When To Use A Fairway Wood?

Fairway woods have really come a long way in the past 20-30 yards.

I would now describe these clubs as versatile clubs that golfers can use in various situations and from various lies.

There was once a day when hitting a fairway wood from a difficult lie would have been near impossible. However, about 20 years ago, we saw the Adams Tight Lies help evolve the fairway wood and improve the overall technology to make it a better club for even the average to poor golfer.

As a young kid playing golf, the fairway wood was a favorite club. It felt good, it launched the ball high and I could hit it a further distance than compared to my long irons.

Most golfers will use their fairway wood from a variety of lies and from distances from around 160 yards and greater. Golfers may carry as many as 4 fairway woods in their bag (3, 5, 7 and a 9 wood). They provide the golfer the ability to launch the ball higher and further than the comparable iron.

The downside for the more advanced player is the overall accuracy with fairway wood. The more advanced the player becomes, which often coincides with an increase in swing speed, many players will choose the longer iron for greater precision and more overall distance control.

3 wood vs 3 iron: Which one should I carry?

Top 5 Situations To Use A Fairway Wood

Off the Tee
Par 5 – 2nd Shot

Long Par 3
To Advance the Ball Down the Fairway
Out of a Fairway Bunker

A long way left into this par 4 – For some this will mean a 3, 5 or 7 wood!

Situation #1: Off the Tee

While the driver is often the go to club for many par 4s and par 5s, there might be a par 4 or 5 on your home course that has two limiting factors: 1) a hazard at a certain length from the tee that crosses the hole or 2) very narrow will hitting driver doesn’t make sense.

When you run into these two situations the 3 wood or 5 wood would be quality options. Oftentimes, the golfer has an increase in accuracy control with the 3 wood or 5 wood compared to the driver (for example 7% more accurate) or will simply need to hit the golf ball a reduced distance.

When to hit 3 wood off the tee (5 key situations)

Situation #2: Par 5 – 2nd Shot

When a golfer reaches a par 5 and has hit a quality tee shot, there is one of two thoughts: 1) reach the green in two or 2) put themselves in good positions for a simple chip, pitch or wedge shot.

The 3 or 5 wood become quality options for the golfer on the par 5. If they are trying to reach in two shots, the 3 wood is often the club the golfer needs to hit. If they are trying to play some positions golf, but still want to get close to the green, the 3 wood or 5 wood are quality options.

Bo;ttom line – Par 5s are scoring opportunities for the better golfer. Either getting the ball on the green in two or at least within 50 yards can really help the golfer’s chances of hitting and making birdie. If you can give yourself this chance on the 4 par 5s that each course average, you will be in a better position when finalizing your score at the end of the round.

Driving Iron vs 3 Wood

Situation #3: Long Par 3

If you are playing a longer course, but lack distance, there can be nothing more frustrating than struggling to reach the green in regulation. While you might not be able to hit an iron, but the driver is too long, this is where the fairway wood comes into play.

Having a 3 wood and 5 wood option at this point becomes essential. You need the extra distance and height if you not only want to reach the green, but possibly hold the green. Make sure you have an idea of your total carry distance for any fairway wood you are caring in your bag.

3 wood vs 5 wood (overview)

Situation #4: To Advance the Ball Down the Fairway

Some golfers, especially juniors, seniors or women golfers, might not be able to reach every par 4 in regulation, but want to advance the ball far enough down the fairway to give themselves a reasonable distance left on the 3rd shot. The fairway wood is good out of the fairway, the rough and even some more difficult lies.

The fairway wood is designed to get through rough and help the golfer get some solid club on the ball without the twisting that can happen to a golfer swinging a longer iron.

Situation #5: Out of a Fairway Bunker

There are some frustrating situations in golf. One of those being finding your ball in a fairway bunker. Sometimes you might think you actually even hit a good shot. The goal here is to get the ball out of the bunker and back into play without sacrificing too much distance.

If the front of the bunker is flat enough, hitting the 3 or 5 wood is an option. If there is a bigger lip, hitting a 7 wood or 9 wood remains in play. The fairway wood can give the golfer some extra thickness needed behind the shot to advance the ball down the golf hole.

The golfer might be working to leave an easier wedge into the green.

Next Steps: Master the Fairway Wood

The fairway wood is different than hitting an iron and too many golfers do not spend enough time with focused practice with fairway woods. There are several areas to focus on:

Low Point Control: It is essential that you sweep through the ground without digging. Working on controlling the low point is essential.
Startling Line and Curve of Ball: The golfer must be able to start the ball down his or her initial line with the ball curving in a predictable pattern towards the target.
Speed: The golfer must have enough distance to play the course.

Here are two drills to help you take your game to the next level.

Stock Shot Drill

At the driving range, set up an alignment stick about 6-8 yards in front of you, straight down your target line.
If you have a second alignment stick, set the stick 3-4 feet right of the first stick (for a draw) or left of the first stick (for a fade).

Complete your initial assessment see how many times out of 10 you can start the ball to the right or left of your target. Pick one side and measure your game at this point.
The goal is to eventually get 7 out of 10 shots to start to the correct side and draw back towards the target.

To work on the first fundamental, check out the Low Point Control Drill.

The Low Point Control Drill

Take some yard paint and paint a 1-2 yard long line.
Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side.
Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully!

Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to to this successfully in trials of ten.
You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings.

If you are struggling, put more weight forward and work on keeping your head still to help control the low point in the swing.

Consider a range finder to ensure you know the distances you have left into greens.

My Secret To Golf Improvement

Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently. About four years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage. I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.

This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer. I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day. I can practice or play rounds of golf. I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.

It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.

Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:

Rain or Shine Golf Packages

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions: