Fairway woods

[Nickrachel]

Fairway woods are strange things.
Some love 'em, some hate 'em.....
Many people have a 3 wood in their bag that, if they use it, doesn't go much further than a 5 wood.
Off the deck it's probably the most difficult club in the bag to hit, unless you're a "driver off the deck" Guy.........
15° isn't a lot of loft to get the ball up from the ground.
You need a good contact and a healthy swing speed to make the most of it.
I've always felt that the majority of handicap golfers would be better off with a 4 wood around 17° than a 3 wood?
That extra couple of degrees puts a little more spin on the ball, gets it up in the air, keeps it there a bit longer and ,therefore, it goes further.
Some will even hit a 5 wood further..
Try clubs but don't get hooked into believing you HAVE to have a 3 wood.
Find a club that works and keep it! No matter what the loft is or the number on to sole.

Cheers for your advice, which 5 wood would you reccomend I take a look at to get an idea?

 

[Imurg]

Cheers for your advice, which 5 wood would you reccomend I take a look at to get an idea?

To be honest, and of your budget can stretch, you shouldn't go far wrong with Jobr1850's rogue.
Should be able to try one at most shops - still a current club.

 

[njt1986]

Fairway woods are strange things.
Some love 'em, some hate 'em.....
Many people have a 3 wood in their bag that, if they use it, doesn't go much further than a 5 wood.
Off the deck it's probably the most difficult club in the bag to hit, unless you're a "driver off the deck" Guy.........
15° isn't a lot of loft to get the ball up from the ground.
You need a good contact and a healthy swing speed to make the most of it.
I've always felt that the majority of handicap golfers would be better off with a 4 wood around 17° than a 3 wood?
That extra couple of degrees puts a little more spin on the ball, gets it up in the air, keeps it there a bit longer and ,therefore, it goes further.
Some will even hit a 5 wood further..
Try clubs but don't get hooked into believing you HAVE to have a 3 wood.
Find a club that works and keep it! No matter what the loft is or the number on to sole.

See, weirdly I find my 3 Wood to be the easiest club to hit in my bag (except the putter, and even then I don't find the middle as often as my 3W!) ... I use it off the tee, off the deck, and recently taken to using it on the fringe when I need to bump it across a large green - somehow find that more consistent than my putter, a wedge or something like a 8i to bump & run. I look like a nutter but it works.

My dad couldn't - and can't - hit a Wood for some reason, he's a good golfer but struggles with his Woods and has done for as long as I remember.

Imurg makes a fantastic point though, go with what you personally feel most comfortable with! A higher lofted Wood, a lower lofted Hybrid, a Driving Iron - ultimately it's about putting what suits you best in the bag

 

[MegaSteve]

Still believe my old Ping Eye 2 fairway woods were the easiest clubs, to hit, I've ever owned...

 

[Orikoru]

Fairway woods are strange things.
Some love 'em, some hate 'em.....
Many people have a 3 wood in their bag that, if they use it, doesn't go much further than a 5 wood.
Off the deck it's probably the most difficult club in the bag to hit, unless you're a "driver off the deck" Guy.........
15° isn't a lot of loft to get the ball up from the ground.
You need a good contact and a healthy swing speed to make the most of it.
I've always felt that the majority of handicap golfers would be better off with a 4 wood around 17° than a 3 wood?
That extra couple of degrees puts a little more spin on the ball, gets it up in the air, keeps it there a bit longer and ,therefore, it goes further.
Some will even hit a 5 wood further..
Try clubs but don't get hooked into believing you HAVE to have a 3 wood.
Find a club that works and keep it! No matter what the loft is or the number on to sole.

I have a 4 wood, because the 16.5° loft sits perfectly in my bag and I didn't see the need for a 3 and a 5 when you can just one club that sits between them. But since the popularisation of adjustable clubs, it seems nowadays your only choices are to get a 3 wood and loft up, or a 5 wood and loft down. I never see 4 woods about unless they're a good 6+ years old like mine is.

 

[robinthehood]

I have a 4 wood, because the 16.5° loft sits perfectly in my bag and I didn't see the need for a 3 and a 5 when you can just one club that sits between them. But since the popularisation of adjustable clubs, it seems nowadays your only choices are to get a 3 wood and loft up, or a 5 wood and loft down. I never see 4 woods about unless they're a good 6+ years old like mine is.

When I was looking at fairways I found very few 4 woods as I was interested in either 4 or 5. I'm happy with my Cleveland launcher, 19 degrees

 

[Tashyboy]

Ave read two posts on here that hit nail on head re fairway woods. In essence re fairways. they are bovril. That said i love ping and i dont know if they have ever made a bad un. This years G410 dont mean 400 is bad or G30 etc etc. The thing with Fairways is using them in the right sceanrio. Fairway or tee. And my fave first cut where its just sat up.

 

[SugarPenguin]

I would recommend getting a fairway wood as as you get better you do need one as part of your set up.

I think brand wise... I would probably look at a TaylorMade or a Ping.
Reason being is they have a friendly shape to them from above and especially how low and flat the face is. Allows for a nice glide and more forgiveness.

 

[Nickrachel]

Like I said in my first post everybody's views are so different and this post is showing that which for me is a good thing. I've got lots to take into consideration. I'm going to do some more online searching tonight and see what I can find. Thank you all once again.

 

[FuzzyDuck]

I have a Cobra F7 3 Wood which is used off the tee instead of my driver. It's also used off the ground quite a bit but not the easiest to use. I also have a TaylorMade M2 5 wood which is very reliable off the deck.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I use a ping g25 and that or the 30 to match your driver would be ideal. The pings are very forgiving and as easy to hit as any brand out there.

My Ping G25 4-wood delivers more consistently and with best return on a shot-by-shot basis than any other club in my bag other than putter or driver. Love it.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

When I was looking at fairways I found very few 4 woods as I was interested in either 4 or 5. I'm happy with my Cleveland launcher, 19 degrees

My one hybrid is a 20.5 3i Cleveland Launcher - and I like it very much. A very versatile club that I use quite a lot every round - often when I either don't need my 4w distance off the fairway or if the ball is sitting just a bit too tight for it.

 

[Bxm Foxy]

5 wood, easier to hit and generally go just as far.

I totally agree with this. My Adams XTD ti 5w goes a little further than the same 3W.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I have 2016 taylormade M1 fairway woods 3 & 5 wood but in the HL model, so extra loft to hit the ball higher. Also have the original tight lies Adams fairway wood 7 & 9 wood.

Would recommend them and fairly cheap to buy. All fairly easy to hit (provided I don't top them!)

 

[Slab]

If a 5w often goes as far as a 3w and (it’s been said for ages) a 3w often goes as far as a driver. That means a 5w often goes as far as driver (schoolboy logic tells us this)

Why are folks paying 400-500 on new TM/Cally drivers when a 5w of exactly the same brand/model costs approx half of that?

 

[Lord Tyrion]

If a 5w often goes as far as a 3w and (it’s been said for ages) a 3w often goes as far as a driver. That means a 5w often goes as far as driver (schoolboy logic tells us this)

Why are folks paying 400-500 on new TM/Cally drivers when a 5w of exactly the same brand/model costs approx half of that?

Ssssswhhhhh, the driver mfrs will come knocking on your door if you spread this around . Big business in selling drivers, not big business in selling 5 woods

 

[dronfield]

Hi

My Ping K15 5 wood is a nice club to hit - shallow face which gives confidence and is 19 degrees so plenty of loft. I use it off tee and fairway.
The 3 wood model is 16 degree, so again should be not too difficult to hit.

Rich