Buying guide for Golf Fairway Woods

Buying advice for Golf Fairway Woods

Shop for Golf Fairway Woods Fairway woods are versatile clubs you need to have in your bag. These metal woods have a larger club head than long irons, making it easier to get the distance you are looking for and giving you the opportunity to reach the green in fewer shots.

Fairway woods have a higher loft and a shallower club face, allowing you to hit the ball easily off the ground. They can be used off the tee, or once you've hit that perfect drive and find yourself in the middle of the fairway, use it for an approach from a distance to the green. Fairway woods also come in handy when you've been a little wayward off the tee and end up in the rough, giving you a little extra loft to get your ball back in play and in a good position to attack the green.

Fairway woods are typically the clubs numbered from 5-11 in your bag. Generally speaking, the higher the number goes the more loft you can expect to get and therefore the less distance. At GolfOnline we stock an excellent variety of golf fairway woods from all the major brands, including Callaway, Wilson Staff and Titleist. The clubs have graphite shafts to offer more flex ranges and also have a lower centre of gravity (CoG), giving you a larger sweet spot. For these reasons and many more fairway woods are a must-have club for experienced golfers and relative novices alike.

The Head
Since the 1980s fairway woods have been manufactured from metal or composites, materials that translate to a lower centre of gravity (CoG) and therefore a larger sweet spot. This makes the clubs perfect for experienced and novice players alike, giving golfers more leeway.

Steel fairway woods are forgiving on the course, while a lightweight titanium head provides a larger head without increasing weight. This offers you a club with a larger sweet spot that won’t punish an imperfect swing.

The Shaft
Golf fairway woods tend to have the longest shafts of all the clubs in your bag. They are generally made from steel or graphite, with steel often the choice for players who are new to the game as it provides a consistent shot. Experienced players tend to opt for the more expensive graphite option, as it is lightweight and allows a higher club head speed to be created with less effort.

The Flex
Flexibility is key when it comes to golf fairway woods. The flex refers to the amount of bend the shaft can handle and the give you need depends on the type of swing you have.

Ideally, a player with a strong swing should be looking at a less flexible shaft so they can keep control of the ball off the face of the club, while a player with an average swing needs something with a little more flexibility. Flex can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but the golf fairway woods you choose should be flexible enough to provide the distance and accuracy you need while staying in control.

Set a Budget

It is important that you set yourself a budget and stick to it as the price range of fairway woods. Like with the drivers, generally the more expensive the fairway wood the more technology there is in the club.

It is generally thought the more budget you can allocate for a driver the better the fairway wood will be. Always visit our clearance or special offer pages as you may find that you can get better value for your money on these pages.

What Sort of Fairway Wood Should I be Looking For?

As a beginner it is normal to start with a 3 and 5 wood. The head size and shape will vary depending on the manufacturer, the shape and size should not be a major concern as they will have a low centre of gravity and will be very easy to use. The head materials that are used in fairway woods will be either steel, titanium with the odd manufacturer using the carbon graphite crown technology. It is important to find fairway woods that you are happy to hit from the tee as well as the fairway, as you may find a fairway wood of the tee a better option than a driver on the shorter, tighter holes where accuracy is paramount over distance.