Drivers are an important club in your bag for maximum distance drives on really long holes, but if you have a bit of a shorter hole, you may want to use a wood. These are among the hardest clubs to get good with in your golf bag, but they can play a huge role out on the course in improving your score.
Best Woods for Senior Golfers
If you want to get familiar with what to look for when shopping for fairways woods, then skip below to our buyer’s guide. But, if you want to see our recommendations, here are some of our picks for nice beginner fairway woods for seniors that you might want to consider picking up:
Callaway Men’s XR 16 Fairway Wood – top men’s pick!
If you are looking to get a quality wood for a pretty reasonable price tag, you may want to consider picking up one of these. This club is available in both a left as well as a right handed orientation. The club comes in four different flex options when in stock and you can even pick up this club in seven different loft varieties to suit your needs. This is a club that is built to swing fast and hit the ball a very long distance.
Pros:
- The head of this club is quite large, which helps you to be able to hit the ball in the “sweet spot” of the club easier, which is great for new golfers
- The design has a low center of gravity, which will reduce the height of your shots and allow you to hit the ball further
- The head has a very thin face on it, which helps with ball speed and distance
- The head of this club has a lot of cut-outs and it is an extremely aerodynamic design
- The clubs comes in a senior, a regular as well as a stiff flex option at the checkout
- The design comes in loft degrees of 14, 15, 17, 29, 21, 23 and 25 degrees to suit the needs of every golfer
- Made by Callaway, which is definitely a big name in golf and a name that you can trust to give you a quality wood
Where to buy:
Cons:
- This wood does have a bit of an expensive price tag on it, which some people might not be able to afford
- The club only comes in one length, that is a 48 inch design
Verdict:
As long as the length and the price of this club works for you, you should probably consider picking up this design. This is a wood that is truly built to be able to launch the ball long distances without sacrificing accuracy. The club is pretty forgiving in nature and would therefore be ideal for a beginner golfer. This club comes in almost any loft that you could possibly desire to have and the flex options vary enough that most people will be satisfied. Definitely a very nice wood design that you might want to think about grabbing if you are in the market for a new wood.
Callaway Women’s XR 16 Fairway Wood – top women’s pick!
This ladies wood design has a lot to offer for the higher price tag that this club comes with. The design is available in a left and a right handed option to suit your needs. The shaft of this club is a graphite design and comes in a ladies flex, which likely will most likely work for your swing speed. The club comes in six different loft options that you can choose from at the checkout and so long as you are looking for a club that is accurate and that will be able to hit the ball a long distance, it is likely that you are going to be a fan of this design.
Pros:
- The club comes in loft degrees of 15, 17, 19, 21, 23 as well as 25
- The club has a large head on it, which is quite forgiving in nature and will allow you to hit the ball a longer distance
- The design has a thin face on it, which increases ball impact speed and distance
- The club has a very aerodynamic head shape with a ton of different cut-outs to increase the speed of your swing
- The design allows you to be able to hit the ball even if your ball is sitting on an uneven, difficult lie
- The design comes with its own head cover, which is ideal for long term use of the club
- Made by a big name manufacturer in the golfing world that you can trust to give you a quality product
Where to buy:
Cons:
- This club may be a little expensive to some people and may be just out of budget
- The club only comes in a 48 inch design, which might not be suitable for everyone
Verdict:
If you can afford the higher price tag that comes with this wood, you are likely going to be pretty pleased with its overall function and design. This is a club that will help you be able to take more accurate shots, but also be able to hit the ball long distances. The club comes in a huge range of loft options, which is ideal if you want to squeeze a club into your bag to fill a particular hole. This is definitely a very nice wood and you may definitely want to consider grabbing one of these while they are still available.
–> View more woods in our guide on the best fairway woods for beginners and high handicappers
What To Consider
Here are the things that you need to be looking for if you want to pick yourself up a quality wood a beginner golfer:
Club head Material:
One thing that is different about woods than other clubs in your bag is that you are more likely to find club heads that are made out of different materials. Generally, you will come across three different types of materials that club heads are made out of. The first and most popular type of material for fairway woods is steel. This type of material may be a bit heavy, but it is capable of hitting the ball a fairly long distance. Another type that you are likely going to come across is a titanium design. This material is about half the weight of steel, but it is more expensive. If you have a higher budget and want the ability to be able to swing faster and hit the ball further, you may want to attempt to look for something that uses titanium in its design. The final material that you may come across is a composite design. Although, not as popular in the marketplace, these designs help to produce better ball hits when you miss hitting the “sweet spot” of the club.
