| Specs | View on Amazon | |
|---|---|---|
| Top Pick Callaway Epic Flash  | Lofts 13.5°, 15°, 18°, 20°, 21°, 23°, 25° Stock Shafts Project X Even Flow Green, Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue, Project X Hzrdus Smoke Black |   |
| Runner-Up TaylorMade M6  | Lofts 14°, 15°, 18°, 21°, 24° Stock Shafts Fujikura ATMOS Orange | |
| Best Value TaylorMade RBZ Black  | Lofts 15°, 16.5°, 18° Stock Shafts Matrix White Tie | |
| For Better Ball Strikers Titleist TS3  | Lofts 13.5°, 15°, 16.5°, 18° Stock Shafts Project X Even Flow White, Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue, Project X Hzrdus Smoke Black | |
Fairway woods are a great option off the tee and for reaching long holes in two shots. As you continue to improve your game, fairway woods can add that extra length and accuracy you need. With many different options in loft and length, we will help find you the best option.
Related Topics:
Best Fairway Woods For Mid Handicappers
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- Callaway Epic Flash | Top Pick
- TaylorMade M6 | Runner Up
- TaylorMade Men’s RBZ Black |Best Value
- Titleist TS3 Fairway Wood | Best For Better Ball Strikers
Callaway Epic Flash Fairway Wood | Top Pick For Mid Handicappers
The Callaway Epic Flash Fairway Wood packs a serious punch when it comes to distance and forgiveness for a fairway wood.
Callaway Epic Flash
The Callaway Epic Flash is an expensive option but packs a lot of technology that can be a huge help to beginners.
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Callaway’s Flash Face technology was created using Artificial Intelligence. The Flash Face technology gives players more ball speed off the face of the club allowing for more distance. Also included in the Callaway Epic Flash Fairway Wood for the first time is the Jailbreak Technology that provides players with more relief for shots higher or lower on the clubface, resulting in better accuracy.
Callaway was extra generous with the build of this fairway wood, because for the first time they included all of the same technology from the driver into the woods. The new design touts a face within the clubface providing fast speed not only in the middle of the clubface but at the bottom of the clubface as well for the shots off the deck. Along with added distance, players want to maintain accuracy and Callaway made sure that this club was built with plenty of forgiveness.
Callaway Epic Flash Fairway Wood also contains a new hosel technology called OptiFit hosel. The hosel is shorter and less visually intrusive at address, making the mid-size head an ideal visual target for the eye. On top of the shaft technology, Callaway provides a stock Golf Pride grip with a ridge in the middle to help maintain a consistent hand position on the club shaft.
Speed Step technology was added to the Callaway Epic Flash Fairway Wood to improve the aerodynamics of the club and resulting in more club speed.
For players that have dialed in their shot accuracy, Callaway also provides a Sub Zero model of the fairway wood, similar to the driver. The Sub Zero model has less spin and provides more distance. The consequence of less spin and more distance is less forgiveness.
For the price, the Callaway Epic Flash Fairway Wood provides great value. Mid handicappers look for an advantage in the climb towards a single-digit handicap, look for the Callaway Epic Flash Fairway Wood to provide that supplement for more distance and accuracy.
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TaylorMade M6 Fairway Wood | Runner Up
The TaylorMade M6 Fairway Wood had much to live up to considering the previous version, TaylorMade M4 Fairway Wood providing a huge leap in accuracy and forgiveness.
TaylorMade M6
Forgiveness and lightweight design makes the Taylor Made M6 a great option for the mid-handicapper.
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The M5 model was different than the M4 and M6 by providing the player adjustability within the clubface. M4 and M6 do not provide adjustability to the clubface, but supplements distance and accuracy increases.
The crown of the M6 is a touch bigger than the M4, which in turn removes a few grams of weight from the clubhead. The M6 model is also the first fairway wood to incorporate TaylorMade’s Twist Face technology, allowing for more speed, distance, and forgivability.
For mid handicappers, the Twist Face technology decreases side spin, which means snap hooks and slices become less of a problem. For a mid handicapper looking to make their way into the single-digit handicap, more accuracy while adding distance is key.
The dispersion of the club is dramatically improved with the M6 model and even hits that feel poor, end up as a smaller miss than a pure strike. Newly added technology of the Speed Slot gives the player more ball speed with a slightly twisted face. Within the slot, TaylorMade added thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that reduces fat shots using less impact on the ground and a more comforting feel. The TPU slot sits flush in the lower center of the face allowing a high-impact connection from the center of the face to the lower center of the face.
Key characteristics that make the TaylorMade M6 Fairway Wood fantastic for mid handicappers include the increase of loft in the toe and decreased loft in the heel. These adjustments help correct the trajectory of the ball flight while maintaining increased accuracy.
The design of the club is pleasing to the eye as well, making the club easy to line up to the target.
Overall, the M6 is very user-friendly and comfortable for a mid-handicapper. Within a moderate price range, a mid handicapper can utilize the M6 for distance and accuracy without breaking the bank.
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TaylorMade RBZ Black Fairway Wood | Best Value
The TaylorMade Men’s RBZ Black Fairway Wood is a popular choice amongst mid-handicappers that do not want to break the bank. With a mid-size head and great forgivability, the RBZ is a very playable club.
TaylorMade RBZ Black
Lot’s of TaylorMade tech at an affordable price makes the RBZ Black one of the best values on the market today.
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The slot on the bottom of the club makes hitting off any lie a breeze. A player can expect to make a solid impact from any playing condition without the bottom of the club dragging. The new Legendary Speed Pocket technology included with the club provides a player higher ball launch and increased distance. The profile of the clubhead is lower to the ground allowing for comfortability making shots from the fairway.
