In our forums, one user is looking for guidance regarding how a fairway finder should work, particularly when playing on a tight, narrow course.

@BladesOShanter asked:

“TLDR!

“I have an inconsistent swing and play a tight course for competitions, and use irons off the tee at the cost of distance and better scoring. Do you need or have a fairway finder, and play less freely, because you want to avoid trouble, rather than swinging freely, as in conservative club, aggressive swing? How’s that working out for you? Does that ever backfire?

“Thanks.

“(Read on if you want more background on me and my own thinking.)

“Guys I play with are close to scratch, and at 60, can carry their drivers about 280, and find 15-yard landing areas in the fairway. I can do a rare 250 carry, 240 more often, but when I miss, I really miss. Knowing this, I have to humble myself and resort to long and mid-irons to find the fairways.

“Do you ever double-cross, yank, or block OB?

“I can score lower only because I play and practice short game and putting a lot, but I don’t ‘trust’ woods, and am better with irons. I rely on that short game and putting to get me through my rounds.

“Do you focus on fairways, or just go for broke? What is your fairway finder? Do OB signs, and wall-to-wall trees get into your head? Wind? It’s a mental game. Some of us are hot and cold. Are you mentally consistent with hazards, like able to blot them out, or do you struggle around tight courses?

“Lately (past 8 years), I have played with CBs, and hollow-headed long irons (2-3-4), and mids as well (5-6), in Titleist 716 T-MB, Mizuno MP-20 HMB, and Srixon ZX4/5/7 flavors trying to minimize the impact of my steep stinger dig move with irons. FW woods, hybrids, and driver: I can hit them well, but spray them too. I prefer to find the fairway, even if this means I am hitting a wood into a green for my approaches (almost flipping my tee shot into my approach, and vice versa, to avoid ‘trouble’), while my fellow competitors are using a wedge. It’s debilitating, but even on longer par 4s (480+), I am still able to at least have a par putt. That’s just me.

“Do you have a fairway finder? What is it? What kind of distance do you get with your tee shots using various clubs? Do your strikes vary much? My strikes vary a lot, e.g., I am around 180-220 depending on course conditions, wind, temps, and the strikes based on mental state at the time of the shot w/5-iron. I hit the 2-4 irons farther, but as I age, my strikes are less consistent because I am lacking confidence and speed, so can’t hit high long irons as well now.

“90% of my practice is slow-motion swinging in my backyard, trying to copy Ben Hogan’s rotation and arm structure, and short game. I am not succeeding at Hogan’s moves, but I will not stop trying. Maybe when I can get my own version of his movements going consistently, I will use driver more often as my fairway finder. Lotta players say you’ll never change. I think heard Lee Trevino say that once too. He’s probably right.

“My own swing videos, from 6-7 years ago, look the same today, even after uploading over a zillion clips this past year to a Skillest pro coach. And he’s real good. Not on him. On me.

“How ’bout you?

“PS – my last competitive round was two days ago, and I hit driver on 5 of the first 9 holes. Only found the fairway twice. Nothing went OB, so score was good, but I don’t trust driver in my hands. Not good, I know.”

Our members in the forum shared their own thoughts and methods for managing tight fairways with driver. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

• Archaic: “Your OP here is loaded with questions, but I will make two comments.#1 your strategy of using irons to find the fairway from tee boxes makes good sense and more players should do it.#2 please stop ‘trying to copy Ben Hogan’s rotation and arm structure.’ A better sense process is to hire a local PGA teaching instructor and take a lesson from him or her. Practice what the pro teaches you and repeat.”
• BowMain42: “It’s not always a mutually exclusive fairway vs max distance thing. Try to hit it to where your next shot is one you have. Or at least just don’t hit it where you know you don’t have the shot. That nice, easy 150-yard straight-in approach from the fairway… do you have that shot? Probably. The 100-yard uphill pitch out of a flower patch or steep-sided bunker… do you have that one? If so, absolutely go ahead and go for broke for the extra 50 yards closer to the green. Use whatever club you know works to get you to the furthest spot where you’ve definitely got the next shot, be it driver, iron, or whatever.And forget about Hogan’s swing. Is it interesting to study? Sure. Does it work for anybody other than Hogan? Not so much.”
• cbrwn425: “Really depends on my swing that day but normally I’ll just hit driver. If I’m not hitting it well and really need to hit a fairway or playing a course with a tight landing at driver distance I’ll use 3W. Outside of that if I’m not hitting driver it’s because I’m laying up short of trouble..”

Entire Thread: “Do you ‘need’ a ‘fairway finder,’ other than driver, while playing tight courses?”