How To Hit A 5 Wood (5 Keys)

Written by Todd in Uncategorized

The 5 keys to hitting a 5 wood:

  1. Play the ball in the correct position in the stance
  2. Control the low point of your swing
  3. Hit the shape you are most comfortable with
  4. Have enough swing speed to produce a quality shot
  5. Learn to hit different shot heights with the 5 wood

If you are someone that always seems to have 180 or more yards into par 4s, the 5 wood might be the perfect addition to your golf bag.

For juniors, seniors, women golfers or anyone that lacks some distance, the 5 wood is a wonderful club.  There are also high end players that choose to add the 5 wood to the bag because of the ease at which the ball can fly high, far and pretty straight!

Learning to the 5 wood can come pretty easily for people, but we have 5 keys to help you speed of the process more and to ensure you are maximizing the potential of the club.

How To Hit A 5 Wood?

The 5 wood would be played in the front of the stance, control the low point of the swing and have a go to shape with the club.  Ultimately, be able to hit the ball far enough and high enough to land on a green and give yourself a chance for a quality putt.

golf hybrid club with a golf ball lying in low rough

Key #1: Play the ball in the correct position in the stance

The golf ball for the majority of the shots with the 5 wood will be between the middle of your stance and the left heel of your stance.  The ball may move a ball width or two depending on the height of the shot you are trying to hit.  If you need to hit the ball higher, play it more forward.  To keep it lower, more towards the center of your stance.

You want to catch the ball just slightly on the upswing, but not too far, or you will catch the middle of the ball and hit more of a line drive.

Out of thicker rough, you might play the ball more back and catch the ball just before the low point of the swing to ensure you are hitting the ball solid and advancing it down the fairway.

Helpful Post: When to use a 5 wood

Key #2: Control the low point of your swing

The key with the 5 wood, or pretty much any club is the ability to control the low point in the golf swing.  The professional golfers are amazing at hitting the ball crisp and this starts with controlling the low point of the swing.  The low point will often be connected to where the weight in your shift is at right when you reach impact.

Here is an excellent drill to help with low point control.

Helpful Post: 5 wood vs 3 hybrid: Which one should I carry?

The Drill: The Low Point Control Drill

  • Take some yard paint and patina a 1-2 yard long line.
  • Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side.
  • Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully!
  • Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to to this successfully in trials of ten.
  • You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings.

If you are struggling, put more weight forward and work on keeping your head still to help control the low point in the swing.

Low point control is very important with the 5 wood and and all of your golf clubs!

Key #3: Hit the shape you are most comfortable with

When you are facing a shot somewhere between 180 and 240 yards, the key is to stick to a shot shape you are comfortable with.  Hopefully, you have established a stock shot and a shape you can rely on.  Some golfers are good enough to work it both ways, while others will always hit the same shape shot.  I would recommend sticking with the shape shot that you are most comfortable with and go with that shot 90% of the time.

Here is a stock shot drill to help you develop a specific shape you can rely on 90% of the time.

Helpful Post: 3 wood vs 5 wood (Key Differences)

The Drill: Stock shot drill

  • At the driving range, set up an alignment stick about 6-8 yards in front of you, straight down your target line.
  • If you have a second alignment stick, set the stick 3-4 feet right of the first stick (for a draw) or left of the first stick (for a fade).
  • Complete your initial assessment see how many times out of 10 you can start the ball to the right or left of your target.  Pick one side and measure your game at this point.
  • The goal is to eventually get 7 out of 10 shots to start to the correct side and draw back towards the target.

Here is the drill being explained by Kyle Morris:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i0DBchRnao&t=79s

Key #4: Have enough swing speed to produce a quality shot

The good news…swing speed can be increased.  Swing speed isn’t something you have to dream about.  YOu can go out and train for an additional 5-8% with the right tools and the right trending system.  For far too long, people often thought the speed they had is just something that one is born with. 

The reality is that one can increase their swing speed even as an adult golfer.  The second piece of good news is that you don’t have to spend $500 for the latest, greatest driver to make this happen!

You can train for speed and get some amazing results with SuperSpeed Golf.  It worked for me and I believe it can work for many (especially if you make a commitment and actually use it)

I believe many used to believe, well this is just how fast I can swing.  

Recent training tools have started to change many minds.  We have seen many of the professional golfers get longer and longer with their tee shots as a result of additional swing speed.  You will find many touring pros using the SuperSpeed System, which I highly recommend.

SuperSpeed Golf is one option to increase your swing speed through a science based overspeed training approach.  In simple terms, you train by swinging a lighter club (20%) faster than you swing your driver.  Over time, by training at a higher speed, your mind and body feel safe to swing that fast with your normal driver, resulting in an increase in driver swing speed.

The SuperSpeed System provides 3 different weighted sticks and takes the golfer through a training protocol every other day for about 15 minutes.  The golfer can expect to see a 5-8% increase in swing speed, resulting in 20-30 yards for most golfers.  The great news is that the 5-8% can be expected as early as the first training session.  The additional speed will become more permanent after about 30-60 days of training.

My own experience has been an increase of 7-10 miles per hour on average from between 98-101 all the way up to 106-109.  My goal is to hit the PGA Tour average of 113 mph in the coming months.  I will continue to train every other day and watch in amazement as I am hitting drivers longer now than ever before!

Phil Mickelson has been known to increase his swing speed in the past year or so and is close to 120 miles per hour in his swing speed.  There are potential results for golfers of all ability levels and age!  

Check the current price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!

Original Swing SpeedAfter 4-6 WeeksNew Carry DistanceTotal Distance
95102245265
100108259279
105113271291
110118283303
SuperSpeed Golf has been a game changer for me! It is worth checking out!

Key #5: Learn to hit different shot heights with the 5 wood

The 5 wood is a rather versatile golf club.  One that a golfer can use from a wide range of yardages and hit high shots and low shots.  The high shots are perfect for when you are trying to hold a green.  The low shots are great for a fairway finder, or when you are hitting into the wind.  

Simply advancing the ball down the fairway on a par 5 and setting up a reasonable wedge shot into a great can be a game changer and one that saves you 1-2 shots per hole.

The 5 wood is also an excellent club for the 1-2 par 3 holes that are 180 yards plus in the typical 18 holes of golf.  

Learning to hit the 5 wood both lower and higher will play a pivotal part in taking your game to the next level.  My recommendation is to experiment at the driving range with different ball positions and different releases and learn to hit the ball low and high.

Helpful Post: 5 wood vs 3 iron: Which one should I carry?

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you?  I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor.  Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed.  Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier.  Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system?  It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

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