What’s the difference between a fairway wood and a driver?

A fairway wood looks and feels like a miniature driver. Their heads are smaller and lighter but are designed in a similar shape using mostly the same materials. You’ll use them most often on longer holes like Par 5s, when you’ve hit an impressive drive, but still have a considerable distance left to go. Fairway woods give you greater distances than your irons, making them ideal to hit off the fairway when you’re still over 180 yards from the hole.TaylorMade fairway woods always prove to be popular, so they’re worth looking into if you need a new club.

Why are fairway woods more difficult to hit than other clubs?

When hitting a driver off the tee, you have the advantage of a tee giving your ball some height, so the driver can strike the ball without catching the ground. But with fairway woods, you don’t have this luxury, despite the fact they look and feel similar to drivers. This means you need to catch the ball cleanly off the fairway, or even take a divot. This can be more difficult than when using irons, which naturally cut through grass and mud on impact thanks to their shape.

Should I hit a fairway wood off the tee?

You can if you’d like. Hitting fairway woods off the tee is a popular choice for golfers on longer Par 3s, where an iron shot might not give you quite the distance you need to reach the green. They can also be useful when you don’t need to hit a full driver shot but still need impressive distance, like on dog leg holes where you need to hit the ball over 200 yards to reach the turn.If you do use a fairway wood off the tee, just make sure you don’t place your tee as high as you would with a golf driver, as this may result in you cutting under the ball by accident.

Can I use fairway woods in the rough?

Even though the word “fairway” is in the title, you can also use fairway woods to hit golf balls out of the rough, if you like. A lot of players enjoy using fairway woods out of the light rough, or even deep rough, as their clubheads are able to cut through the grass while also offering your shot greater distance than most irons. Their hollow heads also encourage increased power in your shot, helping strike your ball out of difficult lies in longer grass.

GOLF FAIRWAY WOODS

One of the most versatile clubs in any golfer’s bag, a good fairway wood will help you gain excellent distance on the course as well as help you get out of a few sticky situations.

Fairway woods are like drivers in a lot of ways, with some key differences that’ll open up many more shots for you in countless scenarios.

Their heads are smaller than drivers, yet still pack enough punch to give you brilliant distance - more than you’d find with your irons - when you need it most.

Unlike drivers, fairway woods are designed to be hit from a flat surface (like the fairway, as the name suggests) meaning you can still hit yardages of close to or over 200 yards if you’ve still got a long way to go on your second shot.

Or, if you find yourself at a Par 3, you could use your fairway wood off the tee to land on the green first-time, depending on the distance.

With so many different fairway woods to choose from, it’s essential for you to pick the right one for your game. Whether you’re looking for something lightweight, sturdy, stylish or sleek, at Clarkes Golf we have a massive selection of fairway woods from the best brand names in golf.

These include the likes of PING, Titleist, Callaway, Mizuno and many more.

Fairway woods work well out of the rough

Found yourself in a spot of trouble after you’ve teed off? Is your ball propped up in the long grass at the side of the fairway?

Lots of golfers choose to reach for their fairway woods, instead of an iron, on shots like these. Because these woods can offer enough force to launch the ball from the grass with a powerful, wide strike. That’s opposed to using an iron, with which you may need to hit downward into the shot, which doesn’t always work well when there’s plenty of rough grass in the way.

This way, you’re still able to get great distance on your second shot, without sacrificing a stroke to play it safe and tap it out of the rough.

But did you know a lot of golfers like to use their fairway woods as a chipper, too? It’s true! If your ball is in the light rough beside the green, you may be worried your putter wouldn’t be able to get the job done because the texture of the grass would slow the ball down before it reaches the green. You might also be tentative about using a 9-iron or wedge, too, as you’d rather hit a shot with plenty of roll.

The solution? Treat your fairway wood like a putter. You’ll get plenty of rolling distance, with just enough jump to lift it above that pesky longer grass and onto the green.

Have your fairway woods custom fitted

You can buy golf clubs straight off the shelf and have them work wonders for you. But if you truly want to perfect your game, you need to use clubs that are tailor-made to your height, style and stance.

That’s exactly what you get with custom-fitted clubs. So you can finally play the game the way you need to play it to achieve the lowest possible scores.

If you’re interested in having your fairway woods and other clubs custom fitted, at Clarkes Golf we offer a bespoke custom-fitting service, so you can transform your golf clubs into the efficient low-scoring machines they were always meant to be. Click here to find out more about our custom fitting.

Grab your new fairway woods at Clarkes Golf

At Clarkes, our range of fairway woods is impressive to say the least, so we’ll definitely have something to suit your personal golfing taste. Take a look at our collection of fairway woods below, or call 01744 885 294 if you need a hand making a decision.