Fairway Woods – Syndication Server

Tour Edge Exotics E725, C725 fairway woods

The Exotics E725 fairway woods are for golfers who want more forgiveness and stability.

Gear: Tour Edge Exotics E725, C725 fairway woods
Price: $249.99 (E725) and $299.99 (C725) with Project X Cypher or Denali Blue shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip.
Specs: Stainless steel chassis and face with carbon fiber crown (E725). Titanium face and body with tungsten sole weight and adjustable hosel (C725). Available lofts – 15, 16.5, 18 and 21 degrees (E725); 13, 15 and 18 degrees (C725)
Available: October 15 (pre-order); November 1 (in-stores).

Who it’s for: The Exotics E725 fairway woods are for golfers who want more forgiveness and stability, especially on off-center strikes, while the Exotics C725 fairway woods are for players who want reduced spin and a more-penetrating ball flight with enhanced workability.

What you should know: These are two very different clubs. The E725 has extra weight in the back and a low profile to help boost stability and encourage higher flying shots. The Exotics C725 has a titanium face and body, a low-forward center of gravity thanks to a massive tungsten sole plate, and it creates less spin, a lower flight and more speed.

The deep dive: Like the Exotics E725 and C725 drivers, these fairway woods have been designed with different player profiles. They share some core technologies, but make no mistake, they are designed to do different things for different players.

Tour Edge Exotics E725 fairway woods — The E725 fairway woods have a carbon fiber crown, low profile, and high- MOI design. (Tour Edge)

Exotics E725: Forgiveness and Stability

The E in E725 stands for extreme forgiveness, and Tour Edge designed this low-profile fairway wood to be easy to hit for a broad range of players.

The Exotics E725 has a 10-gram adjustable weight in the back of the sole, along the trailing edge, to pull the center of gravity (CG) location down and back, away from the hitting area. That low-back CG location encourages a higher ball flight, more spin and elevates the moment of inertia (MOI) to help the Exotics E725 fairways resist twisting more effectively on off-center hits.

Custom fitters can swap the 10-gram weight out in favor of weights ranging from 5 grams to 28 grams based on a player’s needs.

To enhance ball speed, Tour Edge gave the Exotics E725 fairways a new variable thickness face that has 61 diamond-shaped areas that act like mini trampolines and broaden the sweet spot. The company calls it 3D Diamond Face, and it dramatically increases ball speed on off-center hits.

The Exotics E725 fairways also have been made with Tour Edge’s updated 360-degree Ridgeback technology. It’s a reinforced area that encircles the carbon fiber crown to make the head stiffer and more stable at impact, while also allowing designers to use 22 percent more carbon fiber in the crown and remove more weight from the top of the head.

Finally, Tour Edge gave the Exotics E725 a RyzerSole and Power Channel. The RyzerSole is a heavy-railed piece on the bottom of the club that helps lower the CG location and help the E725 fairways skim over the turf and maintain speed through the strike. The Power Channel allows the lower portion of the face to flex more efficiently on low-struck shots and reduce spin.

Tour Edge Exotics C725 fairway woods — The Exotics C725 has a moveable weight and adjustable hosel. (Tour Edge)

Exotics C725: Less Spin, More Speed

The C in C725 stands for competition spec, and like its driver counterpart, the Exotics C725 fairway woods were made for fast-swinging players who want more speed, less spin, a lower flight and more shot-shaping control.

Unlike the E725 fairways, the C725 fairway woods feature titanium bodies and a titanium hitting area, which saves a significant amount of weight.

They have large carbon fiber crowns and the same 360-degree Ridgeback support system, along with the updated 3D Diamond Face design to broaden the sweet spot and protect ball speed on mis-hits.

A 10-gram weight in the back portion of the sole allows players and fitters to give the C725 fairway woods a draw or fade bias. However, much of the discretionary weight created by using titanium has been repositioned in the form of a 90-gram tungsten sole plate. The plate itself weighs 75 grams, and the steen fastener adds another 15 grams. Together, they drive down the center of gravity and pull it forward.

While the low-back CG location in the E725 fairway woods encourages a higher flight and more spin, the low-forward CG of the C725 fairway woods increases ball speed, reduces spin and helps the clubs produce a lower trajectory.

Exotics E725 vs. Exotics C725: Which one is right for you?

The best way to find out which Tour Edge Exotics 725 fairway wood is suitable for you is to work with a custom fitter who has a launch monitor and study the shots you hit.

That said, if you’re looking for a new fairway wood that emphasizes power and stability, the E725’s high MOI design and rear CG position could work for you. If you’re a fast-swinging, skilled player who prefers a compact shape and wants to control shot shape and spin, the C725 could be a better option.

Photos: Titleist’s prototype TSR 2-wood

The Titleist TSR 2-wood is an oversized fairway wood designed for distance off the tee.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cameron Young, one of the most powerful players on the PGA Tour, quietly added a massive, yet-to-be-released Titleist fairway wood to his bag before the start of the Players Championship. He used the club at the Masters and with the PGA Championship just a few days away, the club, which looks like a mini driver but is labeled “TSR 2-wood,” is still in Young’s bag.

Titleist has not officially commented about the TSR 2-wood, but if history is a guide, that could change in the next few months. In the past, Titleist has released woods in two-year product cycles, and the last release was in 2022’s TSR family. Those clubs first appeared in June of 2022 at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship before arriving in stores in September. So, it would not be surprising if Titleist started seeding the next generation of drivers, fairway woods and hybrids in the next eight to 10 weeks.

So far, Titleist has not released any details regarding the TSR 2-wood, but based on in-hand images and details included on the USGA’ Conforming Driver Head list, we know a few things already.

Loft: According to the Conforming List, the Titleist TSR 2-wood has 13 degrees of loft, but it also has an adjustable hosel that appears identical to Titleist’s SureFit hosel system. If it is, the 13-degree club can be adjusted into 16 different settings with lofts up to 14.5 degrees and down to 12.25 degrees.
Movbeable weights. Like the Titleist TSR4 driver, there are two moveable weights in the sole of the TSR 2-wood, one in the front and one in the back. Putting a heavier weight in the back should shift the center of gravity back, increase the launch angle, add spin and boost the stability. A heavier weight in the front would lower the launch angle, decrease spin and, most likely, increase ball speed.
Size. While the exact volume of the Titleist TSR 2-wood is not included in the USGA notes and details, and Titleist has not released it, the club dwarf’s the TSR2 3-wood and even the TSR2+ 3-wood. It has a noticeably larger hitting area and a deeper face. In the address position, it does not appear to extend back as much as the TSR2+, which has a 190cc head, but that club has a shallower face. The TSR 2-wood might be closer to 275-300cc in size.
Shape. From the toe size, the TSR 2-wood’s shape very closely resembles the TSR2 and TSR3 drivers. The crown swoops up from the topline, and the back of the sole rolls up. These aerodynamic traits are also round in the latest Titleist drivers, and with a hitting area as large as the TSR 2-wood’s face, aerodynamics will be critical to helping golfers maintain clubhead speed.

As more details about the Titleist TSR 2-wood become available, Golfweek will bring them to you. Below are several close-up images of the Titleist TSR 2-wood.

Mizuno ST-Max 230 fairway woods

The Mizuno ST-Max fairways are made to be stable and easy to hit.

Gear: Mizuno ST-Max 230 fairway woods
Price: $300 with Aldila Ascent UL, Mitsubishi Lai’ Li Blue or UST Mamiya Helium NanoCore 4F1 shaft and Lamkin ST Hybrid grip
Specs: MAS1C maraging stainless steel with stainless steel chassis, carbon fiber crown and adjustable hosel. 15, 18 and 21-degree head options.

Who It’s For: Golfers who prioritize forgiveness and who want to hit straighter shots off the tee and from the fairway.

The Skinny: The new ST-Max 230 is designed to be the most forgiving, most stable and easiest fairway wood to hit in the Mizuno lineup.

The Deep Dive: Mizuno’s ST-G fairway wood is an attention-getter because with its titanium construction, massive stainless steel sole plate and weight-forward design, accomplished golfers can use it as an alternative to a driver for increased accuracy without losing much distance. It’s macho, but it’s not for everyone. The ST-Z, with its carbon fiber crown, is bigger and more forgiving, but now, with the release of the ST-Max, the Japanese brand is offering its most stable fairway wood yet for golfers who want a point-and-shoot club that is even easier to hit.

From front to back and from heel to toe, the ST-Max is the biggest fairway wood in the Mizuno stable, and when it comes to helping a club resist twisting on off-center hits, bigger is better. But what really makes a club more stable on shots hit outside of the sweet spot is a high moment of inertia (MOI), and to get that, Mizuno designers needed to reposition more weight to the back of the head.

So, instead of using stainless steel on the crown, the ST-Max 230 has a carbon fiber crown. That not only creates discretionary weight but also removes weight from the top of the club and lowers the center of gravity (CG) location, which encourages a higher launch angle.

Mizuno ST-Max fairway woods — The CorTech Chamber allows the lower portion of the face to flex more efficiently. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Mizuno also gave the ST-Max 230 a larger CorTech Chamber behind the leading edge. The CorTech chamber is a slot that allows the lower portion of the hitting area to flex more efficiently and pull the sweet spot down. The slot is covered by a blue thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to keep water and debris out of the head, but a small stainless-steel bar has been added instead of the TPU. At impact, the TPU soaks up some of the vibrations that are created to make shots feel better, but the bar’s momentum keeps it moving forward, so the club transfers more energy into the shot.

The TPU used in the CorTech Chamber weighs less than the steel that would be there, and along with the weight saved by using a carbon fiber crown, it allowed Mizuno to add a weight in the back of the sole that pulls the center of gravity back and elevates the MOI.

Compared to the ST-G and the ST-Z, the new ST-Max produces a higher ball flight and more spin, which for many golfers should translate into more carry distance and a steep angle of descent, so shots stop faster for more control and consistency.

Below are several looks at the Mizuno ST-Max 230 fairway woods.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=1364]

Cleveland Launcher Halo XL fairway woods

These are built for consistency and distance.

Gear: Cleveland Launcher Halo XL fairway woods
Price: $249.99 each with Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue shaft and Lamkin Crossline 360 grip
Spec: Stainless steel head and face. Available as 3- (15 degrees), 5- (18 degrees), 7- (21 degrees) and 9-wood (24 degrees)

Who It’s For: Mid- and high-handicap golfers who want a forgiving fairway wood that also helps to provide more distance.

The Skinny: The Launcher Halo XL fairway woods are bigger than most fairway woods and have a lower profile to make them easy to hit, while the railed sole helps golfers increase consistency and avoid digging.

The Deep Dive: The Cleveland Launcher XL2 drivers are designed to be forgiving and help golfers generate more ball speed and distance off the tee, and the players who like that type of club are precisely who Cleveland is targeting with the Launcher Halo XL fairway woods.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Cleveland Launcher Halo XL fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/baJE5x”]

Cleveland Halo XL fairway woods — The Halo XL fairways have a large, reassuring look. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Golfers who routinely shoot in the high 80s, 90s or low 100s tend to lack consistency with their long clubs, which is a problem because they often need fairway woods on long par 4s and nearly all par 5s. So, Cleveland made the Launcher Halo XL fairway woods bigger, with larger hitting areas from heel to toe while maintaining a lower profile. Standing over the ball, it’s a confidence-inspiring look.

Like the Launcher XL2 drivers, the Launcher Halo XL fairway woods have been designed with Rebound Frame, which adds a flexible region behind the rigid topline and seam where the face meets the chassis. The result is the whole hitting area flexes back at the moment of impact, broadening the sweet spot on the variable-thickness face and helping to protect ball speed on off-center hits.

Cleveland designers added a pair of rails on the bottom of each Launcher Halo XL fairway wood. They help the club slide through the turf more efficiently and maintain speed through the hitting zone, reducing the effects of ground-first contact and helping players get more distance.

The Launcher Halo XL fairway woods do not have an adjustable hosel system, but they are offered in four lofts ranging from a 15-degree 3-wood up to a 24-degree 9-wood, so players and fitters should be able to find the combination of clubs that logically fills distance gaps.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Cleveland Launcher Halo XL fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/baJE5x”]

Cobra Darkspeed LS, Darkspeed X, Darkspeed Max fairway woods

The new Cobra Darkspeed fairway woods give golfers a choice of clubs that create different blends of ball speed, spin and launch angle.

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Gear: Cobra Darkspeed LS, Darkspeed X, Darkspeed Max fairway woods
Price: $429 with UST Mamiya LIN-Q M40X White shaft and Lamkin Crossline grip. $329 (Darkspeed LS), with UST Mamiya LIN-Q M40X Blue or UST Mamiya LIN-Q M40X Red shaft (Darkspeed Max, X)
Specs: Titanium face and body with carbon fiber crown and adjustable weights and adjustable hosel (Darkspeed LS); Stainless steel body and face with carbon fiber crown and moveable weights and adjustable hosel (Darkspeed Max, X).
Available: January 11 (pre-sale), January 19 (in-stores)

Who It’s For: Golfers who want more ball speed and distance with some adjustability (Darkspeed LS). Golfers who want more distance and forgiveness (Darkspeed Max, X).

The Skinny: The Darkspeed LS has a titanium face and body with a carbon fiber crown for players who want a low-spin option off the tee that does not sacrifice distance. In contrast, the Max and the X versions have extra stability and forgiveness.

The Deep Dive: Finding just the suitable fairway wood can be challenging because you want a club that fills a distance gap and can hit a specific yardage both off the tee and from the fairway. With the release of the three Darkspeed fairway woods — the LS, the Max and the X — Cobra is giving players and fitters a wide variety of clubs and several different ball flights to choose from.

The most interesting is the Darkspeed LS, a club made for fast-swinging players who generate excessive spin and need a club that produces a lower ball flight.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop all Cobra Darkspeed fairway woods” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/vN6b9O”]

Cobra Darkspeed LS fairway wood — The Darkspeed LS, with its titanium face, titanium body and carbon fiber crown, is built like a driver. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The Darkspeed LS was designed like a small driver, with a titanium body, titanium face and carbon fiber crown. The titanium faces in the Darkspeed LS fairway woods can be made thinner than their stainless steel counterparts, which saves weight while still allowing them to flex more at impact for increased ball speed.

Inside the Darkspeed LS, Cobra has added a 19-gram tungsten weight pad in the heel and two areas. The internal weights boost the moment of inertia (MOI) and, combined with the internal PWR Bridge bar that extends from the heel to the toe area, lowers the center of gravity (CG) location.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Cobra Darkspeed LS fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/anG6Zb”]

Opting for a titanium body and a carbon fiber crown saved even more weight, which allowed designers to add three moveable weights to the sole, two in the forward area and one in the back. The Darkspeed LS comes standard with two 15-gram weights and one 3-gram weight, and when the heavier weights are in the front, the club produces more ball speed, less spin and the lowest launch angle. However, players and fitters can move the weights to simultaneously boost stability and create either a draw or fade bias.

The Darkspeed LS comes in 13, 14.5 and 17.5-degree versions, but using the MyFly adjustable hosel, players and fitters can increase or decrease the loft by up to 1.5 degrees to help them find the ideal ball flight and distance.

The Darkspeed X and Max fairway woods are constructed similarly, but instead of using titanium, they each feature a 475 stainless steel PWRShell face and 17-4 stainless steel chassis.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Cobra Darkspeed MAX fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/JzdQvr”]

Cobra Darkspeed X fairway — The Darkspeed X has a single weight in the back of the sole. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The PWRShell face extends the hitting area below the leading edge and into the sole, which helps to broaden the sweet spot and enhance performance on low-struck shots. And, like the Darkspeed LS, the Darkspeed X and Max fairway woods have the MyFly adjustable hosel system, and an internal PWRBridge weight helps to lower the CG location to encourage higher-flying shots.

The Darkspeed X (15, 16.5, 18 and 21 degrees) has a 3-gram weight in the back of the sole that increases stability and gives the head a neutral shot-shape bias.

The Darkspeed Max (15.5, 18.5 and 21.5 degrees) has two weight ports and comes standard with a 15-gram and a 3-gram weight, along with ports in the heel and back of the sole. When the heavier weight is in the heel, the Max has a draw bias, but when it is in the back, the MOI, forgiveness, spin rate and launch angle all go up.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Cobra Darkspeed LS fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/anG6Zb”]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Cobra Darkspeed MAX fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/JzdQvr”]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Cobra Darkspeed X fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/nL6bZo”]

PXG Black Ops fairway woods

The PXG Black Ops fairway woods blend distance with forgiveness and adjustability.

Gear: PXG Black Ops fairway woods
Price: $349.99
Specs: Carbon fiber crown with AM335 stainless steel body, proprietary stainless steel face, moveable weights and adjustable hosel. Available as 3-wood (15 degrees), 4-wood (17 degrees), 5-wood (19 degrees) and 7-wood (21 degrees)
Available: NOW

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Who They’re For: Golfers looking for more distance and forgiveness along with shot-shaping ability off the tee and from the turf.

The Skinny: PXG uses multiple materials, including new stainless steel alloys and moveable weights, to boost forgiveness and let players tweak the launch angle and spin rate of its latest fairway woods.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop PXG Black Ops fairway woods” link=”https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-100287807-15629782?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pxg.com%2Fen-us%2Fblack-ops-0311-fairway%2FFW-PXG15.html”]

The Deep Dive: Golf equipment companies such as PXG don’t control how fast you swing a club or how well you strike the ball, but through research and clever engineering, they can make clubs that will optimize your good shots and reduce the severity of your mis-hits. It’s a tough job, and when it comes to fairway woods, it is even harder because fairway woods need to hit the ball to the same distance and on the same trajectory when you hit shots off the tee or from the turf.

PXG’s latest fairway wood, the Black Ops, uses exotic materials, moveable weights and an adjustable hosel to help golfers hit their fairway wood shots farther and more consistently.

A key to the Black Ops fairway woods is a new high-strength stainless steel alloy used in the face. PXG said it is stronger than other steels commonly used in fairway woods, so the hitting area can be made thinner and lighter. In fact, the face is now just 0.07 inches thick. That allows it to be more flexible at impact, which results in more ball speed, a higher launch angle and less spin.

The Black Ops fairway woods have also been made with a compression-molded carbon fiber crown that reduces weight on the top of the head and lowers the center of gravity. The chassis is made from a light but strong material, AM355 stainless steel, that allowed designers to save even more weight.

That saved mass has been repurposed in the form of three adjustable screws in the sole of the Black Ops, with the three ports located in the heel, toe and the back-middle areas. The club comes standard with a 12-gram weight in the back and 2.5-gram weights in the heel and toe to maximize forgiveness and help create a higher launch angle, but putting the heavier weight in the heel will encourage a draw and adding it to the toe port will create a fade bias.

To help golfers find a club that hits shots to the ideal distance, PXG has made the Black Ops with an adjustable hosel that can increase or decrease the loft by as many as 1.5 degrees and raise or lower the lie angle.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop PXG Black Ops fairway woods” link=”https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-100287807-15629782?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pxg.com%2Fen-us%2Fblack-ops-0311-fairway%2FFW-PXG15.html”]

Below are several images of the Black Ops fairway woods:

TaylorMade Qi10, Qi10 Max, Qi10 Tour fairway woods

TaylorMade’s Qi10 fairway woods offer a blend of distance, forgiveness and spin.

Gear: TaylorMade Qi10, Qi10 Max, Qi10 Tour fairway woods
Price: $349 each for the Qi10 or Qi10 Max with Fujikura Speeder NX TCS shaft, Fujikura Ventus Blue TR shaft or Mitsubishi Tensei AV Limited Blue shaft and Golf Pride Z-Grip grip. $449 for the Qi10 Tour.
Specs: Carbon fiber crown with V-shaped sole plate, Speed Pocket and stainless steel face (Qi10, Qi10 Max); carbon fiber crown, titanium face, moveable weight and adjustable hosel (Qi10 Tour).
Available: Feb. 2 for the Qi10, Qi10 Max; Feb. 16 for the Qi10 Tour, but available for pre-order NOW

Who They’re For: Golfers who want to maximize forgiveness and distance off the tee and from the fairway (Qi10, Qi10 Max), or low-handicap golfers who want adjustability, more distance off the tee and a more-compact shape (Qi10 Tour).

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The Skinny: The standard Qi10 has been made to blend forgiveness and distance in an all-around fairway wood, while the Max version has a higher moment of inertia to make it extremely forgiving and easy to launch high into the air. The Qi10 Tour blends a titanium face with a sliding weight and adjustable hosel, making it the club low-handicap players can fine-tune easily.

