WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: THE RISE OF SEVEN WOODS

Higher lofted fairways woods, like 7-woods, have gained a lot of attention from company engineers, and now are found in every major manufacturer line. And as the top players, like Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, on both the LPGA and PGA Tours use them into longer par-5s, for their interaction with turf in heavier rough, and off the tee on tighter tee shots, there’s increasing interest for amateurs as well. As there should be. After all, amateurs can benefit dramatically from these clubs that cut through longer rough with ease and assist on getting the ball in the air more quickly, allowing for stopping power on greens.

TaylorMade Qi35 Fairway Wood and Max Lite for female players

Offering a great balance of speed and forgiveness, this is a 7-wood that is utilitarian in nature, allowing players to use it from the tee and the fairway. The new fitting sleeve allows loft adjustments, making gapping easier and allowing golfers to find the right mix of long irons and fairway woods based on their specific game. A Lite version for women helps them gain more clubhead speed and provides the confidence they can get the ball in the air quickly.

PING G440 MAX Fairway Wood

Higher lofted woods have long been significant to PING, and the new G440 line puts even more emphasis on these clubs. The MAX fairway offers five lofts—3 through 9—and will work for a vast majority of players, including those hitting their fairway from turf and the tee. One of the keys for the variety of loft options with the MAX is that it assists in gapping, allowing fairway woods to replace irons in your set.

Callaway Elyte Fairway Wood 

With added tungsten found in its 3 to 7-woods Callaway’s Tungsten Speed Wave offers a 35-gram weight that moves the CG low and forward to faster ball speeds. The other benefit is that it adds speed to misses low on the face, a common challenge facing amateur golfers. One of the keys for many players using the 7-wood version of Elyte is better turf interaction, resulting in cleaner contact.

PXG Black Ops Fairway

PXG’s 0311 Black Ops Fairway Woods offer a low-profile head with a flat sole and squared face design ideal for golfers of every playing ability, though the mid-spin makes it more forgiving. With great feel and sound, this is easy to launch.

Wilson DYNAPWR Max Fairway Wood

This is a forgiving and very playable fairway wood for a majority of mid to high-handicap golfers. With high launch and higher spin, this is a terrific consideration for players looking to battle shorter par-4s or come into the green with holding power.

The Wilson Dynapwr Max fairway wood doesn’t have quite the same firepower as the Carbon model but is far more forgiving and playable for most golfers.

Cobra DS-ADAPT Max Fairway Wood (available in men’s and women’s models)

With the new FutureFit33 fitting system allowing fitters to not only fine tune the way a player interacts with their clubs, but also to improve gapping between fairway woods and irons, Cobra is placing renewed emphasis on its 7-wood from the latest line. Ideal for higher handicaps who can use these higher lofted fairways into long par-4s or even those tough par-3s.

Srixon ZXi Fairway Wood

One of the best reviewed fairway woods this year with exceptional speed and distance, Srixon’s ZXi offers a lot of benefits over past models. This year’s fairway woods have a higher MOI and the higher lofted 7-woods can serve a lot of different options in your bag.

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