Can’t Hit Your Fairway Woods? Then You Should Consider These Three Models

Can’t Hit Your Fairway Woods? Then You Should Consider These Three Models

Fairway woods are some of the most difficult spots in the bag to fill. Unlike our driver, irons, wedges and putter, we don’t use them a lot but, when we do, the stakes are usually high, such as needing to hit a tight fairway or reaching a par five in two.

Fairway woods aren’t clubs we are likely to hit a lot in our practice and range sessions and it’s easy to lose confidence in clubs that are hard to hit due to longer shafts, lower lofts and higher clubhead speeds. I sometimes compare fairway woods to special teams in the NFL. They don’t get a lot of game time, but when they do come on the field, they might need to slot a long field goal to win the game or take it to overtime.

If you are a golfer that struggles to pick a fairway wood off tight fairways or lacks consistency when you using a fairway wood from the tee, here are the three models that scored highly in our annual test of the most forgiving fairway woods.

The G425 Max, one of the best Ping fairway woods, is an exceptional model that will give you confidence on long approaches and tight tee shots. It provides accuracy without giving up distance and performed especially well from the deck on shots struck low on the face. Such is the quality of the G425 Max that it is the 2022 fairway wood of choice for multiple players on the professional circuit.

It is built with a one-piece face, rather than using a steel face insert, which has increased ball speeds by up to 1.5mph. In testing, this fairway wood delivered laser-like consistency and tight dispersion across our launch monitor tests, with a solid feeling face that performed well on off-centre hits.

It also features Ping’s proprietary Spinsistency technology, meaning that these fairway woods spin consistently so you can count on specific carry yardages and shot-stopping angle of descent going into greens. We liked it so much, it made our Editor's Choice Awards for 2022.

Ping has removed the turbulators from the crown, making for a much cleaner, matte aesthetic that is pleasant behind the ball at address. The Max is available in a range of head options, from 3-wood all the way to a 9-wood, and the 7-wood has proved extremely popular out on the professional Tours, with Ping staffers saying it’s improved their ability to attack par-five greens in two.

A superb all-rounder, the G425 Max is loaded with adjustability if you are someone who likes to add or take off loft depending on where you are going to be playing. The adjustable hosel has eight settings, allowing you to tweak both the loft and lie, to give you a higher or lower trajectory and a better angle of attack into light rough or off tighter links-like fairways.

• Read our full Ping G425 Max Fairway Wood Review

The Cobra LTDx fairway makes this list because, quite simply, it has the best feeling face of any fairway wood we’ve tested this year and it was the most accurate throughout our launch monitor testing.

The re-engineered forged face is loaded with feel and a great option for the mid to high handicap golfer seeking accuracy and control. The LTDx fairway replaces the Cobra Radspeed model, which was among the best fairway woods we tested last year.

Cobra LTDx fairway has a classic shaped head with a carbon fiber crown and Cobra’s PWR-COR and H.O.T. FACE technologies. Cobra’s engineers were able to save weight and move the CG lower and forward in the head for faster ball speeds, while increasing MOI (moment of inertia) for greater forgiveness and stability.

Behind the ball, Cobra LTDx fairway’s carbon fiber crown has a muted black matte finish and sits lovely and square. The LTDx head doesn’t feature Cobra’s trademark baffler sole rails though, which were a highlight of the Radspeed range.

There’s a 12g fixed weight positioned back in the head for maximum forgiveness and high launch, which helps golfers that want to hit their fairway woods higher. Cobra says its L-cup face, designed with A.I (artificial intelligence software) from strong stainless steel, produces 17% more flex for faster ball speeds and higher launch across the face.

Overall, it had the tightest dispersion and was the straightest fairway wood on test this year. Even though it’s the middle option in a family of three Cobra LTDx range, we feel it’s forgiving enough to suit any golfer interested in the best fairway woods for high handicappers.

Available in a Satin Black/Gold head with the option of a UST Helium Nanocore (4F2 – lite) or a HZRDUS Smoke iM10 60 shaft in regular or stiff, there are plenty of options for the user to experiment with.

• Read our full Cobra LTDx Fairway Review

The Wilson Launch Pad fairway woods do exactly what they say on the tin. They launch the ball higher and would make a great addition to any high handicappers’ golf bag.

Firstly, the design is simple, uncomplicated and aimed at improving golfers that want clubs that are easy to use and correct some common swing faults. In this case, the Wilson Launch Pad fairway helps combat a slice. The head sits closed and has a clear draw bias, which benefits golfers who slice and helps straighten up ball flight for anyone who comes over the top on the downswing, hits across the ball and promotes a left to right flight.

While the Project X Evenflow shaft is light at 55g, it adds a premium touch to a great-value fairway wood. The Launch Pad inevitably flies high but has plenty of forward momentum suggesting that the shaft and head are well set up to keep spin rate down.

The overriding feeling we got testing this club was just how easy it picked up the ball off the fairway and from a range of rougher or patchy lies. The lighter shaft helps, because you instinctively feel you can move the club fast enough to generate power without swinging out of your spikes and losing control.

• Read our full Wilson Launch Pad 2022 Fairway Wood Review

If you can’t hit your fairway woods or have struggled to find the right model for your game, these three forgiving fairway woods should restore your confidence and get you pulling the headcover again; instead of laying up with an iron or steering a hybrid off the tee.

For more expert buying advice, try our guides to the best fairway woods and the most forgiving fairway woods or best fairway woods for mid handicappers.