TaylorMade also added a mass pad that optimizes launch off the clubface, while delivering a high-quality sound and feel. The Legendary Speed Pocket also reduces spin, in addition to increasing launch, which gives a player more distance without sacrificing accuracy.
The refreshed design of the RBZ model uses a satin black trim with crown details, allowing a player to dial in their alignment. The lightweight 55 RocketFuel stock shaft provided with the RBZ model increases speed and distance, making the club very comfortable to swing. Players looking to dial in their loft can use the adjustable hosel to decrease or increase based on their needs of the course.
With all of the new high-level upgrades to the RBZ model in play, a player could guess the club to cost somewhere near $300. Great news, arguably the best feature provided with the RBZ model besides increased distance and accuracy is the fantastic price.
Players can bring home a brand new TaylorMade RBZ Black Fairway Wood for the low price of $149.99. Mid handicappers looking to move their game towards single-digit handicap without spending top dollar for the premium line of fairway woods can receive fantastic value with the TaylorMade RBZ Black Fairway Wood.
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Titleist TS3 Fairway Wood | Best Option For Better Ball Strikers
The Titleist TS3 Fairway Wood is designed for players with a higher swing speed that prefer the look of a smaller clubhead.
Titleist TS3
Titleist is known for their traditional style clubs and the TS3 is just that but with a lot of helpful technology built-in as well.
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In the TS3 Titleist decided to thin the steel crown by a reported 27 percent, which in turn increases the moment of inertia by a reported 11 percent. The ARC 3.0 that is included in the TS3 model behind the clubface increases ball speed and launch while keeping spin low. With these factors combined, it is obvious the Titleist TS3 has been designed for the player looking to add pure distance to their fairway woods.
The looks of the TS3 model are fantastic. The profile of the clubface is a bit smaller than the previous model TS2. The finish of the club is a black glossy color, very similar to a traditional look. The alignment setup with the TS3 is very simple using the full face grooves of the club.
In addition to great alignment, the full face grooves provide more consistent spin on the ball. When hitting from the semi-rough a player can expect a similar ball flight that they see from the fairway with the TS3.
For players looking for a driver alternative, the TS3 stacks up. With a penetrating ball flight, the TS3 retains high ball speed even with low impact off the face of the club. Mid handicappers looking to make their way into the single-digit handicap will find the TS3 as a huge advantage on par 5s and longer par 4s.
While the TS3 does fly lower than the previous model TS2, TS3 still launches higher than the 917 model. When choosing to go with the TS3 model, make sure you do a fitting to determine the best loft for your ball flight.
The TS3 has not lost a ton of spin either, allowing for mishits to retain their accuracy. Using Titleist SureFit CG, a player can alter the weights in the clubhead to help manage the dispersion of their mishits. Overall Titleist has stepped their game up with the TS3 model, providing high levels of ball speed. The increased ball speed makes it one of the fastest on the market and consistently achieves long carry from impact.
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What Mid Handicappers Should Look For In A Fairway Wood
Fairway woods have seen competition over the years from the hybrid. Once your handicap arrives in the mid handicap area, a player can utilize a fairway wood again to continue improving their scores.
As your swing and accuracy have improved, you are now looking to launch your distance with a fairway wood.
Forgiveness
As a mid handicapper, you may still be fine-tuning your swing.
If a player is looking to add more accuracy to their fairway wood, while still achieving distance, look for a higher lofted wood.
The reason this occurs is in slower swing speeds, more loft makes it easier to pick the ball clean off the turf to accelerate the ball long distances. A comparison to make is the pitching wedge is easier to hit than the 4 iron.
This is because the pitching wedge maintains a higher loft than the 4 iron, thus making it easier to get the ball up and going forward. Fairway woods that carry a 16 to 17-degree loft are much easier to hit than the standard 14 to 15-degree lofts.
However, if you have a higher swing speed around 100mph, expect to hit more of the standard 14 to 15-degree lofts. When fitting for your new fairway wood, be sure to take into consideration the accuracy, swing speed and loft of your shot results.
Ball Control
When considering which fairway wood to use to make key strides towards a single-digit handicap, make sure that the club maintains the ball control needed from impact.
A fairway wood with more ball spin will tend to have more control of the ball flight. In addition to the higher spin, look for a ball that uses a lower launch as well. These two factors combine for the most accurate of shots for moderate swing speeds.
Different combinations of ball spin and launch provide different results of distance, accuracy, and control. If a player is extremely confident in their swing and wants to achieve a greater distance, then opt for a club that produces high launch, with lower ball spin, opposite of the more accurate high ball spin and lower launch.
If you are looking for something in between the two extremes, then a mid-launch is your answer. Using a mid-launch a player can choose between three different ball spin types. Mid launch with lower spin provides a bit more distance, while a higher ball spin achieves even more accuracy.
Adjustability
When choosing the fairway wood that you want to purchase, make sure you take into consideration the adjustability of the club.
A mid handicapper looking to move into the single digits definitely wants to have the ability to customize their fairway wood. While a player may know what they want from a fairway wood, having the ability to adjust loft and weights makes a big difference as play improves. After determining the best feeling fairway wood for your game, look for the clubs that contain adjustability for weights and loft.
Adjustability allows a player to fit the club they desire to their swing, instead of fitting their swing to the club. Features that may be manipulated include loft, lie and inherently face angle. Drivers carry the same sort of adjustable hosel technology that the fairway woods do.
That is what makes the fairway wood a great alternative to the driver coming off the tee box. Read more about the benefits of that strategy here.
