We take a look at the best fairway woods for mid handicappers.
Best Fairway Woods For Mid Handicappers
The technology these days in fairway woods is incredible and the following products, while all trying to give us a helping hand, have a remarkable variety of approaches going on underneath the bonnet.
We’re now talking about fairway woods that can give us 250 yards off the tee and a bundle of 7 and 9-woods that will likely take the place of any long/mid irons that you’ve still got left in the bag.
Most of them aren’t cheap but, get it right, and they can serve all sorts of purposes.
Best Fairway Woods For Mid Handicappers
Callaway Mavrik Fairway Wood
+ Driver-link possibilities with your 3-wood
– If you like to have some adjustability then you’ll be disappointed
This is Callaway’s fastest fairway wood with a high launch and flat trajectory. The Flash Face is used for the remarkable fast ball speed and this extends across the face and the familiar Jailbreak technology, where two internal bars connect the crown and the sole, is also built in and this allows the face to work more efficiently.
You’ll read a lot about Artificial Intelligence (A.I), which began with its Flash drivers, in this range and this meant feeding the parameters of everything that you can think of into a computer and letting it solve any design problems on its own.
“We’ve consciously adopted a maverick’s rebellious and disruptive spirit to aid in our pursuit of better-performing equipment,” explained Callaway’s Dr Alan Hocknell. “Using A.I is a great example of that approach and it’s helped us to create innovative new features and technologies that defy convention and promote performance beyond the golfers expectation.”
Callaway Mavrik Fairway Woods Review
US Buy Now at Worldwide Golf Shops for $299.99
UK Buy Now at Scottsdale Golf for £249
PXG 0341 X Gen 2 Fairway Wood
+ PXG describe it as ‘fast, fierce and on point’ and it looks spectacular
– The price has come down but it’s still at the top end of the market
As you might expect this is bold and upfront. It’s a low spinning offering which starts with a 2-wood, which is a bit of a rarity, and goes up to the 21˚ 7-wood. It features hot rod technology which is inspired by the look and extreme performance of American muscle cars and the weight-forward design and carbon-fibre crown, which doubles as an alignment aid, reduce energy loss.
There are no fewer than eight sole weights, four close to the face and two lighters ones in both the heel and toe – the larger weights help to create the ideal ball flight.
UK Buy Now at Scottsdale Golf for £450
Titleist TSi3 Fairway Wood
(Image credit: Titleist)
+ Great for shaping and improved acoustics
– Dirt can gather in the vacated weight ports
This is more for the player who wants speed and accuracy. There is an adjustable weight track on the back – you can move to the heel, toe or keep it neutral – and they have moved away from simply moving it to the heel for a draw and toe for a fade etc They’ve now repositioned it to help with the CG placement so if you are more of a consistent striker, and you always hit it in the heel, you can now move the CG to move your sweet spot.
The beauty of the track is the attention to detail. They have worked with a screw vendor so in the space of just two clicks it will come all the way out and, two clicks later, it is back in place.
When you are stood over the ball it’s hard to decipher which is the TSi2 or the TSi3, both classic and smallish looking, which says a lot about the genius of the design as they offer different benefits.
Titleist TSi3 Fairway Wood Review
US Pre-order at Worldwide Golf Shops for $299.99
UK Pre-order at Scottsdale Golf for £269
Ping G410 Fairway Wood
+ Powerful and forgiving is a good mix
– Quite functional in appearance
This has a slightly shallower face than its predecessor the G400 and is designed to deliver higher ball speeds through a re-positioned centre of gravity closer to the face and sole. It’s estimated that it might carry an extra five yards over the G400.
All three G410 models feature an adjustable hosel with eight settings so you can change both your loft and lie and the emphasis is on stability and forgiveness.
The 3-wood comes with 14.5˚ of loft but can be adjusted to 16˚ and if that’s not enough you might want to think about the 5-wood and take a bit off it. There is also a 7 and 9-wood option.
