Woods and Fairway Woods

When the shot is too long for an iron, whether it be a blade or cavity backed, you use a “wood.” Never mind that there hasn’t been wood in those clubs for decades! The classic woods include the driver, the 3-wood, and the 5-wood. Modern fairway woods, sometimes called “fairway metals” since they are made with titanium or alloy faces, include the 3, 5, 7 and 9. In many sets of golf clubs, the fairway metals have been replaced by hybrid clubs, which we’ll discuss on the next page. Here, we’ll discuss how to use the driver, which is generally the longest club in your golf bag.

Lofts

Drivers come in a variety of lofts, running anywhere from 8 to 14 degrees. The long shaft combined with a relatively flat face gives you the most distance. However, many studies suggest that for all but the best golfers, more loft is better. For example, a golfer with an 95 mile per hour swing will generally get the best distance from an 11-degree driver. This is because, contrary to popular belief, hang time is the most important factor in distance, rather than how much the ball runs after hitting the fairway. 

Shaft Flex

Most good teaching pros agree that you should carry a driver that has the same level of shaft flex as the other clubs in your bag. Most amateur golfers (especially men), tend to play with shafts that are too stiff (pardon the implication!). Instead, err on the side of more flex, which will help you slow down your swing. This will lead to more consistency, more accuracy, and a better overall swing rhythm. Another problem is that we tend to buy our drivers separately from our irons. We’re used to getting driver that flexes much more than our irons.

Teeing Up for a Drive

With the current big head drivers, you want to tee the ball up quite a bit higher than you do for long irons or 3-wood tee shots. The generally accepted rule is to tee the ball up so that its equator is even with the top line of your driver. If your swing is fairly consistent, spend an hour or two at the driving range with your driver, and try different tee heights. When you find one that gives you consistent trajectory and clean contact, stick with it. Don’t try to trick your loft by varying your tee height. Instead, use the accepted rules for changing loft - for more, move the ball forward in your stance, for less, move the ball back.

When setting up to hit your driver, you want your swing to remain consistent with the way you hit your irons. Your stance, however, should be slightly modified to better take advantage of the extra long shaft of the driver. Place your feet slightly farther apart than you do for long irons - a bit more than shoulder width apart. Tip your torso to the right (for right handed golfers). You want to feel as though your left hip is over the inside of your left heel, and your right shoulder is above your right foot.Go on to this page to learn about hybrids.