Best Fairway Woods for Senior Golfers 2024
The best of the best! We roundup the best fairway woods for senior golfers in 2024
As golfers age, they may need to adjust their equipment to accommodate their changing physical abilities. One piece of equipment that can make a big difference in their game is the fairway wood.
This guide to the best fairway woods for senior golfers, outlines some of 2024s best fairway woods that are designed to provide a little more forgiveness and height of the face. They also aim to provide extra confidence over the ball, usually by having a larger profile.
Whilst the head options are great, a softer shaft could be the key to your game. This would physically help and might also knock a few shots off your handicap this season.
Best Fairway Woods for Senior Golfers 2024
Ping G430 MAX Fairway Wood
The first thing I am looking for in a 3-wood is depth of face, and this sits really tight behind the ball. I instantly feel like this is something I am going to be able to launch easily due to the relatively low profile face. This suits me as someone who is primarily looking for a second shot club.
As with the driver the acoustics are hugely improved here. Ping say it is down to that carbon crown. Regardless of the reason they sound so sweet.
This is a massive tick in the box for me as in recent years this has been a negative for Ping versus some of the other manufacturers who have nailed their acoustics. This is well and truly put to bed throughout the G430 range of metals.
The head in the Ping G430 max fairway wood is adjustable by a significant 1.5 degrees. The 3-wood on test is 16 degrees and I can crank that to 14.5. I think this is really advantageous in a 3-wood where, depending on course or conditions, I can see myself using this functionality.
There is nothing worse than never taking your fairway out of your bag on a windy links for fear of losing it in a cross wind. This would allow you to knock the loft down on such a day and bring the club back into play.
PROS
- Really versatile
- Super forgiving
- Massively improved acoustics
- Consistent spin rates
CONS
- Not the longest fairway on test
- RELATED: Read our full Ping G430 Max Fairway Wood
RRP: £350
Right-handed lofts: 3 (15), 5 (19) 7 (22)
Shafts: ALTA CB Black 55 / 65 / 70 or ALTA QUICK 35 /75 or Ping Tour 2.0 Chrome 65 / 75 / 85 or Ping Tour 2.0 Black 65 / 75 or Project x HZDRUS Smoke Red RDX 50 / 60 / 70 or Mitsubusi KAI’Li White 60 / 70
More information: Ping website
Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D Fairway Wood
Callaway is utilising their Ai technology, which this year uses data from real-world golfers. They use advanced machine learning to produce sweet spots around the face and claim the Max D model produces high launch and draw bias.
The Max D is built with a more upright lie angle and a neutral face angle to help with that right-to-left shot shape. It sits nicely behind the ball, and the face does not have a closed look to it as some might expect from a draw-biased wood.
Off the deck, it was confidence-inspiring and relatively consistent. Off the tee, being easier to launch it became more consistent and the distance was pretty much equal to my current fairway wood.
Off-centre hits were, as expected, very forgiving. I got decent distance with some pretty poor strikes.
Callaway, it seems to me, are describing this as their maximum forgiveness fairway wood, and I would agree with this. Despite this, I think it should be in the discussion for all handicaps. The head is a modern, classic shape. The three wood has an adjustable hosel and can therefore be tweaked to provide a perfect fit.
PROS
- Properly easy to fly high
- Extremely forgiving so great for mid handicappers too
- More great acoustics
- Love the looks
CONS
- Low profile head isn’t as confidence inspiring on tee shots
- RELATED: Read our full Callaway Paradym AI Smoke Max d Fairway woods review
RRP: £379
Shafts: Project X Cypher 2.0 | 40 G (LGT) | D2 & 50G (LGT, REG) | D2
MCA Tensei AV Blue | 60 G (REG | STF) | D3 & 70 G (STF) | D4
Right-handed Lofts: 15°, 16.5°, 18°, 21°
Left-handed Lofts: 15°, 18° & 21°
More information: Callaway website
Wilson Dynapwr Fairway Wood
I hit the 3 wood 228 yards carry with wind removed, which isn’t too bad but to be honest with over 150mph ball speed I’d have liked to have seen a bit more.
Wilson have designed the Dynapwr fairway using artificial intelligence to calculate the variable thickness in the face to provide maximum speed and spin from all strike locations. It also features a weight on the rear of the sole which drags back the centre of gravity to increase MOI.
The result of this tech is an extremely forgiving fairway wood. I made sure to hit plenty of shots from a wide variety of face locations and none of the shots were unplayable. Wilson have done a brilliant job building a fairway wood that players can actually use and rely on.
PROS
- Classic shape
- Ball speeds remained high on miss-hits
- Plenty of spin to keep the ball in the air
- Great price
CONS
- Not the longest fairway wood
- Not adjustable
- RELATED: Read our full Wilson Dynapwr Fairway Wood Review
RRP: £220
Right-handed lofts: 15°, 18°, 21°
Featured shafts: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Red
More information: Wilson Website
Cobra Darkspeed Max Fairway Wood
The Cobra Darkspeed series of fairway woods are some of the most stunning clubs I have seen. This series has something for everyone. The Darkspeed Max is their most forgiving club. The club has been designed to give a high draw-biased flight. It has an adjustable weight system for fine-tuning forgiveness and flight. The Darkspeed Max uses the Cobra PWR-BRIDGE and PWRSHELL H.O.T face technology which is being used across the board in this range.
