Does anyone know of any websites out there that offer a comprehensive description of what the different models of clubs from different manufacturers are supposed to be made to do? Most manufacturers' websites are very lacking in that information. In particular, I need to buy a new fairway wood, and I want one that has high dispertion and forgiveness and a low center of gravity, but I want it to have a centered face so that I know that a draw or a fade is the result of my swing.

I just found out that the Cleveland fairway wood that I've been hitting has an offset face (Cleveland doesn't make a square face wood...their Tour line are all open faced to promote a fade while their draw line is obviously offset to promote a draw).

I have always used the GolfDigest Hot list, Golf Magazine Club Test, Golf Tips Magazine buyers guide or their websites to get club info. While most of the time they are saying pretty much the same thing in their reviews, each one usually has a sligtly different take. Then I use the Company website and look for their Specs. I have also found on the TGW.com website that many of the club specs will tell you if they have open or closed, neutral faces. I'm sure there is other areas too, this is what I tend to use.

Dusty23 wrote:

I have always used the GolfDigest Hot list, Golf Magazine Club Test, Golf Tips Magazine buyers guide or their websites to get club info. While most of the time they are saying pretty much the same thing in their reviews, each one usually has a sligtly different take. Then I use the Company website and look for their Specs. I have also found on the TGW.com website that many of the club specs will tell you if they have open or closed, neutral faces. I'm sure there is other areas too, this is what I tend to use.

That's not precisely what I'm looking for, though. Actually, I'm looking for really simple information. Ping, for instance, has a chart that compares their different styles of clubs and what, in particular, they are designed for. I wish every manufacturer would do this.

http://www.ping.com/clubs/fairways.aspx

The deal is, I hit my fairway oods extremely poorly. I've never been able to hit them. Ever. Period. So I need an ultra game-improvement club to help me out a bit. By looking at that chart, I know that the Pink K15 would be the best choice for me. But I'm also looking for a lower lofted driver, and based on how well I'm currently hitting my driver, I can tell by the same chart that the I15 is probably the best choice for that club.

I don't know Bryan, but it sounds to me that what you are looking for is more theory than reality. In MY humble opinion, just because one 3W is designed one way and a different one another way, doesn't necessarily mean you will actually begin to hit fairway woods well if you pick the right one. If you can't seem to hit your fairway woods all that great, I would be more concerned with WHY that might be the case. It's much more likely that it is a swing issue, or quite possibly, a mental issue. It was both in my case.

Certainly, having a club in your hands in which you have confidence will help, but what worked for me was analyzing what my fairway wood problem was and figuring out the solution. I now play a Titleist 910F wood, not considered to be a game improvement wood by any stretch of the imagination, yet I now pull it out with complete confidence, many times a round. There was a time, not all that long ago, I rarely touched my fairway wood due to complete lack of confidence. Since finding and fixing my problem, it is one of my favorite clubs to hit.

One thing I might recommend is to ditch your 3W and opt for a 4W. You will see much more consistency with little loss of distance. Certainly shop for one that feels good to you, because that will only add to the confidence. And if it means comparing specs on various woods to see which SHOULD be right for you, then go ahead and compare. Just don't necessarily pick one purely based on the specs.

BTW, my problem was over-swinging---trying to kill it---which caused too much inconsistency in returning clubface to ball squarely. After a while, I was afraid to hit my F-wood. I spent a lot of time working on this on the range with no one around to see me fail as I worked through it. Now, I take 2 easy practice swings, focusing on very little movement and keeping my right elbow in, then step up to the ball and use the same easy tempo and the ball takes off and flies straight and long nearly every time. It has really changed my game and added to my confidence on the course.

I am no authority on clubs or swings, but I have a LOT of experience with lack of confidence issues. They overran my game a few years ago. It is my bet that you will hit any brand of fairway wood much better once you figure out why you aren't, at present, making good contact. Solve that issue, then find a club that feels good, and you will hit it consistently well the majority of the time, again, IMHO. I have been there.

Doug:

I appreciate your response.

I might not be the greatest golfer in the world. I'm not even very good when compared to many players. But I do know a lot about the physics of the game. There is no mistake that different golf clubs are manufactured in different ways in order to provide different results to golfers with different swings. Now don't get me wrong, I agree with you when you say that if I am mishitting the ball, I need to go back and look at my swing to find out what is wrong. I am working on that. But I do believe that with the swing I have right now, there is a golf club out there that will help me score well in the process.

Some clubs I want because they have more forgiveness. Some clubs I want because they are more accurate. With the exception of my driver, which is easily my best club, I look for more forgiveness as the club gets longer.

I currently play a 5w (no 3w for me), and I hit it horribly. When I hit it well, it goes 230. But it draws like crazy because that's what it is designed to do, and that means I have very little control over where it is going to stop. That draw effect is actually designed for people who have a tendency to slice. Problem is, I want a slight fade, and essentially what I have is a club that is designed to correct a slice (which I don't have) while providing very little dispersion for decent results on mishits.

But the thing that I came to realize recently in golfing with a group of local kids who I have watched improve over the last couple of years is that a club can make a huge difference. One of these kids had a pretty nice looking swing. He just couldn't make solid, consistent contact with his driver. He was playing an older model TaylorMade that had a smaller sized head with a very small dispersion area. I noticed that he was hitting it off the toe consistently. And I noticed that when he stepped slightly closer to the ball, he would vary between toe and heel. The problem wasn't the swing. He just hadn't perfected it yet. The problem was that he was having trouble establishing consistent contact because he was in the middle of a growth spurt, and he did not have the proper club to help him play well while he was struggling with that particular aspect of his game. When I saw I was paired up with him and his friend one day, I grabbed a demo driver with a 460cc head with higher dispersement and a medium flex shaft for him to try (it was a Ping K15, to be exact). Every drive that round was cecent for him.

A Ping rep is going to be at my home course on Monday to demo clubs and give custom fittings. The fittings are free, so I set up an appointment to get fitted for a 5w.