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Have you ever noticed that the most demanding shot, the fairway wood, is generally the most commonly used in women’s golf? This means that to score well, you will need to be relatively proficient with your fairway woods. To make these shots even harder, many of the finer golf courses cut the fairway grass very short, also requiring more a more precise golf swing.

Here are some suggestions to improving your fairway woods:
Check you ball position

Your ball position for a fairway wood should be just left of the center of your stance, or in line with the left logo on your shirt. Notice this is not as far left as your ball position would be if you were hitting a wood from a tee. This places the ball in the flatter part of the golf swing and should make it easier to sweep the ball off of the turf.

Use a more lofted fairway wood

Do you remember when Callaway came out with the Heavenwood? It was basically a 7 wood with a longer shaft. The 7 wood is a very friendly fairway wood that should still provide you with respectable distance, but the club’s added loft and not overly long shaft make it easier to experience more success. Choose a fairway wood that you can actually have success and for the little bit of distance you might sacrifice; you will probably gain right back in your increased consistency.
Be sure that your practice swings sweep the grass


Your practice swing should sweep the grass. If your practice swing does not sweep the grass, you are in essence practicing topping the ball, and you should take another until you do brush the turf. My preference is that if you do take a practice swing, you only take one. So if missing the turf and re-swinging becomes a constant occurrence, actually practice your practice swings. A great goal is to be able to take 10 practice swings in a row that sweep the grass.
Try the scrape drill

A great drill to help improve contact for fairway woods is the scrape drill. You will do this without a golf ball. Start in your address position and take no backswing. Practice scraping the grass toward the target on a slight semi-circle to the left for about 12 to 18 inches. The club head should be low to the ground like on a normal fairway wood shot, so this will help you to feel the proper motion.

Bruce Romberg Bio

Club head speed determines distance. The golf swing has three moving parts: your body, your hands and your arms, all of which generate power during the swing.

The upper body needs to make a complete shoulder turn on the backswing, (this is where energy is stored). On the downswing the arms drop and swing around the body, then the hands release through the impact zone to create speed by straitening the arms at impact. As the arms swing down from the top of the backswing and through the hitting area, the speed of the swing will continue to increase if the arms straighten during the impact area.

Most players' arms and hands are too tight during the swing, creating tension that lowers swing speed and produces a weaker impact. Most golfers pull the arms inward while hitting, so the hands don't release. The result: slower swing speed and miss hits.


Years ago, while working at Cleveland Golf, I had the opportunity to watch many PGA Tour players practicing on the range. The longest hitters were the ones whose arms were soft and relaxed during the swing. At address, the arms should be relaxed and hanging down from your shoulders, tension free. At impact, the arms should be fully extended, allowing the hands to release upon impact.

The tour player who I believe best demonstrates the above is Fred Couples. His swing is full and loose, with no outward look of tension. During his career he has always been one of the longest hitters on tour and can easily reach back for additional distance when needed.

So take a full shoulder turn on the backswing, relax and let the arms straighten out upon impact. Your swing speed and distance will increase and you'll become a much better ball striker.


Bruce Romberg

Well, Cody, I know what you are saying. As you set-up to the ball, your eyes are pointing at the ball. As you swing the club back, your eyes continue to point at the ball. At impact your eyes are still pointing at the ball. But, I say you should not try to keep your eyes on the ball. Does that make sense? Too a lot of golfers, it does not.

If you ask a great player what they see when they set-up to the ball, you will not hear the statement "I am looking at the ball". The great player isn't focused on the ball; they are focused on the target. The ball is the least important part of golf. Obviously you couldn't play without a ball, but it shouldn't be the most important thought on your mind when you are going to play a shot. If you are staring at the ball, you are too fixated on it.

The most important thoughts in your head (pre-swing and in-swing) should be the target, the golf swing and confidence in your ability. The thought of the golf ball can only give you more tension than you already have before trying to hit a golf shot.

Just think of your practice swings. There isn't a ball you are trying to hit. Therefore the ball isn't in your thoughts. How great does your practice swing usually feel? The comment often heard around the golf course is "I wish my regular swing could feel as fantastic as my practice swing. My practice swings seem so fluid. Then I put the ball there and it all falls apart".

Well, what causes a regular swing to be a lot less effective than a practice swing? The obvious answer is the golf ball. So the obvious answer is to forget the golf ball is there. Easier said than done, but it can be done. We need to take your mind off the ball. We need to get you thinking of the swing. Just like when you take those effortless practice swings. They are so free flowing.

When a player like Jack Nicklaus sets up to the ball, his eyes are pointing at the ball. His mind's eye sees the target. It remembers what the target looked like. It pictures the golf ball landing next to the target. But the mind never thinks of hitting the ball. It may picture the ball in flight, but it doesn't see the club hit the ball. If you ever get the chance to speak with some of the top players in the world, that is what you will hear.

