"The Stinger" & FW help

[RandomHero1090]

Most of us out there watched Tiger kill it again. What impressed me, along with some seriously amazing putting, was his 5 wood play. He hits that "stinger" and my jaw drops.

I used to be VERY consistent with my Strong 5 Wood (its 17 degrees, could call it a 4 Wood). But recently I have lost it. Hitting top shots. Just very ugly in general.

Any tips out there? Especially ball position. I feel like I play it too far forward. Maybe how to hit the "stinger."

[GolfJunkieSr]

Re: "The Stinger" & FW help

I am not an instructor, just a been there done that person. Just last evening I was having the same problem with my 5w. What I was doing wrong was swinging too fast. I was topping the ball just enough to send it right with slicing spin. After I slowed my swing down to match my normal tempo and timing swing, everything went much better for me, with all my clubs for the rest of my round. A simple fix for me, but the down side was it took me 4 holes to figure out what I was doing wrong after a process of elimination. GJS

[RandomHero1090]

Re: "The Stinger" & FW help

When I can get my "practice" tempo going, I hit everything crisp. Tempo is my biggest problem.

[rharris06]

Re: "The Stinger" & FW help

Line 5 balls up in a row and hit them one after the other with your eyes closed.

[RandomHero1090]

Re: "The Stinger" & FW help

I have tried that. My tempo is great at the range. I like Annika's 6/10 rule. If 10 is the hardest you can swing, swing at 6. Try it...

Swing as hard as possible without falling over. Then swing at 60%. Some say 70%. Either way you are swinging with a lot less effort.

I haven't been hitting FWs that often. I play pretty open courses and I like my driver. Driver might be the best club in my bag. But after playing this weekend in Ocean City, MD, I was forced to use them. Very reachable Par 5's, tight Par 4's with lots of water. Don't get much of that in PA.

I was hitting everything else good, especially my Hybrid. Can I hit a FW like a Hybrid? I play my Hybrid just like a 4 iron with very nice results.