Breaking 100/90/80

The Forgotten Fairway Woods

By Don Hurter

With Matthew Rudy

Photos By Chris Stanford

October 2008

You can't open an issue of Golf Digest without seeing at least one tip on hybrid clubs. That's good, because hybrids are a lot easier to hit than long irons--they're real shot-savers for average golfers. What gets lost in all the hybrid talk is that fairway woods are still an important part of every player's set. You need a hybrid to replace that 3-iron, but you have other shots to hit--both off the tee and from the fairway--with a 3-, 5- or 7-wood. Read below and I'll show you how to make your long game really click.

Breaking 100: Match the Slope on Uneven Lies

The downhill lie is usually the most difficult to deal with, because most players already try to lift the ball to get it in the air. Going downhill, the slope works against that lifting action, and you'll probably top the ball if you try to help it up.

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Breaking 90: When to Select a Wood over a Hybrid

To get the best result from the rough, you need to understand how woods and hybrids are different.

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Breaking 80: Learn to Hit the Tour's Launcher Shot

One of the weapons tour players use to hit long par 5s in two is the towering fairway-wood "launcher" that lands like a middle iron.

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Hurter is the head professional at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado. The 1978 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, he is ranked among America's 50 Greatest Teachers.