The fairway wood is one of the most demanding clubs in golf to hit and a lot of women really struggle to use it. Yet for most women it’s a golf bag essential. While the typically stronger man can get away with mainly using their long irons and a fairway wood just once or twice during a round, for women it’s a far different situation.
Although it is possible for us to make up a few extra shots around the green by having a sharp short game, there’s simply no substitute for length. Golf is a much easier game if you’re hitting greens in regulation. But to do so you need the added distance that a fairway wood offers on those long second shots to achieve this.
When it comes to choosing the right loft for a fairway wood, the most important factor to consider is your swing speed. As a general rule of thumb, the slower your swing speed, the more loft you will need to launch the ball high. A typical woman with a swing speed under 100 mph will therefore suit a 3-wood with 15-17 degrees of loft. This will provide the best combination of high initial launch with optimal spin - the perfect scenario for getting shots airborne with ease and maximising distance.
Driver vs Fairway Wood Lofts
The main difference between a driver and fairway woods is that we use the latter off the ground as well as off a tee. That’s why fairway woods are made with a lot more loft - we simply need an extra helping hand to get the added height needed to flight them as there’s no tee peg involved.
The other thing to consider is that the style of swing needed to sweep a fairway wood away successfully is very shallow. As a consequence you need more loft on a fairway wood to get the height on the ball flight. Rather than hitting the ball on the upswing from a forward ball position like a driver off the tee, a fairway wood is swept away with a shallow action off the turf.
If you lack confidence using fairway woods, a good starting club to boost your belief in your technique would be to try something like a 7-wood, which typically has around 20-22 degrees of loft. This friendly fairway wood will still give you respectable distance (much more than a comparable long iron), while its added loft and shorter shaft make it easier to use. By sacrificing a little bit of distance you will get increased consistency. The 7-wood will also act as a stepping stone to gaining confidence with your lower lofted fairway woods and if you have a day when your longer fairway woods aren’t behaving, the 7-wood is a great club to get you through your round.
Check For Even Distance Gaps
With so many fairway wood loft choices available it can be difficult to figure out what woods you should have in your bag. Gone are the days when 3, 5 and 7-wood were the only options - the standard golf bag make-up. There’s now every loft imaginable.
If you are going to carry more than one fairway wood then the key is to space them out in a way that gives you an even distance gap and consistency between each club. If you carry multiple fairway woods then there should be a yardage gap of between 10-15 yards with each club. This way, you can handle any approach without making half or three-quarter swings.
Lofts Vary From Brand To Brand
Did you know that there’s no industry standard for fairway wood lofts? This means that a 3-wood from one manufacturer can have an entirely different loft from that of another brand. So, if you want to carry a mixed bag of clubs from different manufacturers, or replace an old wood with something new, then do not assume that because it is stamped with a certain loft that it will be exactly the same as the one you are replacing. Custom-fitting is the best solution.
There are several factors involved in finding the right loft fairway wood to suit your swing type and ability level, and the vast majority of information can be gleamed by using a launch monitor. A typical 3-wood has around 15 degrees of loft, 5-wood between 18 and 21 degrees and 7-wood 22-24 degrees. If you carry a 5-wood, it shouldn’t be more than 3-4 degrees higher than your 3-wood. For example, if your 3-wood has 16 degrees of loft, your 5-wood should be 19 or 20 degrees and should therefore carry about 8-10 yards shorter.
Adjustable Options
Over the last few years adjustable fairway woods have become more common. A simple wrench tool allows you to adjust the loft, lie, and even face angle of the fairway wood. The beauty of buying an adjustable fairway wood is that if you are going through some swing changes and trying to improve your technique then you can adjust the loft as your swing changes.
Hybrid vs Fairway Wood Lofts
If you’ve ever wondered why hybrids and fairway woods have the same lofts then you won’t be alone. The answer is simple - to give you choices. I have replaced all of my long irons with hybrids due to their versatility and shot-making capabilities.
However, as hybrids tend to be available in similar lofts to fairway woods it can be confusing to know which to carry. In the same way that no two fairway wood lofts are alike, the same can be said for a hybrid. So a 19 degree hybrid might fly a very different distance to the equivalent fairway wood.
The easiest way to figure out which club you prefer is to test the same loft fairway wood and hybrid side-by-side and compare the performance. I personally find the smaller size head of the hybrid more functional, allowing me to play long recovery shots from the rough or even fairway bunkers, from places where I wouldn’t have the confidence to use my woods. The one certainty is that getting the right combination of fairway woods and hybrids in lofts that work for you can make the game easier and more fun.
