New year, new fairway woods coming out on the market. You know what that means, right? You should buy one! …. I’m completely kidding. Do NOT buy a new fairway wood, and I’ll tell you why.
- New fairway woods are way overpriced. Why not buy a slightly used one? Why not buy one that is 3-5 years old?
- New fairway woods are way overhyped. Oh, but you’ve gotta check out the new artificial intelligence club face and the dual-axle swivel club head. It’s totally adjustable. Quit the BS. These new clubs are good, but the old clubs are just as good, too.
What does a new year mean for us at golfclubguru.com? It means that we need to put out another batch of articles to rank on google. We are going to do things a little differently this year, though.
Yes, we ARE going to talk about the best fairway woods of 2020. But, we are also going to include alternative options that are pretty much the same exact club with a different paint job and price tag. Let’s get into it.
The Longest Fairway Wood: Cobra King Speedzone
Cobra is the most underrated company for fairway woods. I swear to you I don’t think I’ve ever cranked three woods longer than I did when I demo’d the Cobra King Speedzone. Balls seemed to just fly off the face effortlessly. Distance aside, great feel, appearance, and control as well.
The problem is, buying new will set you back about $300. Who has the money for that? Instead, consider a three wood (or 5 wood, or whatever wood make you happy) that was released 3-5 years ago in slightly used condition. Did you see the pun in the parenthesis in the last sentence? Just wanted to point that out. I wood say I’m pleased with myself. Alright, wood you stop? Goodness.
By the way, why the hell do you want the longest fairway wood? That makes no sense. Are you having long drive competitions with your friends, but only using fairway woods? Do you want to reach greens in two that are 250 yards away, but have to hit a knock down 3-wood from 230 yards? I don’t understand you. Anyway, who am I to judge? I just write golf articles all day.
Better Value Option: Cobra King LTD
Super long off the tee. Super long off the deck. You like distance and keeping most of your money? This is a great option for you.
The Cobra King LTD is an awesome fairway wood all around, especially on the distance side of things. I’m not really sure what else you want me to say about this club? It’s been on the market for about 4 years now, and the price is far lower than it should be, thankfully. If you are deciding between a $120 Cobra King LTD vs a $300 Cobra King Speedzone, then you are either really dumb or really rich. The decision should be obvious.
The Most Forgiving Fairway Wood: Callaway Mavrik Max
Callaway has historically made the most forgiving fairway woods. Long, wide, flat soles and club faces. Low center of gravity designs. Those two things simply increase the sweet spot and reduce spin – a great combination for golfers that struggle with their fairway woods.
Callaway’s Mavrik series has been a huge success so far. The Mavrik Max fairway wood takes forgiveness one step further with an even LARGER club head and removable weighs.
From Callaway: “Our largest and most forgiving head, with two interchangeable weights in the sole to promote MAX forgiveness or MAX draw.” That actually sums it up pretty well. A large and forgiving head increases the sweet spot. Two interchangeable weights allow you to easily make your fairway wood more draw-biased or fade-biased. That’s all you need to know about this club.
Now, more importantly, let’s talk about price. Ridiculous. $300 for a fairway wood? Come on. Do you hate money? If you have enough money where you’d consider a $300 fairway wood, we need to become friends. Maybe you can take us out to top golf? Have a few beers? Some chicken wings? Hmm?
A better option: Callaway XR 16
If you want a forgiving fairway wood at a fraction of the price, consider the Callaway XR 16 fairway woods. Practically the same club. Let’s be real here. All Callaway fairway woods in the past 4 years perform practically the same. So do the small improvements of the Mavrik Max justify the HUGE price increase? No, the answer is definitely no.
The Callaway XR 16 is a super forgiving club that you can pick up for well less than $100. It’s four years old now, which is a great age for budget golf clubs that perform the same at the new stuff.
The Most Versatile Fairway Wood: TaylorMade SIM
If you are looking for a versatile fairway wood, check out the new TaylorMade SIM. The sole is very rounded, allowing the clubhead to make solid contact even in rough lies, like all of the hazards that you somehow end up in every round. The flatter sole, on the other hand, would have caught on the ground easier and slightly twisted the club face. A small twist could lead to a HUGE miss.
Think about this for a second: what do you really want from your fairway wood? Do you only use it off the tee? Do you only use it from perfect lies in the fairway? Haha no, because you are hardly ever in the fairway — let’s be honest here.
Do you ever think about versatility? Do you ever think about how your fairway wood is going to perform from all of the crappy lies you put it in? Remember last round you played where you ended up in the loose dirt near the tall rough right by the small pong on hole 10, where you needed a 230 yard shot to the green to get on in regulation after that pitiful drive? Too harsh, sorry.
The one problem with the TaylorMade SIM fairway wood is the price. $400? Is this a joke?
As a cheaper alternative to the TaylorMade SIM, the TaylorMade RocketBallz fairway wood is a solid option. Nearly the same club. Wanna know what the main difference is? The paint job, honestly. Oh, and that huge price tag difference as well. You can pick up a slightly used RocketBallz three wood for under $50 easy.
Just like the SIM model, the RocketBallz club face and sole design is the same as the SIM. The only real difference will be the innovations in club face technologies, which really haven’t improved that much over the last 5 years.
Thank you, someone finally made sense of comparing new to used. I will take your advice, it will save me a bundle.