FAIRWAY-WOOD COMPRESSION Keep your lead foot steady
a fairway wood and address a ball with another ball resting next to your lead foot’s heel ( top photo, above ). If you spin out, you will bump that ball ( above ). The goal is to hit the shot as solidly as possible without moving it ( right ). In fact, you get an A+ if your heel moves a little further away from the ball in the downswing than where it was at address. What’s happening is that your weight is moving in the right direction, towards the target, and that puts you in position to compress the ball off a short tee or tight fairway.
When you need a reliable club for a tee shot or to send one down the fairway on a par 5, fairway woods are your friends. The mistake with these clubs, however, is to try to help them do their job. I see a lot of amateurs spin out with their lead foot and try to lift the ball off the turf with some body English. The lead foot’s toes turn towards the target before the club reaches the ball, shifting weight to the back foot and causing poor contact. A great drill to prevent the spinout is for you to grab
76 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025
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