Top Rated Fairway Woods

By Patrick Cameron
Fairway woods can help you save strokes and control the ball.
Fairway woods can help you save strokes and control the ball.

Fairway woods are some of the most underutilized clubs in the bag.

Not only can a good 3-wood provide you better control and shot-shaping opportunities off the tee, a top-notch 5-wood can help you achieve more distance on your long approach shots, including those taken from medium rough. Because these clubs can really accentuate your game, it's wise to not skimp when going out to purchase fairway woods.

Overview

Fairway woods are some of the most underutilized clubs in the bag.

Not only can a good 3-wood provide you better control and shot-shaping opportunities off the tee, a top-notch 5-wood can help you achieve more distance on your long approach shots, including those taken from medium rough. Because these clubs can really accentuate your game, it's wise to not skimp when going out to purchase fairway woods.

Callaway Diablo Edge

The Callaway Diablo Edge was rated a Gold on Golf Digest's 2010 hotlist. The fairway woods come in two types; the Diablo Edge and the Diablo Edge Tour. Each of the clubs has slight variations. The Diablo Edge has a larger club head and face, a deep center of gravity for higher ball flight and comes in lofts ranging from 15 degrees all the way up to 24 degrees.

The Diablo Edge Tour has a more traditional-sized head and a center of gravity that is closer to the club face.

This allows for a lower ball trajectory and eliminates some of the spin you'll get with the Diablo Edge. The Tour version also has a more limited loft palette, with 13-, 15- and 18-degree loft choices.

Ping G-15

The Ping G-15 makes it onto both the Golf Digest 2010 hotlist and Golf.com's Top 10. It comes in two types of setups. You can get your club with a traditional face and hosel, or you can go for the draw version, which has an offset. The club is made from cast stainless steel and features a low profile with counter weighting that's toward the back and bottom of the club. This allows for a higher ball flight. The wide face is a perfect fit for the beginning to intermediate golfer with solid ball striking ability and maximum forgiveness.

Adams Speedline Fast10

The chosen fairway woods of golf legend Tom Watson, the Adams Speedline Fast10 woods are precision milled. They offer a weighting system that optimizes striking ability and helps with shot shaping.

The 3-wood has a 15-degree loft while the 5-wood offers 3 extra degrees (18-degree) for extra punch and lift out of tight situations and deeper lies. The club face setup comes in a traditional as well as a draw offset.

Adams increased the curvature of the sole of the club, making it easier to hit in the multitude of lies you may find yourself with the club. The one drawback may be the busyness of the shaft graphics. That may or may not be a big deal to the golfer swinging the club.

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