Woods
If you’re like me, then you play golf only once or twice a year, but have gotten good enough over the years to not be totally embarrassed on the course. However, if you’re like me, that does not always hold true off the tee when you are using a driver, which are historically referred to as “woods”. This is because I, like many people, have a tough time controlling my shot off the tee and therefore have an unbelievable slice. Well, one of the first thing to do to correct this is learn about the clubs themselves.
Drivers and woods are what most people think of as the most important club, and a lot of that has to do with how fun it is to smack the heck out of the ball off the tee. Plus, they’re used for longer shots, drivers are usually the first club you use in a round of golf.
There are 3 normal club head sizes for woods. The Standard head is about 150-155 cubic centimeters and helps you control your shot better, but it has a smaller sweet spot. Meaning that your shots will not fly all over the place as much, but if you are like the average person who can drive the ball 240 yards on average, then you won’t hit the high end for your drives.
Midsize woods are about 195 cubic centimeters and are a combination of positives because of medium-sized sweet spot and lighter weight than an oversized head, but less control than the standard wood.
Oversized heads have the largest sweet spot of any head size and are harder to control, but will allow a good golfer to get closer to the 300 yard mark on drives.
Besides the head of the wood, another thing to consider is the length. The longer the club is, the more club speed is generated resulting in more distance. However, the longer the club the more difficult it is to control, thus less accuracy. Just like the club head size problem. Think of it this way. A driver hit on center (the sweet spot) at 43″ = 250 yds. 43 1/2″= 262 yds. 44″ = 270 yds. 44 1/2″ = 275 yds. 45″ = 275-280 yds. There is a nice increase in distance up to 44″, but after 44″, there is not such a dramatic change in distance. So, it may not be worth it to give up accuracy for more distance, especially if you’re not that great in the first place!
So, the best choice really depends on what you want out of a wood and how advanced your golf game is.