Here’s everything you need to know about fairway woods

What is a fairway wood?

We find many names for the things we love. Woods, fairway woods and metal woods – they’re all exactly the same thing even though their called different names. But we still find that fairway wood is the most widely accepted name. A fairway wood is a driver in miniature. It has higher loft than a driver, a smaller head and a shorter shaft. Overall this makes it easier to hit the centre of the face and this categorises it as more forgiving. It doesn’t go as far as a driver but sometimes it’s just more important to be straight than long. The club has a variety of uses and can also be used for your tee shot on a tight and short par 4. It can also help you reach the green on long par 5s.undefined

Which loft should I choose?

The more loft you have on your club the easier it is to play. So sometimes it’s worth choosing an FW5 with a loft of around 18-19 degrees instead of an FW3 with a 15 degree loft as this makes it easier to get the ball up in the air. If you’re an experienced golfer with a relatively high swing speed and good control, an FW3 is usually the best option. So it’s your choice whether you want an FW5, FW7 or hybrid as your next club to cover the distance you need. So as a general summary, we recommend an FW3 for skilled golfers and an FW5 for players with slightly lower swing speeds.

Some professionals play with several fairway woods. Why is that?

It’s not uncommon to see some pros play with more than one fairway wood. This is because they want to be able to cover a range of distances but also influence the trajectory the club produces.

Justin Thomas, who is one of the best in the world at hitting the ball, sometimes carries an FW7 in his bag even though it doesn’t give him any more distance than his 4 iron. The reason is quite simply the trajectory – with an FW7 the ball flight will be higher and he can land the ball softer on the green than he’d be able to with an iron.

What is a spoon?

Spoon has almost become a collective name for all fairway woods but strictly speaking, a spoon is an FW3 and nothing else.

Are there different types of fairway woods?

Yes there are. Apart from the clubs’ different lofts, there are a range of models and designs. Today you’ll find many more options to choose from compared to a few years ago. It all started when the manufacturers started releasing different versions of their drivers and you can now see the same thing with fairway woods. There’s often a standard option available, a model that generates less spin and a model that has a weight positioned against the heel to help add draw to the shot and counteract slice.