Best Budget Fairway Woods (Save Money on Golf Equipment)

Adding a new fairway wood to the golf bag and then smoking the golf ball down the middle of the fairway is one of the great feelings in golf. After struggling to hit driver straight, I began relying on the fairway wood to hit my golf ball farther and it is now flying much straighter as well.

Eventually, swinging the fairway wood helped me also develop the same tempo and swing to also hit my driver more consistently.

Today I’ll be sharing my fairway wood buying guide where we will review several budget friendly fairway wood golf clubs to choose from if you’re looking to add a new long stick to the bag.

These fairway woods won’t break the bank account, helping you to save some money on golf equipment!

Let’s start with some basic Q&A that beginners should consider when buying a new fairway wood.

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Which Fairway Club 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. But 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 like 2016, 2017, etc.

What to Look for When Buying a New Fairway Wood

First and foremost, you want a club that feels comfortable swinging and gives you confidence mentally. This will help you achieve the best results on the golf course and allow you to hit some great golf shots.

As far as specs here are 5 things to consider:

• Loft
• Shaft flex
• Adjustability
• Forgiveness
• Price

Loft:

Fairway woods come in a variety of lofts with the lowest loft falling near the 13 degree mark and running as high as 19 or 21 degrees of loft. This is marked usually by the number on the wood.

For example, a 3 wood might be 13 or 15 degrees depending on the manufacturer and then you can go up from there to a 5 wood, 7 wood, and sometimes a 9 wood if they make it.

Loft, in simple terms, is the angle the club face is slanted so that the ball can run up the face and pop into the air, achieving a high trajectory.

Higher lofted clubs can launch the golf ball higher into the air so if you struggle to hit the ball high, consider buying a fairway wood with extra loft rather than trying to change your swing.

More loft can also help shots fly straighter and be more forgiving, which is why we tend to hit short irons (9 iron, 8 iron) straighter than we hit a driver (less loft).

Shaft Flex:

Shaft flex is another key feature to consider when buying a new fairway wood. The shaft flexes during the golf swing to help the club generate speed as it whips through the hitting zone.

But too much flex can be a negative, costing you distance and accuracy. Therefore, we recommend picking out a shaft flex that is best suited for your swing speed.

Faster swinging golfers should aim for a more stiff shaft where as beginners and women with slower swing speeds can benefit from a regular flex or women/senior flex shaft.

Forgiveness:

New technology allows fairway wood manufacturers to move around the weight distribution in the club head so that it acts more forgiving on golf shots.

You’ll see some fairway woods advertising a feature called MOI (moment of inertia) which helps keep the club face from twisting to keep the golf ball straighter during flight.

Clubs with more forgiveness tend to be made for beginners and are usually cheaper as well but the downside is you sacrifice distance. Getting the ball in play should be your main goal anyway, so sacrificing some distance for extra forgiveness isn’t a bad thing.

Adjustability:

Adjustable fairway woods allow you to change the loft of the club if you decide you need to hit the ball on a higher trajectory or lower if you’re hitting too high. It also let’s you adjust the face angle to promote a more shut face or more open face depending on your swing.

If you tend to slice, you can adjust the fairway wood to a more draw bias face position and loft so that you counter the slice and hit straighter golf shots.

But we still recommend seeking out golf instruction to fix your swing faults as opposed to trying to rely on an adjustable club face, which may not cure the problem at all.

Price:

Our last tip on buying a budget fairway wood is being cautious of the price and marketing gimmicks. If you set out to buy a budget fairway wood, realize that there are a lot of solid low-priced clubs that will give great performance.

Be careful getting sucked into the marketing tactics of golf club manufacturers trying to sell you the newest, tour level, most expensive fairway woods.

Top Budget Fairway Woods (Our Picks)

• TaylorMade RBZ Fairway Wood
• 2016 Cobra F6 Baffler Wood
• Callaway Big Bertha Fusion Fairway Wood

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

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

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

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