This provides faster ball speed through a low forward CG location. The fairway wood has a carbon crown shell that removes weight from the upper part of the clubhead, which contributes to the low CG. The technology in the face uses machine learning to provide a multitude of hotspots across the face, leading to even greater forgiveness. This golf club has a really shallow face and looks so gettable, which is a confidence-inspiring feeling from a club that is historically the hardest to hit from the ground consistently.
I was interested to see if I actually got more distance with the forgiveness and slightly more loft, perhaps launching the ball more easily. The figures, however, showed the distance to be that expected with the loft when comparing it to other Darkspeed woods and, indeed, my own 3 wood. Off the tee, I gained around 5 yards, which is normal for me.
PROS
- Gorgeous looks.
- Forgiving
- Performed well from tee and fairway
- Extremely adjustable to get a great fit
- Sits square despite draw bias
CONS
- None
- RELATED: Read our full Cobra Darkspeed Max Fairway Wood Review
RRP: £279
Loft: 3W 15.5˚ (14°-17°), 5W 18.5˚ (17°-20°), 7W 21.5° (20°-23°)
Stock Shafts: UST MAMIYA LIN-Q M40X Red A, R and S Flexes.
More information: Cobra Website
TaylorMade Qi10 Max Fairway Wood
The Qi10 Max is their most forgiving model in this new range. There is no adjustable hosel, which gives it a sleeker look and allows the freedom to optimise the weight distribution and lower the centre of gravity to deliver longer distances.
The infinity crown, made from carbon, also contributes to this, and TaylorMade says this is the highest MOI fairway wood they have produced. This very low CG makes it easy to launch, giving an extremely high launch that is optimised for carry distance. Other features are the Thru-Slot speed pocket to optimise ball speed on low-face hits and twist-face technology to straighten those less-than-perfect strikes.
The Qi10 Max has a slightly shallower head and a bigger 200cc head to help with confidence off the deck and tee.
Unsurprisingly, less-than-perfect strikes were not disastrous, and this is a reassuringly forgiving club. Both distance and direction were helped by the forgiving technology. Off the tee, I gained about 5 yards, which is what I would have expected.
PROS
- Clean looks
- Wide appeal
- Very Forgiving
- Great off the deck and tee
CONS
- Some may perceive the lack of adjustability as a negative
- RELATED: Read our full TaylorMade Qi10 Max Fairway Wood Review
RRP: £309
Shafts: Fujikura Speeder NX TCS 50 (S, R, A)
Lofts: 16°, 19°, & 22°
More information: TaylorMade Website
Best Fairway Woods for Senior Golfers 2024
Like most golfers not all senior players have the same needs. Some may need softer shafts and higher launch and others not.
Why not check out our other fairway woods guide to see what might best suit you…
- Best Fairway Woods 2024
- Best Fairway Woods for Mid-Handicappers 2024
- Most Forgiving Fairway Woods 2024
For more seniors buying guides, check out the links below…
How do we test fairway woods?
At National Club Golfer, we are passionate about producing accurate and thorough reviews and making sure our testing process is rigorous so we get a good understanding of how each club performs.
Each iron is hit with Pro V1 golf balls to allow us to collect launch monitor data with our in-house TrackMan and FlightScope. After this it is time to head out onto the golf course and test the clubs in practice and competition play. We do test them at a variety of golf clubs in our base of Yorkshire.
What is important when buying a fairway wood?
When buying a new fairway wood it is important to know what you want from that club to help you improve.
Most people are looking for more distance, each model is optimised for different things. Depending on your swing and your impact conditions, you may not actually hit the model that is advertised as the longest, the furthest. So if you want more distance, it is always worth giving different models a hit before you make a decision.
For most golfers, especially high handicappers, something that is more forgiving is going to yield the best performance. Most forgiving golf fairway woods have a slightly bigger club head with perimeter weighting for high MOI, which means shots that miss the sweet spot hits still perform well. They also have a center of gravity that is further back to help players get a more high launching ball flight.
Do you want something that is draw bias? There are so many models out there to help with slice correction, it would be silly not to take a look if you see your ball disappearing into the right trees too often. A closed face and draw bias weighting can get you hitting straighter shots in no time at all.
Don’t forget about the shaft, either. Getting the correct shaft can help dial in your spin and launch angle and can also give you some extra distance. Having a club fitting or trying different options with your local pro can really improve the performance of your new fairway.
What brand produce fairway woods for senior golfers?
All of the products in this best fairway woods for senior golfers 2023 article are picked from the brands that offer the fairways that are most suited for senior players.
Do any pros use forgiving fairway woods on tour?
Contrary to popular belief, PGA & DP World tour players do often play a forgiving fairway wood. This will vary from player to player as golfers want different things from their fairway woods, but if you check out Hannah’s what’s in the bag pieces, you will see forgiving fairway woods in there.
Tour players will often have two fairway woods in the bag, one low spin model that they might use as a backup club from the tee and another more forgiving model that will launch higher and land softer, more used for second shots into par 5s. Tour players consider small details like turf interaction and larger vs smaller head designs to manipulate the ball flight to what’s required. Amateur players should also think more about this and have a proper custom fitting!
Nicola Slater
Nicola recently graduated from Stirling University where she studied Sports Studies, she wrote her dissertation on barriers to participation for women in golf.
Nicola plays her golf at Hickleton and she currently plays off +3. Having played for Yorkshire Ladies and has represented England at junior and senior level, she will soon be beginning her professional career on LETAS.
