Fairway woods are boring, and I’m not talking about trajectory.  Let’s face it, Fairway woods just aren’t that interesting.  The technology doesn’t seem to advance like it does for drivers, and when there is actually something new, it’s usually hand-me-down technology from the big stick.  In nearly all cases the fairway wood is very much the dull little brother of the driver.

Of course, despite the absence of any real excitement, most of us still carry at least one fairway wood.  I still carry two, although I do, from time to time, toy with the nothing of replacing one of them with a hybrid.  We want the potential distance they can provide, but for many of us, playing a shot with a fairway wood is a form of gambling where the cost of losing is very often my golf ball.

I actually toyed with the idea of skipping the fairway woods altogether in this year’s guide, but it seemed a bit silly to leave a club out of the virtual bag, and besides, I did find one company that has actually introduced something unique in the fairway division for 2009.  So while I won’t cover all of the fairway clubs to match the drivers I discussed in day 1 of the guide, it’s safe to assume that Ping, Cobra, Callaway, TourEdge, Mizuno and everyone else offers a fairway wood to match that new driver you’re thinking about.

On to the clubs..

Nike SQ Dymo Fairway

Let me answer the two most pressing question first; no – as of this writing, Nike has not announced any STR8-fit option for the Dymo fairway.  Yes – just like last year, regular Dymo (round) and Dymo² (square) versions are available.  I decided to mention the Dymo fairway because the new design incorporates what Nike calls “Quad Keel” technology.  In a nutshell, Quad Keel means that the sole of the club has 4 unique quadrants.  I know what you’re thinking…”so what”?

Nike says that the Quad Keel design allows for better turf interaction, which means that in addition to helping you get the ball airborne in the most general sense, the Dymo Fairway should play better from a variety of lies.  The bottom line here is versatility, which is never a bad thing, especially in the square model which is designed with mid to high handicappers in mind.  While I haven’t hit the Dymo fairway yet, I’ve had a chance to check them out.  I’m a guy who prefers a smaller head on fairway clubs (excess bulk does not inspire confidence off the mat), which is why I find both the Dymo and Dymo² appealing. I think Nike might have a winner here.

The Dymo Fairway and Dymo² Fairway comes stock with the UST Wide Body Shaft Design with Axiv Core, and are available in strong 3, 3 wood, 4 wood, and 5 wood lofts.  Retail price is $229.00.  More information can be found at www.nikegolf.com.

TaylorMade R9 Fairway

Unlike Nike, TaylorMade has elected to pass their new Flight Control Technology (FCT) down from the R9 driver to their new fairway woods.  Like the driver, the R9 Fairway allows the shaft to be configured in 1 of 8 positions allowing for up to 35 yards of side to side flight adjustment.  As the marketing literature is quick to point out, the R9 is the first fairway club to provide the average golfer with a tour-van like experience.

The head itself features that “New Classic” design we covered in the drivers section of the guide.  While that’s all well and good, what’s significant about the new design is that the center of gravity of the clubhead is 50% lower than it was in the R7 series.  Now as I said, I’m not one to get too caught up in CG, MOI, or COR (coefficient of restitution), but as a guy who is generally a fan of TaylorMade woods, and will all deference to the ultra-forgiving Burner series, I felt like their signature R-series was a bit behind in the forgiveness department.  I’m glad to see improvements have been made.

Along the same lines, the R9 features a redesigned sole, which is more rounded, and beveled, which, similar to what Nike has done with the Dymo, leads to reduced turf contact and better playability from a variety of lies.

The R9 Fairway (also available in a TP model) is available in lofts of 13º (strong 3), 15º (3 wood), 17º (4 wood) and 19º (5 wood) degrees.  Retail price when the clubs hit shelves in March will be a relatively steep $275.

More information can be found at www.taylormadegolf.com.

Titleist 909 Fairway

Just like most of big name companies these days, Titleist gives golfers a couple of options for fairway woods.  That’s a solid move, because, by reputation anyway (and I’ve said this countless times), the Titleist brand is targeted for the better golfers among us.  Once upon a time a Titleist wood was really only a choice for the single-digit handicapper.  Over the last couple of years, however, Titleist has taken strides to improve the forgiveness of their woods to the point where, even for the average golfer, Titleist has to be a consideration; although in practice my advice would be for 15+ handicappers to look elsewhere.

For 2009 Titleist has created the 909F2 and the 909F3.  The 909 F2 features a rounded profile, with a larger, extended face.  Its high launch and mid-spin characteristics are more suitable to the average golfer than the single-digit handicapper.  Titleist has incorporated a multi-relief sole, which (I’m sensing a theme here) helps to minimize turf contact which, well…you already know what that does.  The F3 is designed with confidence and forgiveness in mind, and most importantly it still looks, sounds, and feels like a Titleist.  The F2 is available in lofts of 13.5º (strong 3), 15.5º (3 wood) and 18.5º (5 wood).

The 909 F3 is targeted at those golfers who place a premium on control.  To be sure, its mid-launch, low spin characteristics are far better suited for a low handicap golfer than for your weekend duffer.  The F3 features the pear-shaped head that we’ve all come to love from Titleist.  Although Titleist has continued to improve the forgiveness of their clubs, the F3 places a premium on control, which means it’s appeal will be to golfers with an affinity for working the ball.  Like the 909 F2, the F3 features a multi-relief sole to reduce turf drag.  The F3 is available in lofts of 13º (strong 3),  15º (3 wood), and 18º (5 wood).