The Deep Dive: TaylorMade has been a significant force in the fairway wood category since 2012, when the release of RocketBallz ushered in the era of nuclear-powered fairway woods that deliver driver-like distance. Since that time, the Carlsbad, California-based company has continued to refine shapes, work with new materials and design clubs that are as capable of splitting tight fairways off the tee as they are attacking long par 5s from the turf.

Golfers tend to be finicky when it comes to fairway woods, so one club can’t be perfect for every player. With the Qi10 fairway wood family, TaylorMade offers three very different clubs that share some key technologies.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TaylorMade Qi10 fairway woods” link=”https://globalgolfcreator.pxf.io/rQNDgQ”]

Since 2015, TaylorMade fairway woods have had a distinctive look, combining a carbon fiber crown with a stainless steel piece that joins the crown and face. In some clubs, such as the M4, M6 and SIM fairway woods, that area was even white to create a contrast and help golfers improve their alignment. But in the Qi 10 fairway woods, that ledge area is gone. Now the carbon fiber crown, which is larger, extends to the seam where it meets the hitting area. TaylorMade refers to it as an Infinity Crown, and it not only creates a more-premium look in the address position, it also reduces weight in the top of the club.

To help golfers align shots more easily, TaylorMade added a subtle white line on the top portion of the hitting area, as it did in company’s previous Stealth 2 fairway woods.

TaylorMade Qi10 Max fairway wood — All the Qi10 fairway woods, including the Max, have Twist Face to help golfers hit straighter shots. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

All the Qi10 fairway woods also feature Twist Face, the company’s design feature that peels back the high-toe area and low-heel areas of the face to help golfers hit straighter shots. There is also a Speed Pocket slot designed in the sole, directly behind the leading edge, that helps improve performance on thin shots and allows the lower portion of the hitting area to flex more efficiently. The Qi10 and Qi10 Max also feature a V-Steel sole design that lifts the heel and toe areas on the bottom of the club to reduce turf interaction and help golfers maintain speed through the hitting zone.

The standard Qi10 is available in lofts of 15, 18, 21 and 24 degrees. It is slightly shorter from front to back than the Qi10 Max, which is offered in 16-, 19- and 22-degree versions. Sharp-eyed golfers might see that, and they will also see that the Qi10 Max has a lower profile, but inside the Qi10 and Qi10 Max is where the most significant differences can be found.

Inside the Qi10, TaylorMade added an internal 15-gram weight in the back and a 42-gram weight behind the face to improve stability while significantly increasing ball speed. The Qi10 Max has a 42-gram internal weight in the back and a 15-gram weight in the front, so it is more stable on mis-hits, generates more spin and should produce a higher launch for most golfers. In fact, the Qi10 Max has the highest moment of inertia of any fairway wood TaylorMade has made.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM Qi10 Max fairway wood” link=”https://globalgolfcreator.pxf.io/GmdVDV”]

TaylorMade Qi10 Tour fairway woods — The TaylorMade Qi10 Tour fairway wood (David Dusek/Golfweek)

For more-accomplished golfers and players who want to maximize adjustability, TaylorMade is offering the Qi10 Tour. The head is smaller (170 cubic centimeters) than the Qi10 (190 cubic centimeters) and the Qi10 Max (200 cubic centimeters), but it does have an Infinity carbon fiber crown like those clubs, plus Twist Face and a Speed Pocket in the sole. However, the Qi10 Tour has three significant features the other clubs lack.

First, the Qi10 Tour, which will only be offered in 15- and 18-degree versions, has a titanium face like a driver, so designers could make it thinner and lighter without sacrificing durability.

The titanium face and carbon fiber crown combination allowed engineers to give the Qi10 Tour a 50-gram sliding weight, enabling players and fitters to shift the center of gravity forward to reduce spin, increase ball speed and produce a lower launch angle. Moving the weight back increases spin and should produce a higher ball flight with more forgiveness.

Finally, the Qi10 Tour also has an adjustable hosel that allows the stated loft to be increased or decreased by as many as 2 degrees.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM Qi10 fairway wood” link=”https://globalgolfcreator.pxf.io/AWM3Kj”]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM Qi10 Max fairway wood” link=”https://globalgolfcreator.pxf.io/GmdVDV”]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop TM Qi10 Tour fairway wood” link=”https://globalgolfcreator.pxf.io/eKZERr”]

Below are more close-up images of the Qi10 fairway woods:

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods

Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods are for people who want more distance off the tee and from the fairway with ball-speed protection on mis-hits.

