Fairway Woods Information

Traditional fairway woods start at a number 2, and have been known to go all the way up to a number 15, although in modern golf, 3 and 5 are by far the most popular fairway woods. A 3 wood typically has a loft of 15° and a 5 wood has 19°, and they will hit your golf ball on average 210 yards and 190 yards respectively.

Although a fairway wood may have a similar loft to a long iron, they generally hit your golf ball further, as the club head is bigger. Fairway woods are often easier to hit than long iron, as it doesn’t get caught up in the grass, and is less prone to twisting.

As the name suggests, fairway woods are predominantly used from the fairway on the golf course, but many golfers use them from the tee on tighter holes, where it is more important to be accurate rather than to maximise distance.

As with other golf clubs, a general rule of thumb is the more spend the better product you get, so whatever standard of golfer you are, it’s worth stretching your budget as far as you can to get the most technologically advanced fairway wood possible.

Technical Terms:

Moment of Inertia (MOI): A term applied to the amount of twisting at impact with your golf ball. A golf club with a high MOI will twist less during a mis-hit, giving your golf ball a better chance of going where it was intended to, and with less loss of distance.

Centre of Gravity (CoG): To help high handicap golfers get their golf ball airborne, many golfing manufacturers position the Centre of Gravity low and deep in the clubhead, and away from the clubface, sending your golf ball on a good trajectory.

Perimeter Weighting: By placing weight at the perimeter of the clubhead, golfing manufacturers heighten MOI, giving you straighter shots on the golf course.