Both models in the 909 Series are fitted with a factory installed SureFit Swing Screw, which adds additional mass where it matters most (low and deep).  Factory shaft options include the Mitsubishi Diamana Blue or the Aldila Voodoo.  Retail price for the club is $199.

More information is available at www.titleist.com.

Cleveland Launcher Fairway

I covered the Clevlend HiBore Monster XLS in the drivers section, and it’s worth mentioning that there is a fairway version of the same club.  While the Monster XLS is the obvious choice for fans of the HiBore series, I thought that after mostly ignoring the Launcher Driver, I’d use this space to shine some light on the Launcher Fairway from Cleveland.  It’s been a couple of years since we’ve seen a new Launcher, and quite honestly I was a little worried Cleveland had abandoned the line altogether.  Thankfully, however, it’s back, which provides Cleveland fans (and all other golfers for that matter) a more conventional alternative to the HiBore.

More evolutionary than revolutionary, Cleveland has built several improvements on the already strong foundation of the Launcher.  The newest incarnation of the Launcher boasts a face that is 11% larger than the previous model.  With an MOI number of over 3000 (I hate MOI numbers), it’s the most forgiving Launcher Cleveland has ever created.   While the head may be conventionally shaped, Cleveland claims the performance is anything but.  With a mid trajectory and low spin, and a new longer, lighter Fujikura Fit-On Flightspeed shaft it’s also the longest Launcher ever.  It  doesn’t hurt that esthetically speaking, it’s an absolutely beautiful golf club.

The new Cleveland Launcher comes stock with the afore mentioned Fit-On Flightspeed shaft in your choice of red or gold model (check with your clubfitter to determine which one is better suited to your game).  Available lofts include 13º (strong 3),  15º (3 wood), 17º (Cleveland calls it a weak 3, the rest of the world calls it a 4 wood), 18º (5 wood), and 22º (7 wood).  Retail price is $179.95.

More information is available at www.clevelandgolf.com.

Adams Speedline Hybrid-Fairway Wood

Remember at the beginning when I said that I had found one club that was really unique?  Well, this is it.  In truth, I suppose I could have just as easily saved it for the Hybrids section, but I decided to put it here.  As you may already know, hybrids hit the market about 6 years.  Billed as a cross (or hybridization) of fairway woods, they immediately began finding their way into many golfers bags as replacements for longer irons, and in some cases, even replacing shorter clubs.  Think of it this way, if your fairway wood and your 3-iron had a baby, it would be a hybrid.  And yes, I know that’s a great over-simplification.

So here we are 5+ years later and Adams is introducing something called a Hybrid-Fairway.  If a hybrid was designed to bridge the gap between your fairway woods and your irons, then this new concept from Adams is designed to fill the gap between your woods and your hybrids.  Chances are you didn’t even know there was a gap there.  Think of it this way, if your fairway wood and your hybrid had a baby, it would be a Hybrid-Fairway.  And yes, I know you’re confused…me too.  One look at the head, however; reveals that while some of scooped out, wind tunnel tested features of the Speedline driver remain, there is so much more to this club than hand-me-down technology.

The major selling p0int of the Hybrid-Fairway is that it offers us exactly what we’ve been trying to figure out how to achieve over the last few years; hybrid forgiveness with fairway distance.  It’s the first fairway club (if you can call it that) to incorporate the same Boxer Technology that has helped to make Adams’ hybrids so popular over the last few years.  Adams reports that the new design has a 12% greater MOI than their already forgiving fairway clubs.  Among other improvements over Adams’ traditional fairway clubs are a higher launch and greater ball speed.  As I already said; hybrid forgiveness with fairway distance.  Amen, brother.

The Adams Speedline Hybrid-Fairway comes stock with a 70-gram Grafalloy Prolaunch Axis shaft.  It’s available in lofts of 13º (strong 3) 15 (3 wood) 18º (5 wood).  Retail price is $229.99.

More information is available from www.adamsgolf.com.

One From Last Year: Ping G10 Fairway

Let me first say this:  there is no such thing as a magic club.  Remember that.  I mentioned the Ping Rapture V2 in a previous post.  I also mentioned that I almost bought Ping drivers on two separate occasions.  I had tried Ping, but I had never bought…and I didn’t think I would have any reason to for a while, but…

I was pretty happy with the composition of my bag last year – I had no burning desire to upgrade (which is strange for me), but one sunny morning last June at Saratoga National Golf Course, my TaylorMade R580 3 wood was decapitated.  It was truly a horrifying, tragic sight.  Just like that, 5 years of familiarity (which did in fact breed some contempt) was over.  Forced to buy new woods I tried lots, and lots, and lots of potential replacements.  I narrowed the field, and then narrowed it some more.  And when I had it down to 2, I really, really wanted to buy the Titleist 906 F4.  I loved the look, the feel, and the sound, but the same was mostly true of the Ping G10 (still not loving the burnt orange), and the thing about the G10, it almost always went long, and more importantly it almost always went straight.  So almost begrudgingly, I bought the G10 (two of them actually).

I’ve played about a dozen rounds or so with my G10s, and while I could go on and on about so many things I like about them, I’ll just say this; I’ve never had more confidence in a golf club than I do with the G10.  Yeah, it’s not the newest model on the market, but it did just make Golf Digest’s Hot List for the 2nd year in a row (yes, I know every club makes the hot list).  If you’re in the market for new fairway woods, do yourself a huge favor and try the G10.  There is no magic club, but it’s the closest thing I’ve found yet.

More information is available from www.pinggolf.com.