One of my favourite things about golf is you can play it throughout your life. That is a lovely thought. Perhaps you are just starting to play yourself. Or you may be an old-timer who is now getting your grandchildren interested in this wonderful sport. Whoever you are, I can promise that there are years of pleasure ahead.
Having said this, our skills and our requirements change as we age. One crucial way we can keep an advantage is to update our golf clubs. Here we are going to take a look at the best fairway woods for seniors.
Why do you need new fairway woods?
The Statistic Brain Research Institute researched who is playing golf and found that nearly two-thirds are over the age of fifty. One reason is that golf does not involve so much jarring physical effort, pressure on the joints and energy bursts as many other sports. Having said that, it does require effort. Hitting a ball over a hundred yards down a fairway takes controlled strength. This needs good strong muscles and fast reflexes.
It is not surprising then, that as we age the speed of our golf swing begins to slow down.
One-fifth of active golfers playing today in the United States are over seventy years of age. We now see players in their eighties and even nineties out on the golf course. Equipment and rules on golf courses have advanced to accommodate these changes. For example, it is now common to see golf carts on courses. This makes those long walks around the course much more relaxed. Older shoulders no longer have to carry bags of heavy clubs.
And of course, golf club designers and manufacturers are innovating as well.
Age related changes
As we age, our strength and our golf game will change. We will slow up, and our swing speed will decline. We may find it harder to hit the ball accurately enough to loft the ball into the air. The distance the ball will travel may not be as far as in our earlier days.
This does not mean we need to give up golf. We can even carry on winning. We have more experience and greater control over our emotions and stress responses. This gives us older people an edge. But maybe the most significant change has been clubs specially designed for us. And it is those I am going to look at now.
Because the main issue is speed and strength, it is no surprise that the clubs we use to get distance are the ones where the manufacturers have made the most significant advances. These are the fairway woods.
What we need fairway woods to do?
These are the clubs we use to get speed and speed means distance. They have long shafts and are often made from steel or titanium.
Often you will be looking for something which is light so you can manoeuvre it more efficiently. A large clubhead will mean that you will continue to hit the ball on the sweet spot. There are also innovations such as grooving on the clubhead which further improves the performance of the ball. You may also find you need a greater variety of lofts (that is the angle of the clubhead) to get the most out of your game.
Best fairway woods for seniors -top 5
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This club is brand new and excellent if you want maximum forgiveness and to hit distances which will make your golfing buddies gasp as well. It has a large sweet spot which means the ball will travel fast and go a reasonable distance. This makes it a good substitute for a driver (number 1 wood). The shallow face and carbon composite crown will help you get a good spin on the ball and get the ball into the air. It has a graphite shaft and comes in a variety of flexes, including a senior flex.
Pros
The innovation of a carbon composite crown will help you get the ball off the ground with ease. This technology makes it a great club for all lies. Lots of forgiveness and will help you gain distance. A good club if you do not want to invest in a driver at the moment.
Cons
No adjustable weights.
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If you are looking for both forgiveness and accuracy, this club delivers well. It has lots of new technology built in such as a forged hyper-speed face cup and an aerodynamic head shape. Its graphite shaft makes it feel responsive and easy to control. It comes in stiff, senior and regular flexes. It looks good too, with a lovely matte finish.
Pros
Callaway has put a bigger head on this than on its previous designs, and this makes it an ideal choice for high handicappers and beginners. The head shape will help the less experienced golfer add speed off the tee if they decide to use this club in place of a driver. It also comes in a variety of colour combinations.
Cons
Perhaps slightly heavy and hard to manipulate for some tastes. Contoured lines on the side of the clubhead could be sharper.
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Buying this club is not a budget option, but it is an investment. Callaway are famous and respected for delivering great clubs and this is brand new to the market. Perhaps better known for the drivers in this range, Callaway has now produced a fantastic fairway wood.
The technological experience of Callaway is easy to see here. This club has forgiveness, power and accuracy. It has a swing which senior golfers especially will appreciate. The latest thinking on increasing the moment of inertia has gone into this club design. With its massive head, this is a club which can inspire confidence in less experienced golfers. Even off-center hits will still travel a reasonable distance down the fairway.
This fairway wood also has the advantage of adjustability on some of the range (but not the 9 or the 7 wood). Callaway’s established Optifit hosel allows you to adjust the club. You can increase or decrease the loft using this feature and also get the most out of your swing by changing the lie angle.
It has the well-known warbird sole as well. This innovative feature is a sculpted soleplate with an internal weighting system for extra forgiveness.
Pros
Excellent control, forgiveness and easy to use adjustability features. Sturdy and will get the ball a great distance
Cons
The grip may feel too small and make the club uncomfortable to hold.
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If you have been having a problem with slicing the ball, then this may be the choice for you. The Taylormade AeroBurner is well known for its forgiveness, and this is its chief attribute. It is a comfortable club for the high handicapper to use as it is lightweight. Its good balance gives confidence while you are building up your skills and you will achieve an excellent swing with this club.
The speed pocket will help you get speed when you hit the ball lower on the face. A newly designed hosel fin reduces drag to give you faster speeds off your swing. The matte white finish, combined with a black face is a great visual aid to alignment.
The shaft feels very stable when you hit the ball, although it is a bit longer than many fairway woods so might not be the best choice if you are shorter than average.
Its most noticeable feature is its lightness, which makes it an excellent choice for seniors or very young golfers where lack of strength may be an issue.
Pros
The relatively high loft makes it easy to get great length on most shots. Colour design of the clubhead is excellent for confidence with alignment
Cons
The shaft can feel a bit soft if you are used to a stiff flex
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This fairway wood had become deservedly well-known for its accuracy. In fact, if you feel that this is your main block to getting that handicap down, then this may well be the club for you.
Modern sole technology on the club head of this fairway wood will help you get the ball into the air. The adjustable weights give more control over the trajectory, and the ball moves well. The sole features rails. This innovation is a technology which can help the beginner golfer get out of trouble if they hit the ball into the long grass.
The rails help the ball to stay straighter when in longer grass and maintain speed along the shorter grass, thereby keeping more distance. Cobra’s standard hosel technology is used to full effect in this club. It has five settings, which enable you to vary the loft. Moveable weights in the sole will give you extra control over your level of spin. Its weighting system adds to the forgiveness on the club and the grooves on the clubhead helps to control the spin on the ball.
Pros
Wonderful accuracy, the sole structure provides a large sweet spot, and the distributed weight makes it easier to control the ball.
Cons
The shaft can feel a bit stiff. While the technology means excellent accuracy, it loses out a bit on distance.
Best fairway woods for seniors conclusion
The No products found. just gets the edge here. All the woods above do an excellent job, and we feel confident in recommending all of them. However, the TaylorMade M2 receives our final vote because of its flexibility and all-around performance. The carbon composite crown is an excellent innovation. It will help you get out of difficulty in the long grass time after time. It is a superb fairway wood, and you will get years of use from it.