CHARPTER SIX 第六章

HOW TO NAIL FAIRWAY WOODS 球道木杆 （2）

*** The Style Should Suit the Player 选择适合自己的球道木杆

You should experiment with several types of fairway woods before deciding which models to include in your set. Before consider loft, lie and shaft flex, you first need to determine which basic club-head will serve you best.

在做出购买决定前，多试些球道木。杆面角，杆底和杆身硬度都是要考虑的因素，但是最重要的是要看杆头的形状。

=== Utility Value 实用型

This type of utility fairway wood is very popular among amateurs, and you’ll even find a few on the Senior PGA Tour. The club-face is shallow with most of the weight distributed along the bottom of the club-head to hit the ball higher and advance the ball from tall grass.

这种杆头在业余球手的球道木中很常见，在常青PGA巡回赛中，也有使用者。杆面比较窄，杆头的重量主要分布在杆头底，比较起球，尤其球被草托着的情况下。

=== Just Right For the Average Joe 业余型

This type of fairway wood is useful for the everyday amateur. The head is oversized, with a big forgiving sweet spot. It’s easy to get the ball airborne, but is also useful off the tee on a short, tight par 4 or a long par 3. It complements the utility wood very well. Most amateur should carry this model and a utility wood as well.

这种球道木杆适合业余球手，超大杆头设计，甜点面积大，很容易起球，短四杆洞，或者长三杆洞，球架在梯上，这种杆很适合。可以作为上面实用型的补充杆，建议业余球手备着这两种杆。

=== Don’t Try This at Home 职业杆

My 3-wood—the only fairway wood I carry, incidentally—is similar to this one in terms of design. The club-head is medium-sized, the weight distributed fairly evenly around the perimeter and from top to bottom. It gives me exceptional feel and control, but you need a lot of club-head speed and have to nail the sweet spot to get much out of it. Not a great club to hit from a poor lies—if the ball is sitting badly I’ll use an iron.

我的球包中只有三号木，就设计而言，与这一款相似。杆头大小中型，重量均匀分布，手感很好，易于操控。但是这种杆需要杆头速度和精准的击球点。球道木虽然可用性很强，但是如果球位不太好，还是用铁杆比较可靠些。

*** Impact Should Look Like Address 击球前瞬间与瞄准

The purpose of addressing the ball correctly is so you can return to that position at impact. These photos aren’t spitting images, of course—in the photo at left I’m absolutely still while in the photo at right I’m set launch the ball at 180 m.p.h—but they are more alike than they are different. You’ll note that the club-shaft is in almost exactly the same position in both photos, perpendicular to the target line. My spine angle is the same and my head is in virtually the same spot. It proves how complicated the golf swing can be.

瞄准的重要性在于球手在击球的瞬间还要回到这个姿势。下图中的两个图像不是同一个时点的，左图中的我显然处于静止的瞄准姿态，而右边的我正要以180MPH的速度击球，但是两者看上去还挺像的。在两图中，杆身几乎在同样的位置，都垂直于目标线。我的脊柱角度是同样的，我的头位也基本一致。从这一点上也佐证了挥杆的难度。

The differences can be attributed to speed and motion. My hips and shoulders are rotating furiously in the photo at right and thus a bit open to the target line. My arms are further forward because they are swinging past my body with as much speed as I can muster. And my right heel is off the ground (though you can’t see it well here) to accommodate the movement in my hips and shoulders.

两图中看到的差异来自于速度和动作。右图中，胯部和肩膀由于转动，已经开始向目标打开；我的手臂正以我能迸发的速度向前挥过我的身体，为了配合胯部和肩膀的转动，我的右脚跟已经抬起（虽然在图上看不出来）。

So, while I’ve arrived at a pretty good position at impact, the big lesson here it to set up to the ball in a manner that allows you to swing the club freely with no unnecessary movement in any part of your body.

由此看来，为了在击球时能有正确的位置，没有多余的动作，让挥杆无阻畅行，瞄准时的站姿站位就非常重要。

***“Boring” Proposition 建议

I’m a big believer in the importance of trajectory and ball flight. Because the fairway woods can have considerable loft, it’s all too easy to settle for a high, lazy ball flight. That isn’t my style. I like the ball to come off the club-face with lots of zip, so it can bore through the wind without being blown off line too much. I like to hear the ball hiss for the first 30 yards or so.

