Looking for a new fairway wood but trying to stay on a budget? Golf clubs have seemingly gotten more and more expensive these days and you might be wondering is the extra cost really worth it? Will buying a new fairway wood at a high price actually result in better performance?
No worries, I’ve got you covered in today’s guide on picking out the right fairway wood while staying on a budget.
My name is Nick Foy, founder of Foy Golf Academy, and I teach golfers how to improve their score by working on the golf swing, chipping, and putting tips on my website and inside my practice plans.
These budget friendly fairway woods are selected by our team after doing tons of reviews on various golf clubs and technology in the golf club market. You can choose a budget 3-wood or 5-wood depending on your needs. If you’re ready, let’s dive into this review.
Resource: Golf Practice System with Step by Step Practice Plans + Video Lessons
In addition to buying a new fairway wood, you should check out my step by step practice plans that will help you start hitting your fairway wood and other clubs much better. Follow the practices and see your scores improve.
Top 8 Budget Fairway Woods
#1: Callaway X Hot Fairway Wood
Callaway is one of the top brands in the golf club space and they use top of the line technology when crafting each club they put out for sale. The X Hot series was built for fast speed and more distance. It’s a great option if you want to hit longer tee shots and long fairway shots when trying to reach the green.
One feature we love is the center of gravity precision built into the club head giving you a smoother swing with consistency and less mishits. This creates more consistent launch on the golf ball so you can control ball flight more predictably.
The head shape and design is also built for forgiveness. Overall, this club features both speed and forgiveness while staying on budget to help you get access to a great fairway wood at a friendly budget price.
You can get this as a budget 3 wood or 5 wood. Whichever club you prefer.
Click here to see the reviews and price
#2: Callaway Epic Flash Fairway Wood
The Epic Flash series was designed to incorporate a new flash face technology which helps golfers get more speed and distance than ever before.
The 455 Carpenter Steel construction works great in combo with the flash face technology and flash face cup to ensure mishits are still getting distance. You’ll love the consistency and feel from this fairway wood.
The Epic Flash Fairway Wood is a budget friendly option that was once an expensive top of the line fairway wood. With the release of new fairway woods in recent years, the price has come down substantially allowing golfers access to this top rated fairway wood for an affordable price.
The 3-wood and 5-woods are recommended in this line, but they also make a 7-wood too.
Overall, it’s built for speed but also has forgiveness to increase consistency on mishits.
Click here to see the reviews and price
#3: Orlimar Escape Fairway Wood
One of the cheapest fairway woods on our list, this budget friendly wood can be purchased for under $60. It won’t perform as well as the Callaway and Taylormade woods but it’s still a great option for many beginner golfers looking for a cheap fairway wood alternative.
It’s built with a forgiving club shaft geared towards beginners with slower swing speeds. If you have a fast swing speed I would recommend upgrading to a TaylorMade or Callaway.
The low center of gravity makes this club very forgiving for the beginner golfer as well.
Click here to see the reviews and price
Resource: Golf Practice System with Step by Step Practice Plans + Video Lessons
#4: TaylorMade RBZ Fairway Wood Review
The RBZ Fairway Wood by TaylorMade is one of the best budget fairway woods, packing lots of technology into the club and made by the top brand in golf for fairway woods and drivers. It’s a little higher priced than our other budget fairway clubs but worth it.
You get a fast, speed pocket slot on the bottom of the club face to help with higher launch and increase carry distances.
There is a strategically positioned mass pad that creates optimal launch, sound, and feel so you feel comfortable hitting every shot.
TaylorMade lowered the center of gravity using a more shallow profile which increased playability from the fairway. It’s also a light weight club thanks to the lighter weight 55 RocketFuel shaft. This can help you generate more club speed and thus longer distances.
The RBZ comes in a black satin finish which adds style along with beautiful detailing and highlight colors to make it pop visually. But your preference may differ.
Shop the RBZ Fairway Wood on Amazon
#5: 2016 Cobra F6 Baffler Wood Review
Cobra is another brand known for making powerful woods and drivers that can add distance to your golf swing. Rickie Fowler is the most popular face of Cobra right now on the PGA Tour and he’s also one of the best drivers of the golf ball with Cobra clubs.
The F6 model is older but makes it affordable so it falls into the budget category. And it’s a tour level golf club so you’re getting a high level fairway wood you can expect great shots with.
A few technology features to note include the rails technology which improves turf interaction when the club makes contact with the ground. This gives you more consistent contact and better ball striking / more forgiveness by helping the club avoid digging.
There is also an adjustable weight with both front and back weight adjustments to help you change the center of gravity position to adjust ball flight to suit your swing desire.
These are just a few things, but you can learn more via the link. It comes packed with many more beginner friendly features to help your swing perform better when this club is in your hands.
Shop the Cobra F6 Baffler Fairway Wood on Amazon
#6: Callaway Big Bertha Fusion
Callaway is another top brand in the fairway wood and driver club market with many tour players signing on to use Callaway woods this season.
The Big Bertha Fusion is an older fairway wood series as Callaway has since launched their Epic range of clubs but the Big Bertha still remains a top choice for best budget fairway wood and designed for distance.
A few technology specs include the titanium exo cage with a ultralight triaxial carbon crown and sole which helps you get more foregiveness and stability on golf shots from both the fairways and rough.
The exo cage also allows you to reposition the weight to fit the club for your swing so you can increase accuracy, hitting straighter shots.
Callaway also worked on the aerodynamics when they made this fairway wood to help generate faster clubhead speed and more distance. Big Bertha as mentioned is built for distance so you’ll enjoy extra yards off the tee or from fairways when attacking par 5 holes. See more features below.
Shop the Callaway Big Bertha Wood on Amazon
Resource: Golf Practice System with Step by Step Practice Plans + Video Lessons
#7: Cobra Women’s Fairway Wood
If you’re looking for a female fairway wood, this is the top choice while still staying budget friendly. The Cobra King F8 fairway wood has the baffler rail system which offers more forgiveness on contact with the ground on any lie.
An ultralight carbon crown saved weight allowing them to move around the center of gravity to the optimal location for consistency and optimal launch. You’ll appreciate the distance this club provides, especially on mishits.
The face is designed to maximize flex for improved ball speeds which equates to longer distances.
Click here to see the reviews and price
#8: Cleveland Launcher Halo Senior Fairway Wood
For senior golfers, we picked out the Cleveland Launcher XL Halo which is one of the best fairway woods for seniors while still remaining cost friendly for budget aware golfers.
The XL head design offers a larger head size for improved confidence and contact. You’ll also notice the glide rails which are meant to help keep the face straight through impact to achieve optimal ball striking.
A rebound frame adds flexibility and rigidity giving more energy back to the golf ball which creates faster ball speed and more distance. The crown uses a Hibore Crown Step which gives better launch for seniors needing help with launch and distance.
Click here to see the reviews and price
These fairway woods won’t break the bank account, helping you to save some money on golf equipment!
Let’s finish with some basic Q&A that beginners should consider when buying a new fairway wood.
Which Fairway Wood Manufacturer is Best?
There are several golf manufacturers that create quality fairway woods. The biggest names in the industry are TaylorMade and Callaway along with Titleist. Cobra and Ping are also well known golf club manufacturers that make quality fairway woods.
Depending on which year and specs you choose, fairway woods from these brands can run several hundred dollars brand new.
If you’re looking for a budget fairway wood, we recommend finding used versions of the newer clubs or shopping older versions from previous years to get them on sale at a discount, compared to the current years high price tag for being brand new.
What to Consider When Buying a Fairway Wood?
Top 5 tips when buying fairway woods to make sure the club you buy suits your game and level of ability;
- Shaft flex
- Loft
- Forgiveness
- Adjustability
- Price
Shaft Flex:
When picking out a fairway wood, you want to get fitted for shaft flex. This is a component most golfers forget to think about but highly important. Shaft flex helps generate clubhead speed but too much or too little can cost you distance on your golf shots.
If you’re a faster swinging golfer with higher clubhead speeds, then you’ll benefit from a more stiff shaft option. For most beginners the R-flex, which is “regular” should do just fine. As your swing advances above 100mph you may need a stiff shaft.
Loft:
Loft is how much launch your golf ball will have. Higher lofted clubs hit the ball higher into the air and give you more control. Lower lofted clubs, like your driver, are harder to control but hit the ball further.
When picking out a fairway wood, you want to pick the loft that fills your distance gap best. If you’re struggling to hit a 180 yard shot with irons, but you hit a 5 wood 180 yards, then you may consider buying a 5 wood instead with higher loft to cover the 180 yard shot.
Resource: Golf Practice System to Break 100, 90, 80 Scores
Forgiveness:
Certain fairway woods are designed with high forgiveness for the average player to help your mishits not stray too far off-line. With the increase in forgiveness, the club may sacrifice distance as a result. That’s okay as long as you can keep the ball in play, which is most important. Look for a fairway wood that has lower spin as this will better suit the average amateur golfer.
Adjustability:
Clubs built with adjustability allow you to move the face angle to open, closed, as well as increase or decrease the loft. Moving the clubface to a more open position can help you promote fade golf shots while closing the angle of the face can help promote a draw.
If you increase loft on the face, you’ll add launch for higher shots but at a cost of more backspin which could decrease roll. Decreasing loft can add more roll but lowers the launch of the ball which could cost carry distance. Finding the right balance is key.
Price:
Watch out for falling for high priced golf clubs. The performance difference you’ll achieve isn’t that much great especially for beginners. For more advanced golfers, the new technology of new clubs may help add some additional gains and advantages compared to past older club models. But don’t overspend! Be careful.
Golf Practice System for Lower Scores
Learn the exact golf practice routines thousands of students at Foy Golf Academy are using to lower their golf scores.
Follow these step by step practice plans and watch video lessons to learn how to improve your golf swing, chipping, and putting fundamentals.
Get access to hundreds of golf drills to practice as well as content on the mental side of golf, fitness plans, worksheets, and many more resources. This is a complete golf practice system.
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Work hard,
Nick Foy, Instructor