Fairway wood fitting
Sixty minutes, $115. The most neglected club in most bags, and in Charleston the one where the ground itself changes the answer.
Why the turf matters here
A fairway wood is the only club in the bag routinely swung at full speed off the deck. That makes sole design a first-order decision rather than a detail, and the right sole depends entirely on what you are hitting off.
Overseeded winter turf in the Lowcountry is soft and generous. August Bermuda, mowed tight and baked, is not — the ball sits down, the leading edge digs, and a wood that was perfect in March suddenly produces a low screamer that runs into the hazard. We test on both a normal mat and a tight strip for exactly this reason.
The three wood problem
An enormous number of golfers carry a three wood they cannot hit off the ground. It lives in the bag for tee shots on short holes and gets used four times a round. That is a wasted slot.
Frequently the fix is not a better three wood. It is a five wood or a strong seven wood with more loft, a shorter shaft, and a shallower face — a club you can actually use from the fairway. We say this often enough that it is close to a house position: most amateurs would score better with more loft at the top of the bag.
Gapping against the driver
If your three wood carries within fifteen yards of your driver, one of the two is wrong. That gap should be meaningful enough to justify the slot. We check it against your actual driver numbers rather than against a chart, which occasionally reveals that the driver is the club that needs the attention.
What gets tested
- Loft and face depth. Shallower faces get the ball up off the deck; deeper faces suit players who tee it.
- Shaft weight and length. Usually a little heavier and always shorter than your driver shaft, which surprises people who assume it should match.
- Sole camber and leading edge. Tested on the tight strip, because that is where the club either works or does not.
- Swing weight. A wood that feels head-heavy off a mat feels unmanageable off a bare lie.
- Turf interaction under pressure. How the club behaves when you get a little steep, which is what happens on the course.
Slower swings and higher lofts
For golfers whose driver speed sits under about 85 miles per hour, the fairway wood category is where a lot of ground can be regained. A light, lofted five or seven wood is far easier to launch off the deck than a long iron or even a hybrid, and it holds a green from distances that otherwise require a running approach.
Several of our senior clients carry two fairway woods and no long irons at all. It looks unusual in the bag and it works.
Book a fairway wood session
Sixty minutes, $115. Pair it with a driver session as a two-category block for $245.