Whether you regularly play in windy conditions or just need something that goes forever off the tee with some semblance of consistency, a low-launch fairway wood can fill an important hole in the bag setup.
The previous installment of GOLF’s robotic testing insights took a look at fairway woods (15 degrees) with exceptionally high launch angles. Now we’re shifting the focus to a crop with a noticeably lower launch. As you’d expect, low-spin fairway woods produced some of the lowest launch angles during testing, which checks out.
Moving the center of gravity low and forward is the easiest way to shed spin and lower launch at the same time. That being said, don’t assume all low-spin fairways are going to produce a penetrating flight. (If you don’t believe us, just look at Ping’s G430 LST launch numbers.)
If you struggle with too much spin, try out one of the models listed below and watch your distance increase. It’s one of the easiest ways to get spin within a reasonable range and turn your 3-wood into a strong secondary option off the tee.
Check out the notable low launch angle results below.
(How we calculate: Each fairway wood is tested at 95 mph using a three-point face mapping. We hit six balls from each location on the face — heel, toe and middle — and came up with an average based on the 18 strikes.)
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TaylorMade Qi10 Tour | 13.1 degrees
Cobra Darkspeed LS | 13.8 degrees
Mizuno ST-G | 14.2 degrees
Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond | 14.6 degrees
Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max | 14.7 degrees
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