A boring ball flight is not just a product of hitting the ball hard. Much of it has to do with the club-head’s angle of attack, how solidly you hit the ball and the type of fairway wood you’re using. You’ll get more out of your fairway woods if you can achieve: (1) a level angle of attack into the ball; (2)center-face contact; (3) a fairway wood that is properly fitted to your swing in terms of weight, shaft flex and club-head design. Once you find the right fairway wood, you’ll find the search was well worth the effort.

我很看重球的弹道和飞行轨迹。因为球道木杆的杆面角比较大，容易打出高飞球，我不喜欢这样的球，我喜欢球往前直飞，这样的球不容易被风改变方向，我要听到球“嗖”飞出的声音。

这样飞出的球并不全是猛力击球的结果，也是和击球时的杆面角有关。也就是以什么样的杆以及扎实触球有关。打好球道木，我有以下建议：（1）触球时杆头平行与地面；（2）甜点击球；（3）球道木的重量，硬度和杆头设计符合个人的挥杆习惯。要找到适合自己的球道木，这一番功夫是值得化的。

***“Chase” The Ball With Your Right Hand 右手逐杆

On second shots into long par 4s and short par 5s, you’re aiming at a pretty small target. Accuracy is extremely important and not all that easy to achieve. Keep in mind, the fairway wood is a lot longer than, say, your 7-iron and thus is harder to control. The best key for keeping the ball on the straight and narrow is to make the club-head track straight down the target line for as long as possible after impact. You should feel you are chasing the ball into the distance with your right hand, keeping the club-head low to the ground and allowing your right arm to extend fully after it has struck the ball. This will keep the club-face square to the target for a longer period through impact.

长四杆洞或是短五杆洞的第二杆，落球区总是不太宽，这时候更需要准度。球道木杆身长，操控比7号铁难多了，保持方向的要点是在击球后继续尽可能保持杆头继续沿着目标方向送杆，击球后右手充分伸展，杆头贴着地面，感觉上是右手依然在追逐飞向远处的球。这有助于保持杆面的方正击球。

*** When I Must Turn The Ball Left   draw球

Only after years of practice am I able to shape my tee shots at will without changing the basic character of my swing. The benefit of all this work led to my winning of my sixth professional major, and the fourth in row, the 2001 Masters. The 13^th hole at Augusta National is a par 5 that bends sharply to the left about 230 yards out from the tee. The player who can hit a long, controlled draw on demand has a big advantage there, for once the ball turns the corner, it can scamper to within 200 yards of the green. And because of the elusive nature of the firm, undulating green, it’s a treat to have a middle iron in your hand to use on your approach shot.

Long before I arrived at Augusta for the 2001 Masters, I practiced that draw with my driver and 3-wood. For two months solid, I would devote a little extra time on the practice tee with that specific shot in my mind’s eye. I don’t consciously change my mechanics. I do it by feel. My last thought before I take the club back is “Draw”. I got good at hitting the shot in practice, but would it hold up under pressure?

多年的练习后，我终于能够在保持我的基本挥杆动作不变的基础上自如地打出我想要的弹道和轨迹。这让我赢得了第六个大满贯，是连续的第四个，2001年的大师赛。奥古斯塔的十三洞是五杆洞，离梯台230码，球道急遽地拐向左面，如能打出刚好距离的draw，那这一洞就有优势了，因为球在滚过拐点后，第二杆攻果岭将剩下不到200码，奥古斯塔的果岭很诡异，如果能用中铁杆攻果岭，那是一种待遇！

在我参加比赛前，我就用一号木和三号木开始练习十三号洞所需要的draw，连着两个月，在练习场，我都在琢磨这一杆。我不会为了这一杆而改变我的基础挥杆，但我需要感觉到位。我只想着draw，练习的效果是可以的，但是压力之下，我是否依然？

I found out in the final round. Nursing a narrow lead over Phil Michelson and David Duval, I stood on the 13^th tee determined to bring off that hard, piercing draw. Filled with the confidence that comes from knowing you’ve prepared yourself well, I grabbed my 3-wood and just ripped the tee shot. The ball not only turn the corner, it didn’t stop rolling until it came to rest in a perfect lie, 183 yards from the green, easily, and the tap-in birdie that followed kept my lead intact—a lead, as it turned out, I wouldn’t lose.

在大师赛的最后一轮，我保持着与米克尔森和大卫杜瓦尔的微弱优势。到了十三洞的发球台，我决定拿出我的杀手锏，自信来自充分的练习中对自己的认可，我用三号木抽了那一杆。球滚过拐角继续往前，停在距离果岭183码一个极好的地方，二上二推，小鸟，我继续保持领先，最终赢了比赛。