The best drill I can give you to conquer the habit of keeping your eyes on the ball is to practice hitting tees with your eyes closed. The next time you go to practice (after you have stretched) start your practice session by sticking a tee into the ground. Push the tee in enough so that the top is the same height as the middle of a golf ball. Do this with 5 tees that are about 6 inches apart.

Now start at the first tee and make a golf swing trying to clip the tee out of the ground. Without stopping the motion of the swing take a step forward to clip out the next tee. Continue this until all the tees are out of the ground. The key to this drill is not to stop between swings. Keep the motion going back and forth.

By continuing the motion you are taking your mind off the tees and focusing on the movements of the swing. What you will learn is you didn't need to keep your "eyes fixated on the tee". You were able to hit them out of the ground and up in the air without staring at them. So why if it is easily accomplished with tees can't you do it with a golf ball. Think about that for a few seconds before continuing reading. Read this paragraph again if you need too before continuing.

Try this drill a few more times. Then when your confidence is bursting through, try it again with your eyes closed. It probably will feel very different at first. It might even take two or three attempts to successfully accomplish the task. When your eyes are closed you are developing the sense of "feel" for your golf swing. You are feeling your golf swing. Hopefully you are learning how to see your golf swing in your minds eye. If that is happening you are successfully taking your mind off that "dang" ball.

The real test now comes when you tee up a golf ball and close your eyes. Take a swing at it. What do you have to lose? You might even hit it pretty good. I guarantee that by your 6th attempt you will hit the ball perfectly on the sweet spot. I suggest trying this using a 7 iron.

The golf tips that are passed down from generation to generation are like the game we played in grade school called Telephone. Telephone was when every kid in the class stood in a single file line. The teacher told the first kid a message and he/she told the next kid in line that same message. This kept going till the end of the line and the last kid would tell everybody what the message was. The message was never close to the original.

Well, that is what has happened with "keeping your eyes on the ball". What started as a well-intentioned tip has been converted to "a golf swing killing epidemic." That saying (and many others like it) are over taught and misinterpreted. That is one of the main focuses of this column and my golf school. We debunk the myths and give you solutions.

"Do you have the desire to improve your golf game?"

Ronald Bruce Romberg Magazine

Much of the success of our round depends on the solidness of our first tee shot. If you ask most professionals what the most important shot of their game is, the resounding response is the tee shot on the first hole. So the first place to start this season's golf tips is explaining how to hit the driver off the first tee.
Part A: How to hit the driver

Because the ball is on a tee (and with the new large headed drivers, very high on the tee) we must make some adjustments with our posture at address. First, widen your stance so you can make a sufficient move to allow your weight to transfer over the back leg in order to build power. Second, make sure your spine is tilted properly and the upper part of the spine is angled away from the target creating a low back shoulder so the placket of your shirt is set at the proper angle, not straight up and down. Third, make sure the shaft forms a straight line with the left arm and the ball is forward in the stance so you can contact the ball just as the club is beginning its upward arc. Playing the ball too far back causes you to hit down on the ball and sky shots.

Once set up is complete you focus on striking the ball. This begins with making a good move off the ball by turning the front shoulder away from the target and setting the weight over your back foot. To initiate the downward motion, bump the left hip forward while dropping the arms. Once you have shifted the momentum to the front foot rotate your back hip through the impact zone while leading with the handle. Then you allow the arms to extend as you rotate your upper torso finishing in balance over your front foot. Your chest, belt buckle, and shoelaces of your back shoe should be facing the target.


Remember, the ball is high on a tee so there is a difference between hitting irons (ball on ground) and tee shots (ball in air). You must keep your head behind the ball through impact. Imagine watching the ball leaving the face of the club with your forward eye. This will keep your head back and allow the arms to extend much more freely.

Grip tension should be relaxed so the arms can swing around the spine without any lifting motion. Think of hitting the ball with the big muscles not the little muscles in the hands.
Part B: How to prepare for success on the first tee


When warming up, once you hit the 'perfect drive' put the club away. Don't press your luck and hit another one. Take the positive thought to the tee not a negative thought of a bad swing. If it takes one shot so be it. If it takes ten shots, then put the club away after the 10th swing. Practice putting before hitting balls; don't go to the putting green after warming up just to get stiff again. Arrive at the course early enough to practice putt first then hit balls so you go to the tee ready to swing and play.

If the first hole is very tight and you don't feel comfortable using a driver then swing a three or five wood. The key is to make solid contact and if you need a club other than driver then that is what you must use. If that is the case, swing that club on the practice tee (using a tee) until you hit a really good one, then put the club away and take that thought to the first tee.

In life we always prepare for success so why not transfer that same philosophy to the golf course. Don't see the woods or lakes, only the fairway. Go to the tee with a positive thought and more importantly a positive memory of the 'one you crushed' on the range.

Once again, the keys are:

• Proper set up
• Understand the sequence of motion
• Let the power build then release at impact
• Swing within yourself so you maintain balance
• Repeat the swing you produced on the range
• Imagine the ball in the middle of the fairway


Bruce Romberg Bio

How can you develop more power in your golf swing? That's probably a question that almost all of us want an answer to.

