Every golfer has a favorite club or two in their bag. Perhaps it’s that club that you can always count on for perfect distance and accuracy, like a trusted 7-iron. Maybe it’s your driver, because every golfer loves to start a hole on the right note. And sometimes that favorite club isn’t one that receives a lot of attention, such as the fairway wood.

A fairway wood fits between the driver and hybrid woods in terms of shaft length and head size. It delivers better distance than a typical hybrid and better accuracy than a typical driver. A fairway wood can help you overcome a poor tee shot, and it can even replace your driver when you’re struggling to hit the ball straight off the tee. It can save your score — as long as you can use it successfully.

Many women’s golf club sets come with one or two fairway woods, but if your set didn’t, you can purchase one separately and add a valuable tool to your game. Our buying guide and recommendations can help you find the right women’s fairway wood for you.

A fairway wood is a golf club with a rounded club head that has a bit of weight to it. It looks a lot like a driver, but the head is smaller.

The loft is the angle of the club face relative to the ground, which allows you to pop the ball into the air. The fairway wood has more loft than a driver, so the ball should travel higher in the air over less distance. Fairway woods have less loft than irons.

You can use the fairway wood off the tee, but the loft of the club means you can use it when the golf ball is lying on the ground in the fairway. Although you can use a driver to hit a lie on the ground in the fairway, very few golfers can do this successfully.

Fairway woods are numbered based on the loft of the club face. This numbering system is similar to what you’ll find on irons. A driver is also called a 1-wood. Women’s fairway woods use numbers between 2 and 15.

2, 3, 4: Lower numbers deliver more distance and less loft on the ball.

5, 7, 9: Higher numbers deliver less distance and greater loft on the ball.

Hybrids have a smaller club head than a typical fairway wood. As hybrid woods have become more popular with both men and women, the line between hybrids and fairway woods has blurred. Hybrids have taken the place of some high-numbered fairway woods in the bags of some female golfers because these clubs offer similar distance and accuracy. Based on your success with these clubs, you’ll have to decide if you want to carry a 9-wood, 11-wood, or a hybrid.

The fairway wood’s head and shaft are made of stainless steel, graphite, titanium, or fiberglass. Graphite and titanium deliver a lightweight design with plenty of durability. Because these materials are light, they typically cost more than stainless steel fairway woods. Fiberglass clubs are the least expensive.

Loft: With some fairway woods, you can adjust the way the club head fits onto the shaft, allowing you to change the loft angle of the club face. This is a handy feature that makes a single club more versatile, meaning you may be able to carry one or two fewer clubs in your bag.

Weight: Some women’s fairway woods have movable weights embedded in the club head. Moving the weights changes the impact angle, potentially allowing you to fix a swing that hooks or slices.

Inexpensive: High-handicap and inexperienced golfers may find a usable fairway wood in the $40 to $100 range.

Mid-range: When you want some higher-end materials in the club and design features that forgive mishits, you can expect to spend between $100 and $200.

Expensive: The most expensive women’s fairway woods have outstanding materials and construction. Some allow you to adjust the loft as well. These models cost $200 to $400. Low-handicap and experienced golfers will be better able to take full advantage of these features.

• Check your lie carefully. If you hit the ball in the rough, you might be able to use a high-loft fairway wood, depending on your lie. For thick rough, a hybrid club or iron typically works better.
• Check the ball alignment. For fairway woods with less loft (lower numbers), you’ll want to align the ball closer to your front foot. Fairway woods with more loft can be centered in your stance.
• Check the hazards. One problem with fairway woods is that accuracy can be a challenge, especially for average golfers. Before choosing to use a fairway wood, look at the hazards ahead of you. If there’s a water hazard on the right and you typically slice when you use a fairway wood, you may want to rethink your club choice.
• Check your stance. To hit a fairway wood solidly, you need to have a stable stance. If you must stand on a slight hill to hit the shot, or if you can’t quite get your feet set up properly because of a tree root or sand trap, consider using a different club.

We expect the majority of female golfers will find a high-quality fairway wood in our matrix. However, if you’re looking for some different features, we did consider a few other products. The Founders Club Women’s Fairway Wood has a low price, and it’s available in lofts ranging from 15° to 36°.

To gain access to a newer design that has some features aimed at forgiving mishits, consider the Callaway Women’s Steelhead XR Fairway Wood. This club delivers distance and accuracy at a reasonable price.

One of the lightest fairway woods for women is the TaylorMade Women’s Kalea Ultralite Fairway Wood. You can receive extra club head speed with this lightweight fairway wood.

If you want an adjustable loft in the club face, we like the Cobra Golf Women’s King F8 Fairway Wood, which is available in 3/4, 5/6, and 7/9 fairway wood configurations.

Q. What does it mean when my golfing partners say I’m “slicing” my fairway wood?
A. With woods, it’s common for average golfers to “hook” or “slice” the ball. This simply means the club face is not square to the ball at the time of impact, causing a side spin that leads to an inaccurate shot. For a right-handed golfer, a hooked ball will travel left of the target, while a sliced ball will travel right. (The terms are opposite for a left-handed golfer.)
 

Q. Do I have to carry a fairway wood in my bag?
A. Not necessarily. Fairway woods are made for longer shots from the shorter grass of the fairway or from the tee. If you only play a par-3 course, you likely will have no use for a fairway wood. Because woods can be difficult for average golfers to control, some players prefer to hit a hybrid club or a long iron instead of a fairway wood, but they don’t deliver the distance of a fairway wood.
 

Q. Can a new fairway wood help my golf game?
A. It potentially can help you score better. Newer women’s golf clubs have designs made to maximize distance while minimizing the effects of a mishit. This advantage is especially noticeable with drivers and fairway woods, which are the most difficult clubs to control for average golfers.
 

Q. What is the difference between men’s and women’s fairway woods?
A. The primary difference is the length of the shaft. The club head on a men’s fairway wood may be slightly heavier than a women’s fairway wood, but this isn’t a requirement for a club to receive a men’s designation versus a women’s designation. With the longer shaft on men’s clubs, some tall women may choose to use men’s fairway woods.