Fairway Woods For Beginners High Handicappers

August 23, 2009 by admin

Fairway woods are among the most important clubs for a beginner to use because they have smaller heads and bigger lofts, making it easier to get the ball in the air. That can make them an attractive choice even off the tee for beginners for golfers having problems with their driver.

A fairway wood is designed to generate distance and loft for longer shots, getting the ball to where the wedges and putter can do their magic close to the green. It has a bigger clubhead and hitting surface than an iron, and is generally more forgiving. For that reason, beginners may want to have multiple woods in their bag, to take the place of the harder-to-hit longer irons. A five-wood from the fairway is a lot easier for most beginning golfer to manage than a three-iron, and an off-center hit won’t prove as costly.

In searching for the right set of fairway woods, a beginner will want to look for something that's forgiving enough to steer mis-hits closer to the fairway. Clubs with larger head volumes and shallow face designs are often good fits. It's also important to find clubs with a high loft to get the ball in the air. Look for clubs with a high MOI and low center of gravity, as those are the most forgiving and can help off-center hits stay on target.

Fairway woods are engineered to hit the ball at the very bottom of the swing, so setting up correctly is important for beginners. The ball sits forward in the stance, and when swung correctly the fairway wood sweeps through the grass and picks the ball up cleanly.

In any case, it is important for beginners to pick the right club. Most beginning golfers overestimate how far they can hit the ball, so pick the fairway wood that represents how far you are likely to hit the ball in most cases, rather than the longest you’ve ever hit the club.