Most of us go to great lengths to do whatever it takes to get that power into our drives off the tee. I think we probably all have some ideas of where 300-yard drives come from, but I want to give you the answers without any fluff.

Golf swing power is the result of three specific factors. Two out of the three are much more important, but the third does have a bearing on the outcome of how far you hit that ball.


The first and probably most evident of the three is your swing mechanics. You're probably not surprised by this one.

No. 2 is what we term "golf strength." This is defined as how well your body is conditioned (i.e. fitness) to swing a golf club with maximum power. It's probably the least understood of the three and maybe the most needed by golfers in general. We'll talk more about this later.

No. 3 is your equipment. Yes, equipment does make a difference in how far you drive the ball. The equipment manufacturers have let this fact be known and I'll bet we have all gone to the golf shop - probably more than twice - to pick up a new driver that claims to give us another 20 yards on every drive.

That extra 20 yards might not be down the middle of the fairway, but it will give you an extra 20 yards -- it could be left, could be right or it could be in the center of the fairway. That all depends on points No. 1 and No. 2 of this article.

Equipment and technological advances have definitely lengthened the distance of our drives. But without better swing mechanics and your body in better golf shape, new technology won't help your game. A bad swing will produce a bad result, regardless of what type of new driver you may have just purchased.
Swing mechanics

I think all of us are aware of how important the mechanics of a swing are when it comes to driving the ball down the fairway. It's essential, if you are over the top with your swing or come inside too much, you'll see that dreaded slice or snap hook. The drives will be short, too low, too high, left, right, or a combination of these if you're putting bad swings on the ball.

It's essential for a golfer to work on the mechanics of their swing, week in and week out, to improve their game. If it weren't important why would all these tour players have swing coaches that work with them on a consistent basis? The golf swing is such a finite, mechanically complex movement, that requires constant work to keep it highly efficient and in check.

One of the most common mistakes I see amateurs make is probably a lack of instruction. I see amateurs over and over at the driving ranges, week in and week out, pounding balls without any improvement. This, I feel, is a result of one of two things: A lack of instruction and/or low levels of golf strength.

A lack of instruction leads to the development and ingraining of improper swing mechanics. This only results in slices, hooks, topping the ball and hitting it fat on the course. And we all know that those types of swings lead to frustration and bad rounds of golf.

I would suggest to most anyone to find a good instructor and take lessons on a consistent basis. This can only help your game in the long run.
Golf strength, fitness

Golf strength is a term we use to describe the golf fitness level of an individual pertaining to swinging a club. This is much different than how much you can bench press or squat, which I like to refer to as "weight room strength."

Understand that these two terms, golf strength and weight room strength, are very different. If you don't quite understand the difference, ask yourself one question: How many bodybuilders do you see teeing it up on tour? The answer to that question is quite obvious, none!

It comes down to this idea: the mechanics of a golf swing require specific levels of flexibility, balance, stability, strength, endurance and power to perform it efficiently. If your body does not have the required capacities of the aforementioned list, then the result will be a less than optimal and less efficient swing than possible.

Essentially, your body supports your swing much like a foundation supports the house you build upon it. I'm sure that all of you would choose to build a house on a stone foundation rather than a sand foundation, wouldn't you? I will say that many of you make a different choice when it comes to your golf swing. I quite often see amateurs developing their swing on a foundation of sand - not a good thing to do in my book.

Regardless of how much time you work on your swing mechanics, if your body doesn't have the golf strength to support your swing, you are limiting your potential. I have seen it numerous times: People practicing at the range who struggle, not because of trying to get better, but because their bodies are limiting what they can do with their swing.

Quite often I see people with limited flexibility, poor balance capabilities and low levels of strength and power. The bottom line is that your mechanics won't get better until you fix the body that swings the club.

A review of the topics tells us that they are optimal swing mechanics and the proper levels of golf strength in the body. One without the other is going to leave you short when it comes to your potential in the game.

Again, I probably see point No. 2 (golf strength), being addressed less often than swing mechanics when you get right down to it. The pros are all aware of the importance of golf strength, so you should be, too.
Equipment

We've come to the final point and that deals with equipment. I think the majority of golfers are aware of the technological advances that have occurred in golf equipment over the last 20 years.

Think about the '80s when we were still playing with woods that actually had wood club heads. Now we're using drivers with space age faces that shoot the ball off of them at warp speed.

In addition, we have to mention the advances in terms of golf balls. How manufacturers design golf balls today makes a huge difference in how far they travel.

What a lot of people don't realize is that the USGA has set standards on how "hot" driver faces can be and how fast balls can come off the face of drivers. Most clubs are reaching this limit and anything past these USGA rules becomes illegal to play.

So what does improving your power really come down to? It comes down to three simple ideas:

No. 1 is improving your golf swing mechanics. Improved mechanics will improve your driving distance.
No. 2 is improving your golf strength. By improving your body as it pertains to the golf swing you will improve your distance off the tee.
No. 3, equipment does make a difference - if you hit the ball correctly.



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