Stuart Franklin
Q: I read that Ryan Fox recently caved in the face of his 3-wood. Is this a common occurrence on tour and is it something I should be concerned about?
A: Common, no. However, it is not unusual for tour pros to have clubfaces that experience metal fatigue and eventually fail.
Fact is, a metalwood’s shelf life is a lot shorter if you’re a tour pro like Fox, who ranks among the top 20 percent on tour in driver ball speed at 180 miles per hour. Metals, even the varieties as durable as the high-strength steel used in today’s fairway woods, suffer fatigue, especially when thinned to the level they are now in an effort to deliver maximum speed. Over time, repeated strikes can cause the face to be altered to a point where what was once conforming becomes nonconforming and, eventually, cracks or caves in.
Face failure might be an issue for high-speed players, but it’s going to take a lot longer for almost everyone else. Honestly, it’s really tough for average golfers to stress their metalwoods (driver, fairway wood or hybrid) enough to where they fail. You need to have a driver swing speed of at least 105 to 110 miles per hour and play and practice a lot. Tour pros are beating balls every day—that’s a lot of reps on a clubface. The rank-and-file golfer is just not doing that.
That’s not to say it can’t happen. I once caved in the face of an ultra-thin Wishon Golf fairway wood from some 20 years ago. However, that was when thin faces on fairway woods were in their infancy. Manufacturing techniques have improved mightily since then, and I haven’t busted one since—and I get in my fair share of rounds.
Bottom line: Metalwoods can get worn out and fail, but you’re probably going to buy a new one before your current gamer goes on you. A player with 90-mile-per-hour swing speed, which is pretty average for weekend golfers, has nothing to worry about. In other words, it shouldn’t be your biggest equipment concern.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