Loft:
If you want to be able to hit the ball a long distance one of the most important things to look at is the loft of the driver. The lower the degree of loft that the club has, the farther the club is capable of hitting the ball. You should expect a three wood to have a loft around 14 degrees, a five wood to have a loft somewhere around 18 degrees and a seven wood to have a loft around 21 degrees. The exact degree of loft does vary a bit from brand to brand, but these numbers do stay fairly consistent and you may want to keep them in mind so that you have the best chance at hitting the distances that you want to hit.
Aerodynamics:
One thing that has a fairly large impact on how fast you can hit the ball is the aerodynamics of the club. If you just look at a club it can be pretty hard to tell if the club has an aerodynamic design or not. Generally, manufacturers will make small indents and cut-outs on the underside of the head of the club or on the top of the club to make it as aerodynamic as possible. If you don’t see any cut outs or any information regarding the aerodynamics of the club in the manufacturers specs, it is unlikely that the club is very aerodynamic, which you may want to keep in mind if you are looking for maximum distance hits.
Club Length:
One thing that you may struggle with when holding a wood is the length of the club, especially as a beginner player. These clubs are much longer than that of irons, which makes them a little more difficult to line up. Generally, you are going to have a harder time hitting a wood straight than an iron. The length of the club is an important factor to look at so that you can be sure that you are getting a wood that is going to be comfortable for you to use. The best way to look to see what size of wood you should purchase is to check out a sizing chart. Occasionally, you will find that manufacturers state the recommended golfer height in their specs as well, but it never hurts to look up a wood sizing chart just to double check things and make sure that you are picking up an appropriate size.
Flex:
Sometimes when you are choosing a wood, you will have the option to choose the flex of the wood. As we talked about earlier in this guide, to choose the flex of a club, you need to know how fast you can swing. The faster you swing the stiffer the club you need, while the slower the swing you have, the more flex you need. If you are unsure which flex you should pick it is always a good idea to go to a golf shop and test your speed so that you can make sure that you pick out the correct flex for your golfing style. Generally, a beginner can get away with a more flexible club as they usually have a hard time making long distance drives and a flexy club can help.
Center of Gravity:
If you want to be able to hit the ball a long distance on a consistent basis, you should always look at the manufacturer’s specs to see where the center of gravity for the club is located. Generally, you want the center of gravity in the wood to be low as this will keep your ball’s height down and allow you to be able to hit the ball a further distance.
Club Face:
If you want to see how much your club is going to impact with the ball, you are going to have to look at the club face to see both what material it is made out of as well as how thin it is. You want the face of the club to be as thin as possible as this will transfer the most amount of force over to the ball when it is struck. Additionally, you may also want to see where the “sweet spot” is on the face of the club and see if it is marked. Clubs that help you to be able to align your shots definitely help you be able to shoot straighter on the course. Sometimes manufacturers will use lines and other guides on the club, which will help you be able to line up your shot. It is always a good idea to look for these cues when you are purchasing as well as when you are out on the course so that you can have as much of an advantage as possible over your golfing competition.
Shaft:
One thing that rarely varies for woods is the shaft of the club. You will almost always find that the shaft of a wood will be made out of a graphite material. Older woods were often made of stainless steel or wood, but now if the shaft is not made out of a graphite material, you may want to stay away from that particular club. Graphite is durable and can withstand the extra force that a larger club puts onto the shaft. A graphite club will allow you to swing faster than traditional shafts and it will also flex more than traditional shafts, which will increase the speed that the ball is hit and therefore increase the distance of your shots.
Grip:
One aspect of clubs that a lot of golfers overlook when they are picking out a wood is the length and the style of grip that is on the club. You want a grip that is easy to hold onto and one that allows you to be able to swing without much in the way of wrist movement. Look for a grip on a wood that has some grooves in it as this will help to stop your hands from twisting during your swing, which can result in a sliced or topped ball. Always remember that grips are replaceable, which is something that you might want to keep in mind when picking out a club to purchase in the marketplace.
Leave a Reply