway and see how improving the quality of your contact will instantly turn your fairway metals from liabilities into birdie-making weapons.
For more tips and drills from Trillium and other Titleist Staff Members, visit Titleist Instruction:
