Fairway wood style

[Superplumber]

Can anyone explain to me what is ment when a fairway wood idealy 5 wood and 3 woods is referred to as shallow face vs deeper face and what that means Thanks

[Vinchenzio45]

When a fairway wood has a shallow face, it means that at address, the distance from the bottom of the face to the top of the face is small. When a fairway wood has a deep face it means at address, the distance from the bottom of the face to the top of the face is larger. Kind of hard to explain, but hope this helps.   Generally, the shallow face woods are easier to get in the air and up out of the rough.

[Superplumber]

So is one easier or longer than the other is current trend on new stuff to be shallow while older models are deeper.

[cooke119]

Originally Posted by Superplumber

So is one easier or longer than the other is current trend on new stuff to be shallow while older models are deeper.

I don't think one is longer than the other or easier to hit, it is more a matter of preference. I'm not sure about trends in the industry.

[Vinchenzio45]

Originally Posted by cooke119

I don't think one is longer than the other or easier to hit, it is more a matter of preference. I'm not sure about trends in the industry.

Yes. It is usually just a preference. I prefer shallow face clubs, but some of my friends prefer deep face. It all depends on what you feel comfortable with.

[LuciusWooding]

Titleist actually makes both, the deeper face is said to be lower spinning and better off the tee while the shallow face is higher spinning and easier to hit from the deck. Honestly the deeper face isn't that hard to hit but you just need to ensure you have plenty of loft (15+ degrees) and a 43" standard or shorter shaft. The 3w is the hardest club besides the driver to hit off the deck as it is, even if the face is shallow your ball position and swing need to be pretty good to get it in the air without a big curve.

Longer shafts are really bad for the club's performance off the deck, which to me is much more important, but they make it better off the tee. I guess companies decided few enough people can cleanly hit a 3w off the deck that they can sell more if they have you hit it off a tee when you try it. I don't like hitting my 3w off a tee, so I tend to go the more shallow faced route and keep the 3w as a very specialized club. I'd probably hit the 3w once in a round at most, on a hole that requires a fade and almost no roll added to my driver carry distance. Or if there was a really crazy long par 5 that I need a really long running approach to get close to, and I could afford a risky shot. I hit my hybrid as more of a second driver, as it flies and stops at a nice distance off the ground or the tee, allowing for a wedge in on any hole under about 380.

[WUTiger]

I played shallow-face (AKA low-profile ) Tour Edge Bazooka Beta.Ti 3W and 5W from 2002-2008. Got the ball up well from fairway and light rough, and was a pretty hot shot when hit squarely. Only problem: you could get pop-ups with 5W in medium rough. Also, you could get pop-ups from either if you hit it off a tee from a tee box. Solution: put ball on fluff of grass rather than wooden tee.

Deeper faced woods allow you to be more aggressive on tee shots, and have more clubface surface.

Some of the key things about FWs are hidden inside the clubhead. Aside from loft, there's Center of Gravity (COG):  The more rearward and lower the COG, the higher will be the ball flight. Also, the more face progression (horizontal distance of square clubface from hosel), the higher the launch.

And, don't forget the shaft. It's half the club...

• a more flexible shaft will launch the ball higher than a stiffer one.
• some people have trouble with too-light shafts (in weight) on FWs; golfers can have trouble feeling them at top, and dropping them into slot.