Here’s how you can copy Tiger Woods’ ‘chippy’ 5-wood shot

There are not many golfers that have the armoury of golf shots that Tiger Woods has. While you might not be able to hit them all, we’re pretty confident you can copy this one.

We all know about Tiger’s stinger, but this one, that he explained to fellow TaylorMade staffers Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler, is something of an anti-stinger.

Rather than keeping the ball low and fiery, Tiger explains that he wants Fleetwood and Scheffler to hit a 5-wood out of the rough, where he’s “chopping down on it.”

“I like a 5-wood that has options,” said Woods. “I don’t use a 2-iron that often anymore, because it’s changed. But I love the 5-wood out of the rough, chopping down on it. Say we’re playing bigger tournaments with higher rough, 170 yards out, I may open up a 5-wood and kind of chip one.”

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In the clip, which was posted to TaylorMade’s TikTok page, the trio then head to the rough, where Woods talks them through how to hit the shot. He places a ball down in the rough, before telling Fleetwood he should set the face of his 5-wood open behind the ball.

“The best example would be,” Tiger says, “is if you were going to be hitting like a punch 7-iron through the trees. That’s how you’d play it. The loft will do all the work for you. Just chop straight down on top of it.”

Fleetwood, who certainly knows how to hit a punch shot, then hits the shot. You can see that he grips down the shaft, gets very steep on the ball and curtails his follow-through to not even a three-quarter swing.

Scheffler then does the same, before Woods asks; “Did you see how easy that is?”

How to hit Tiger Woods’ 5-wood punch-cut

You might think this is a very specialist shot, but really, it’s doable by plenty of players.

.@TigerWoods teaches Scottie Scheffler and @TommyFleetwood1 how to play the "chippy" 5-wood out of a bad lie.

Watch the full Tiger Talks fairway wood clinic here: https://t.co/i7tCkY9rBG pic.twitter.com/y8Hmlxh6t0

— TaylorMade Golf (@TaylorMadeGolf) April 8, 2024

Of course, you don’t want to be playing this shot if your ball is really buried in the rough, but in a situation where your ball is sitting down in a shorter cut, it’s a great option.

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As Tiger says, you want to play this like an iron shot, rather than a typical fairway wood shot.

That involves gripping the club slightly shorter, which is going to help take some distance off.

Then, in the swing itself, you want to hit down on the ball more, rather than taking a sweeping action.

Finally, to really take some distance off, your follow-through is going to be shorter than usual.

You might not have considered this shot before, but it might just be a great option to have in the bag.

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Lewis Fraser As bunkered’s Performance Editor, Lewis oversees the content that’s designed to make you a better player. From the latest gear to tuition, nutrition, strategy and more, he’s the man. A graduate of the University of Stirling, Lewis joined bunkered in 2021. Formerly a caddie at Castle Stuart Golf Links, he is a member of Bathgate Golf Club where he plays off four.

Performance Editor