Gear: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods
Price: $349.99 with Project X Cypher 2.0 shaft, Project X Denali Black shaft or Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip
Specs: Forged stainless steel face and body with carbon fiber crown and adjustable hosel
Available: Feb. 2, but available via pre-order NOW

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Who They’re For: Golfers who want more distance off the tee and from the fairway, plus ball-speed protection on mis-hits.

The Skinny: Using artificial intelligence, Callaway created different faces for each of the four Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods so they are optimized to enhance distance and protect ball speed for specific types of players.

The Deep Dive: Fairway woods can be the most challenging clubs to design because engineers need to deliver the ideal flight and desired distance both off the tee and on shots hit off the turf. It’s not easy.

In the four Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods, Callaway studied thousands of swings made by a wide variety of golfers and developed unique “Swing Codes,” mapping where players of different abilities make contact on the face.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/y26PMD”]

As you would suspect, accomplished golfers found the center of the hitting area often and delivered the club to the ball on a neutral path, while mid- and higher-handicap players made contact all over the face and tended to swing from out to in. Callaway also observed that many players who struggle to make solid, consistent contact tend to have a steep angle of attack into the ball. At the same time, accomplished golfers only swing down slightly as they hit fairway woods.

So Callaway utilized artificial intelligence to optimize performance for different players. Engineers instructed supercomputers to virtually design and test thousands of faces to reveal which could deliver a blend of distance and ball-speed protection on mis-hits for different types of players. The result is four faces, each with unique thick and thin areas, that are now in the four Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods.

The standard Paradym Ai Smoke Max fairway wood will be available as a 3-wood, 3HL, 5-wood, Heavenwood, 7-wood, 9-wood and 11-wood. It has a carbon fiber crown to reduce weight on the club’s top and help lower the center of gravity. Removing a pair of stainless steel reinforcing beams from the sole that were present in the original Paradym Max fairway woods saved another 24 grams of weight.

For fast-swinging players and golfers who generate excessive spin, Callaway designed the Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond – available as a 3-, 5- and 7-wood – with a forward center of gravity that increases ball speed, reduces spin and helps produce a more piercing ball flight. The Triple Diamond is smaller than the other Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods. Callaway designed it with a stainless steel sole instead of a carbon fiber sole because the weight saved by going with carbon fiber would be minimal.

For golfers who tend to slice the ball, Callaway offers the Paradym Ai Smoke Max D, a draw-biased fairway wood that comes as a 3-, 3HL, 5- and 7-wood.

Callaway also offers the Paradym Ai Smoke Max Fast, which comes standard with a lighter shaft and grip and is available as a 3-, 5-, 7- and 9-wood for players who struggle to generate speed and distance.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Paradym Ai Smoke fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/jr6G9n”]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond fairway wood” link=”*”]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Paradym Ai Smoke Max D fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/LXdyMO”]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Paradym Ai Smoke Max Fast fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/k021rM”]

Check out several images of the Paradym Ai Smoke fairway woods below.

Callaway Apex UW (2023)

Callaway’s updated Apex UW is a miniature high-lofted fairway wood.

Gear: Callaway Apex UW (2023)
Price: $299.99 each with Mitsubishi MMT graphite shaft and Golf Pride Z Grip
Specs: Stainless steel face and hosel. 17-, 19- and 21-degree options
Available: August 18 (pre-sale), Sept. 8 (in-stores)

Who It’s For: Accomplished golfers who want the launch and distance of a high-lofted fairway wood in a club that is the size of a compact hybrid.

The Skinny: The Apex UT combines fairway wood technologies for extra distance in a compact shape that is pleasing to the eyes of low-handicap players. With a neutral weight bias, better players should be able to shape shots and gain versatility from it.

The Deep Dive: Over the last three years, there has been a surge in the popularity of high-lofted fairway woods on the PGA Tour and among accomplished golfers. Their low-and-back center of gravity, along with their wide sole and loft, can make them an interesting option for golfers who would rather not carry a hybrid.