US Buy Now at Worldwide Golf Shops for $259.99
UK Buy Now at Scottsdale Golf for £239
Cobra King Speedzone Tour Fairway Wood
+ Love the simplicity of its looks and it will go forever
– If you’re prone to not finding the middle of the club look elsewhere
When we say mid-handicapper you’ll probably need to be a bit of a ball striker to consider this. The manufacturer says this club is aimed at the 0-10 handicap market so it’s a player’s club. The weight, as opposed to the more-popular Speedzone Fairway, is postponed at the front so is a low launching and low-spinning bullet of a club and it comes in just the two lofts, 14 and 17.5˚.
This is ideal for the player who likes to work the ball and the trademark Baffler Rails, which are different depths on the three models, make this a great all-rounder from both tee and fairway.
US Buy Now at Worldwide Golf Shops for $229.99
UK Buy Now at Scottsdale Golf for £229
XXIO Eleven Fairway Wood
+ They’re designed solely to try and help the average golfer play better
– It might not suit all swing speeds
If you’re unfamiliar with this Japanese brand they describe their clubs as ‘remarkably lightweight designs, revolutionary swing technologies and unmatched dedication to moderate swing speed golfers’.
The Eleven fairways come in lofts from 3 to 9-wood and they say that a uniquely shaped weight pad on the sole creates space for a larger face/more forgiveness while there’s some clever tech at the other end of the club where brass and rubber weights in the butt of the club improve the balance points and help you to find the right backswing length.
US Buy Now at Worldwide Golf Shops for $399.99
TaylorMade SIM Max Fairway Wood
+ If you struggle to launch your fairway woods then welcome to your new saviour
– With the fixed hosel there’s no going back once you’ve been fitted
This is the club that, as it sounds, offers maximum forgiveness with a higher launch than the SIM. It has the same design ethos with the V Steel sole, Speed Pocket and Twist Face technology but without the zatech titanium face or adjustability so, whatever you have in your hands, there’s no tinkering with.
This comes in the 3, 5, 7 and there’s also a 9 (24˚) which is becoming more popular as more of us realise that our longer irons might not be doing us too many favours. The idea is to play what’s right for you rather than worry about how many headcovers you have in the bag. Dustin Johnson has had both the 3 and 5-wood Max in the bag.
US Buy Now at Worldwide Golf Shops for $299.99
UK Buy Now at American Golf for £229
Wilson D7 Fairway Wood
+ The sound is a big improvement
– There are three lofts but no adjustability for any fine-tuning
Gary Woodland has had the 3 and 5-wood (and weighted them up) in the bag even though they are more for the intermediate player. This is all about speed and a reactive face and the carbon crown saves a significant amount of weight and the kevlar finish adds an interesting dynamic.
The material is used in bulletproof vests and is expensive to use but the previous sound was too tinny so this dampens the sound.
The D stands for distance and, with a more expensive face, this is a premium product.
US Buy Now at Worldwide Golf Shops for $149.99
UK Buy Now at American Golf for £139
Honma TR21 Ti Fairway Wood
+ To add to the premium element the shaft options are excellent
– The very basic looks are classy but you might want a bit of alignment help
This recent release comes in just the 14˚ and, with a heavy steel sole to provide a deep and low centre of gravity, it launches with a penetrating flight. It’s a very simple, stylish and sleek-looking club but there’s plenty going on underneath the bonnet with the non-rotating hosel ensuring that the spine of the shaft stays in the same six o’clock position when the loft and lie are adjusted.
A counter-balanced shaft also helps to increase your swing speed.
UK Buy Now at American Golf for £349
Mizuno ST200 Fairway Wood
+ The profile is said to be ‘Tour Ready’ and the softer leading edge looks fantastic
– Dirt may gather in the sole
As you might expect from Mizuno this is a great looker which sits and aligns perfectly behind the ball. And it’s powerful, really powerful. Any tests on this model and the stand-out comment is the really high ball speeds that it produces. This is done by using new titanium and high-strength alloys which is both stronger and more flexible than previous iterations.
Other than being explosive it is also a great all-rounder, being easy to launch from the fairways which might bring some par 5s more into range and the feel too is just what you’d like. Great club.
Mizuno ST200 Fairway Woods Review
US Buy Now at Worldwide Golf Shops for $169.99
UK Buy Now at Scottsdale Golf for £199
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