Updated on June 28th, 2023 at 03:57 pm
If you hit your fairway woods well, I would bet that you are a pretty good golfer. A fairway wood allows you to hit the ball a long way from the fairway and is also a go-to club off of the tee when you either need to be precise with your tee shot or when your driver is giving you some problems.
A great fairway wood should be appreciated because it will save you several strokes during your round. If you are a long hitter, but do not hit your fairway woods well, you won’t be able to take advantage of knocking it on it two on Par 5’s unless you pound your hybrid or irons. Why not take the time to find a great fairway wood and start shaving strokes off of your handicap?
We hit, tested, and reviewed the Best Fairway Woods. We think you are going to find a few that would work well in your bag.
Fairway Woods Reviews
TaylorMade SIM Fairway Wood
#3, 15 Degree Loft, Right Hand, X-Stiff Flex
You can’t avoid the fact that your new fairway wood gets less distance than a driver, but when you are hitting the fairway wood well, it really is marginal. What’s so unique about the TaylorMade Sim Titaniam Fairway 3-wood is the newest shape and design, along with the weight precisely positioned in the head for an ultra low CG.
This means amazing distance with mid to low spin and a high, soft launch.
The TaylorMade SIM MAX Fairway Wood is a complete overhaul of your typical wooden clubs with a titanium head and Fujikura Ventus shaft. It comes with a V Steel sole design which will improve how the club slides through the grass with less friction and will also provide more consistent contact on tight lies.
The biggest advantage in our opinion is the Twist Face design which provides a corrective face angle to overcome mis-hits and flaws in your swing to help you hit your new fairway woods much straighter.
It has a super low profile, which gives it a satisfying lift for a fairway wood with less loft. You can also adjust the loft sleeve with two degrees of variance, lining up the twist face to fit your style of play.
It will correct your hooks and slices, and its speed pocket design allows you to get a lot of speed and distance for a fairway wood. Although it’s meant for teeing off and fairway shots, it is V Steel soleplate will allow you to play on rougher terrain.
Pros
- Titanium head
- Corrective twist face
- Adjustable loft sleeve
- Comfortable grips
- 80g V-shaped sole plate
Cons
- A little pricey
Cobra King Speedzone Fairway Wood
The Cobra King Speedzone Fairway Wood has a lot going for it in terms of both accuracy and range. Its face is polished using CNC milling technology, which basically means that it’s as forgiving as legally allowed in tournament play. Having 0.5 degrees less loft means greater distance, and it’s designed like a hybrid to have a low center of gravity and a ton of range.
The Cobra King fairway woods have speed rails and a carbon fiber crown built into the head to increase your swing speed, ball speeds, and ball flight. This Carbon crown makes it lighter and much easier to swing while providing a higher launch angle and a lot of ball speed on impact.
The face design makes it one of the best fairway woods on the market, and will help increase club head speed, lower spin, and help better players as well as novices hit it longer and straighter.
There’s definitely something to be said for the Arccos app sensor integration, and their ability to give you detailed stats on each of your shots with a beautiful digital display.
Pros
- Unique 14.5-degree loft
- Arccos embedded grip sensors
- Very forgiving
- Effective on rough lies
Cons
- Few adjustable or personalized options
- No left-handed option
Callaway Rogue Fairway Wood
The Callaway Rogue Fairway Wood is an excellent alternative to your driver, especially if you’re looking for accuracy. It’s less expensive than other options, but it has a drawback of being better suited for teeing off. You get a lot of distance and speed, and if you go with a 10.5-degree loft, you’re definitely going to get a greater range.
In terms of accuracy, you’re likely better off choosing the 15-degree loft. However, it’s lightweight like a hybrid club and, therefore, much easier to swing than a typical iron or driver.
Combine that with its carbon-constructed crown, and you will get a decent amount of lift. Considering its X-face VFT, it’ll correct a lot of the hooks and slices you’d expect from a traditional driver.
Pros
- Affordable
- 10.5 or 15-degree loft
- Lightweight
- Great ball speed
Cons
- Less accurate on the fairway
Mizuno ST200 Tour Spoon Fairway Wood
The Mizuno ST200 Tour Spoon Fairway Wood is designed for distance and reduced swing weight. What sets it apart from other 3-woods and driver replacements is partly its ability to perform in wet grass.
It uses a MAS1C Maraging Face technology that’s designed to distribute as much kinetic force to ball velocity as possible.
Most of what this club offers is being easier to swing. This includes maintaining a great deal of distance on hooks and slices, with less spin and trajectory offset. It’s not the cheapest club in this list, but it’s not as expensive as some of the higher-end models, either.
Having a 15-degree loft also means that you get plenty of lift to drop in on your target with more precision than a driver.
Pros
- Optimized for lift and spin
- Low center of gravity
- Lightweight graphite shaft
- Maintains impact velocity
- Weather score lines
Cons
- More for distance than accuracy
Callaway Epic
The Callaway Epic Flash Fairway Woods seem to have it all. Its shaft is heavier than graphite, although it’s specially designed to bend and flow for maximum impact. Its face cup is made of steel and is optimized with AI technology to produce ball speed that’s similar to a powerful driver.