Callaway, however, has a unique alternative for players who want fairway wood levels of distance combined with hybrid-style versatility: the Apex UW (utility wood).

Hybrids were designed as long-iron replacements; consider the Apex UW a hybrid replacement. Available in lofts of 17, 19 and 21 degrees, this is the second generation of the UW, and they have the same loft as most 2-irons and 3-irons or their corresponding hybrids. However, the Apex UWs come standard with shafts that are longer than a hybrid’s, for more speed, but shorter than a fairway wood shaft to help players make solid contact more easily.

The Apex UW looks like a scaled-down fairway wood in the address position. It has a high-strength C300 maraging steel face cup designed to flex more efficiently at impact than a flat face, which helps broaden the sweet spot and generate more ball speed. Inside the head, Callaway added its Batwing structure to the heel and toe areas. They connect the sole to the crown and help to stiffen the chassis when the club hits the ball, so more energy is transferred into the shot instead of being lost in the deformation of the head.

The Apex UW will be used by many players off the tee on long par 3s, but most of its shots for better players will be off the ground into long par 4s and par 5s, so turf interaction was a significant concern for Callaway. To help the Apex UW slide through grass and sand more easily, designers gave it a sole with a seam running from the leading edge to the back of the club and a pair of scalloped areas. Callaway calls it a Cutwave Pro Sole, and it should improve turf interaction.

Finally, Callaway designed the Apex UW with a center of gravity that produces a neutral weight bias, so the club is not pre-set to create either a draw or a fade. While many hybrids for mid- and higher-handicap golfers are designed to help reduce the effects of a slice, good players often want to work the ball in different directions and have the skills required to do so. The Apex UW’s weighting lets that happen more easily while allowing good players to hit high-flying approach shots that land softly and stop fast on the green.

There is a screw in the sole that is not adjustable by players, but custom fitters can change it to adjust the club’s swing weight based on its length or a player’s preferences.

Ping releases G430 LST 3-wood

Ping’s newest fairway wood combines carbon fiber, titanium and tungsten for a low-spinning option for fast-swinging golfers.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=]

Gear: Ping G430 LST 3-wood
Price: $600 with PING Alta CB Black, Mitsubishi Kai’Li White or Project X HZRDUS Smoke Red RDX shaft and Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet grips
Specs: 169-cc volume with adjustable hosel, titanium face and chassis, carbon fiber crown and tungsten sole plate. 15-degrees only.

Who It’s For: Golfers who want a low-spin, distance-oriented 3-wood that is loaded with the latest technology.

The Skinny: Ping has taken the technologies used in the G430 LST driver and added extra weight to the bottom of its new low-spin 3-wood to create a club that fast-swinging golfers can use as a driver alternative off the tee and a powerful club to attack long par 5s from the fairway.

The Deep Dive: While the Ping G430 family was released in North America back in January, the G430 LST 3-wood was quietly made available to PGA Tour pros separately this spring, and it is the most technologically advanced fairway wood the Phoenix, Arizona-based company has ever created.

Most fairway woods are designed with stainless steel, because it is strong, but over the last few seasons, some brands have tinkered with multilateral designs that are typically associated with drivers. The G430 LST 3-wood fits into that category.

Ping G430 LST 3-wood — Using titanium in the face and carbon fiber in the crown allowed Ping to add a massive tungsten sole weight to lower the center of gravity. (Ping)

Like Ping’s G430 LST driver, the G430 LST 3-wood, which is only available in a 15-degree version, has a carbon fiber crown that wraps into the sides of the club to reduce weight on the top of the head. It saves about 5.5 grams of weight compared to a stainless steel crown of the same size.

The G430 LST 3-wood also features a 2041 Beta Titanium face and a Ti 8-1-1 body. Titanium, which is usually reserved for drivers, is significantly lighter than stainless steel, which is often used in fairway woods, and it can flex more efficiently at the moment of impact, to help golfers generate more ball speed and distance.

That saved weight has been concentrated in the bottom of the club in the form of an 80-gram tungsten sole weight. It pulls the center of gravity location down and back to encourage higher-flying shots with less spin.

An adjustable hosel allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the loft by up to 1.5 degrees, so this 3-wood can have as little as 13.5 degrees of loft or as much as 16.5 degrees.