In golf, the club used for long distance shots is popularly called the wood. It can be categorized in two classes – the drivers and the fairway woods. The driver is the longer and lower-loft wood, the 1 wood, while the fairway is a higher number wood used for shots that require a longer distance like a long par-4 or a par-5. Fairway woods come with two main design features – a higher loft to lift balls across obstacles like hillocks and a shallower face to hit balls from the ground over a longer distance. They could also be used off the tee to play a short tee shot.
A common set of golf clubs may have many variations depending on the course and the player. The most common set has a driver, 3 and 5 woods. While the fairway woods have a number of variations and numbers ranging from 2 to 9, the 7 wood finds preference among senior players and ladies. The 7 wood is also preferred for hilly courses.
The fairway wood has a head made of wood. It is spherical in shape, has a bulging clubface and a flattened sole. Traditional club heads before the 20th century were made of wood, beech wood or ash. These were later replaced by maple or persimmon. Today, they are called metalwoods or fairway metals because they are made from hollow steel, titanium or other composite materials. Available since the late 1970s, metalwoods gained acceptance only in the early 1990’s.
The launch angle in golf is determined by the loft of the fairway woods. The typical loft for fairway woods is 7.5 - 31 degrees and the average 3-wood has a 14-15 degree loft while this is 18-19 degrees for a 5-wood. This could differ depending upon the classifications and the manufacturer as well. Ladies and senior players normally prefer higher lofted drivers as they can get the ball up in air with lower club head speeds.
Shafts of fairway woods determine the distance of the hit. The shorter the shaft, the lesser is the distance of the hit. While a typical shaft’s length in fairway woods ranges from 40 – 48 inches some prefer shorter shafts for easier usage. Shafts may be made from either wood or graphite. However graphite is the preferred choice due to its lighter weight which results in higher club speeds and longer distances traversed. The shaft plays a pivotal role and increases distance and accuracy. Poor shafts on the other hand mean reduced distances and inconsistent shots. Traditional shafts also have a hosel that modern shafts do not have. This enables modern shafts to maximize mass contained in the club head, reducing its centre of gravity in the process.
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