It’s a lot more forgiving than a traditional drier, which makes it a perfect replacement, especially for novices of the sport. You can also adjust the hosel to get a little more or less lift. While this is better for beginners looking for a higher loft and more accurate landing, you can reduce the loft to get even more distance.
Pros
- Adjustable OptiFit hosel
- Face cup with steel construction
- Balance between power and forgiveness
- AI-optimized flash face
- Callaway Jailbreak technology
Cons
- Less hook and slice correction
- Less accurate in rough terrain
TaylorMade Golf M6 Fairway Wood
This may seem like your run-of-the-mill fairway wood from TaylorMade at first glance. It has a modern speed pocket and twist-face technology that delivers the ultimate corrective experience while maintaining ball speed.
It’s not the longest-driving 3-wood on the market. However, it’s incredibly reliable even in longer grass. It is made to improve your trajectory above all else. Also, rather than using a lightweight crown, it’s actually a bit heavier, delivering more power.
For more experienced players, this is definitely the driver alternative you want to improve distance. On the other hand, novice players will love their ability to land on target, especially considering the 15 or 18-degree loft angle.
Pros
- Affordable
- Very forgiving
- 15 and 18-degree loft options
- Capable of shooting in rough terrain
- Combines distance and slice correction
Cons
- Hosel not adjustable
- No left-hand option
Callaway Mavrik Fairway Wood
The major highlight of the Callaway Mavrik Fairway Wood is its personalization options. The large-head option is very forgiving on these new fairway woods, while the standard options sit in the middle in terms of performance balance. There’s also a more compact version that delivers superior distance, a long ball flight, and with less spin than a driver.
Having the ability to adjust the weight balance on any of the heads is a major advantage, especially for specific shot selection like a higher launch angle.
You can also choose between a range of light, mid-weight, and heavy shafts. With that said, they’re not exactly designed to reduce hook and slice offset without sacrificing some distance. On the other hand, its lift is pretty optimal no matter which variant you have, allowing you to be much more precise than a driver.
Pros
- Right or left-handed
- Specialized shaft and head options
- Optimized selection of fairway woods
- Adjustable head weighting
Cons
- No specialized technology for trajectory correction
The best fairway wood is…
TaylorMade SIM Fairway Wood
The best fairway wood on the market today is the TaylorMade SIM Titanium Fairway, specifically with the X-stiff flex shaft. It has the twist face of other TaylorMade’s, while its titanium head transfers a tremendous amount of power with a lighter swing weight.
Being able to adjust the loft sleeve virtually makes it a 3-wood and 5-wood in one. However, what’s more significant is the precision that allows it to get the same distance as the Cobra 2020 Men’s King SPEEDZONE. You can also adjust the loft degree higher to get more lift and stop on a dime. This is a major thrill for skilled and novice players alike.
Its V Steel sole design also allows it to be just as versatile in rough terrain as TaylorMade and Callaway. While we could continue comparing how its updated speed pocket makes it even more forgiving than light and flexible models, its hard titanium head really steals the show.
No other fairway wood on the market combines speed, accuracy, and forgiveness as comprehensively as the SIM Titanium Fairway. Although it has a stiff shaft, it’s lightweight and ultimately takes over the place of your Driver on the tee, while holding its own when shooting from any fairway lie.
How to Choose the Best Fairway Wood
Forgiveness is mostly determined by swing weight, head weight distribution, and head face design. Each of these options mix and match these qualities, as lighter clubs with larger faces tend to produce less distance, especially when compared to a driver.
For less-skilled players, a lighter shaft and more accommodating head are just as important as the loft angle.
The ultimate answer is partially determined by your skill level. Having a higher loft means that more velocity is distributed upward, reducing overall distance but increasing precision. This is what more skilled players are looking for in terms of replacing their driver with something more accurate and reliable.
What is the Best Way to Use a 3-Wood?
Generally, you’ll use a fairway wood for distance, as it has a lower loft angle than 5-wood and up. However, depending on the weight and flexibility of the shaft, you might use one on the fairway and when teeing off. In some cases, they’re even capable of getting a lot of distance from the rough without sacrificing a ton of accuracy.
One of the best aspects of a fairway is that you don’t have to have a specific swing style to make an impressive shot. Like with a hybrid or long irons, equipment manufacturers know how much golfers appreciate the satisfaction of making more shots with less effort.
Some models are even designed to distribute as much force as possible into ball speed, while others have a more forgiving head to compensate for additional weight. In any case, you’re looking to optimize both distance and precisions, which in some ways are counterintuitive for less experienced golfers.
What to Know Before Switching Your Driver for a Fairway Wood
As you know, you’re going to get less distance when teeing off than a driver. However, it doesn’t make a difference how much range you have when you have too much spin to stop accurately, and your hooks and slices are throwing you off.
Some players use both. Most novices end up using an effective 3-wood exclusively, though, because they enjoy being able to land precisely where they intend to, on the fairway. In some respects, you have to see what they’re capable of to believe it, as accuracy can mean the difference between a low and a high score.
During this crazy time, we have been working hard to provide you with in-depth reviews of new Fairway Woods that you can use. Be sure to check out our recent reviews below:
We are currently compiling our list of the best Golf gifts for the holidays, so be sure to check back soon so you can get an early start on your shopping.
