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Join SandwedgedGolf Clubs Explained: The Woods
The woods are traditionally used for distance and you will commonly see a golfer hit a driver off the tee on long par 4s and par 5s. Originally, woods were made with a "wooden" clubhead, hence their name, but in modern times, driven by advancements in technology, the major golf equipment manufacturers now create huge clubheads using metal.
Most people think that the bigger the clubhead, the more powerful the driver is. Whilst this can be true to some extent, the real power of the woods comes from the shaft. Most modern shafts are made of carbon-fibre or titanium making the driver very light and flexible.
Shaft flex can influence the power and accuracy of a wood. The flex of a shaft allows it to store energy from a player's downswing, and release it as the head makes contact with the ball for increased club speed at impact. Golfers who have low swing speeds use a more 'whippy' shaft, and those who have faster swing speeds use stiffer shafts.. A shaft that is too stiff cannot be flexed by the golfer during their downswing, and as a result, this reduces club speed at impact. Similarly, a shaft that is too whippy will retain some of its stored flex at contact with the golf ball which wastes energy.
Woods usually fall into two classes, drivers and fairway woods:
The Driver or 1 Wood
There are not many harder clubs to master than the driver or 1 wood. Usually the most expensive golf club in the bag, some of the best drivers can cost up to £500 but once you've mastered it, it can drive a golf ball over 300 yards.
A driver has a clubhead loft between 7 and 12 degrees and the typical length of the club is 45 inches making it particularly difficult to control in the swing. The biggest mistake a less experienced golfer makes is trying to hit the driver too hard in the swing.
Reducing the speed of your swing and even using a three quarter swing will help you control it with greater accuracy. Once you have mastered the control in the swing, you can build the power over time.
The Fairway Woods
The other woods that are commonly found in a golfer's bag are the 3 and 5 woods, also known as the fairway woods or fairway metals. The clubheads for fairway woods are made of the same material as the driver.
With a smaller clubhead than a driver, the 3 wood has a loft between 15 and 18 degrees, whilst the 5 wood has a loft between 20 and 22 degrees. Beginner golfers are commonly encouraged to use a fairway wood off the tee instead of a driver as they are much easier to control in the swing.
As a rule of thumb, the higher the golf club number, the higher the loft. This means a 3 wood will go farther than 5 wood, a 5 wood will go farther than a 7 wood, and so on. In addition to this, the higher the golf club number, the shorter the club is in length. A 3 wood is generally half shorter than a Driver and so on with each successive club.
The 7 and 9 and 11 Woods often known as the utility woods are are less commonly used. Beginners, women and seniors may benefit from adding one of these clubs to their bag. These clubs are useful if you haven't perfected hitting the low irons as they provide more forgiveness if you also want distance in your shots.
If you need some advice or guidance how to hit your golf woods correctly, why don't you check out the Sandwedged golf tips and tricks videos?