When it comes to fairway woods, designers have been trickling down driver technology such as flexible—even titanium—faces for years in an effort to provide desired additional yards to consumers.
But is that what you really need? It’s not like you’re trying to smoke a 3-wood off the deck to reach a par 5 in two. In fact, you probably shouldn’t even be carrying a 3-wood. Instead, you’re likely using these clubs for approach shots on par 4s or off the tee on par 3s and that means there’s another metric you should be paying close attention to: height.
We know if you can’t get the ball in the air with fairway woods, you can’t hold the green. It’s why one of our five Hot List Vector Ratings for fairway woods is the category of “Launch.” We ask our 32 testers to assign a value of 1 (low) to 5 (high) on each fairway wood hit with the instruction that “Low is below optimal height but with the velocity of a liner back up the middle. High rises surprisingly quickly and floats well above the expected height.”
As most manufacturers offer multiple models of fairway woods within a line, including those specifically designed to foster a higher launch, it is not exactly a shocker that five such clubs were the only fairway woods to earn a launch score of 4 or higher. Typically, these clubs are lighter, have a shallower face height, position weight far back or a combination thereof.
If you’re more concerned with holding the green than rolling over it, consider these five fairway woods that received the highest scores from our testers in launch (listed in alphabetical order).
Callaway Elyte Max Fast $350 | Golf Galaxy 5.0 GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE Hot List Gold $350 The lighter overall weight targets players with moderate swing speeds who are looking for a higher launch and a built-in draw bias. A new internal-weighting structure frees up the lower portion of the face to flex with the same potential ball speed as the center of the face. A tungsten bar is positioned extremely low and forward, pushing the center of gravity even lower and allowing the face to flex more freely. A high-strength steel-alloy face insert wraps around the crown and sole for faster ball speeds. Callaway used AI-driven algorithms to develop a variable-thickness face that optimizes spin, launch and ball speed. The carbon-composite crown saves mass that’s used to lower the center of gravity and provide perimeter weighting. The sole geometry has a stepped design with extensive relief on the back half for improved turf interaction. 16, 19, 22, 25 degrees (fixed hosel) BUY NOW DETAILS 
Ping G440 SFT $350 | Golf Galaxy 5.0 GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE Hot List Gold $350 With the shallowest face height of the three Ping fairway woods, this model targets players who use fairway woods off the ground and not the tee. The high-strength steel alloy wraps around the crown and sole for greater rebound on mis-hits. Extra loft on the 3-wood and 7-wood and a shorter shaft length on the 5-wood help golfers with average to below-average swing speeds launch shots higher. A redesigned interior section of the hosel frees up room for the heel side of the face to flex more efficiently and saves weight to maintain a lower center of gravity. A carbon-composite piece wraps around the back of the crown and into the rear skirt, saving weight to lower the center of gravity for less spin. A slimmer rear back weight ensures the club rests closer to the ground for a consistent face angle regardless of the adjustable loft and lie settings. 16, 19, 22 degrees (with an eight-way adjustable hosel) BUY NOW DETAILS 
TaylorMade Qi35 Max $350 | Golf Galaxy 5.0 GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE Hot List Gold $350 With its larger address shape, shallower face, deeper front-to-back size and slightly weaker lofts, this model targets players looking for easier launch and forgiveness on off-center hits. A built-in draw bias in its neutral setup looks to offset the miss of the typical golfer. The lower face height compared to last year’s model means the equator of the ball when resting on the turf lines up more directly with the center of the face. Although a shallower face height might typically restrict how flexible the face is, the redesigned face is thinner for more potential ball speed. The company’s trademark slot in the sole stretches longer into the toe to create a more flexible face, especially for impacts below center. Lightweight carbon composite covers nearly the entire crown to lower the center of gravity so that the ball launches higher with less spin. With the adjustable hosel, the loft range stretches from 13.5 to 26.5 degrees. Top 5 in Forgiveness, middle-handicaps 15.5, 18.5, 21.5, 24.5 degrees (with a 12-way adjustable hosel) BUY NOW DETAILS 
TaylorMade Qi35 Max Lite $350 | Golf Galaxy 5.0 GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE Hot List Gold $350 Built on the same platform as the oversize Qi35 Max, the lighter overall weight favors golfers with moderate swing speeds looking to launch the ball higher. A built-in draw bias in its neutral setup works to offset the miss of the typical user. A sub-50-gram shaft also helps to boost launch. Lightweight carbon composite covers nearly the entire crown to lower the center of gravity so that the ball launches higher with less spin. Although a shallower face height might typically restrict how flexible the face is, the redesigned face is thinner for more potential ball speed. The company’s trademark slot in the sole stretches longer into the toe to create a more flexible face, especially for impacts below center. With the adjustable hosel, the loft range stretches from 13.5 to 23.5 degrees. 15.5, 18.5, 21.5 degrees (with an eight-way adjustable hosel) BUY NOW DETAILS 
Titleist GT1 $400 | Golf Galaxy 5.0 GD SCORE GD HOT LIST SCORE Hot List Gold $400 Built for golfers with moderate swing speeds, this lighter design focuses on combining higher launch with increased stability on off-center hits. A deeper center of gravity (deepest in the GT lineup) fuels that enhanced stability. The GT1 has a shallower face compared to the TSR1 (and GT2/GT3) to help instill confidence in golfers who struggle to launch the ball in the air. Front and rear sole weights (11 and three grams) emphasize higher launch and forgiveness (heavy weight in rear) or high launch and lower spin (heavy weight in front). Features a new thermoplastic-polymer-matrix crown (also used for the GT drivers) that weighs one-fifth as much as the surrounding steel. The GT uses a high-strength 465-steel-alloy face insert that bends around the sole in an L-shape to enhance flexibility low on the face. The leading edge features a flatter sole curvature that allows the front of the face to sit tighter to the turf for optimal ball speed and spin. 15, 18, 21, 24 degrees (with a 16-way adjustable hosel) BUY NOW DETAILS
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
