The Best Fairway Wood Of 2026 For Every Golfer

Is the three wood the scariest club to hit in your bag? Well it doesn't have to be

Welcome to the ultimate fairway wood guide of 2026. We've tested all of the latest releases as well as some carry-on product from last year

to help you determine which fairway wood should stay in your bag. We've tested all of the best

models to hit from the tee, the most forgiving models as well as those that launch the highest

And if you suffer from a wicked slice, stick around to find out which models will help eradicate that

Right, let's get into the video. Just a quick word before we jump on to the categories, and that is how we test here at Golf Monthly

We use the Golf Monthly Performance Lab here to get rid of any external factors such as wind, mud and rain

and ensures that we can get the most accurate data using our Foresight GC3 Launch Monitor

that way we can really kind of categorize and standardize our testing before we then move

outside obviously full testing would not be complete if we didn't head out onto the golf

course so from in here we then take everything outside so we can look at things such as turf

interaction sound and feel as well as how workable some of these products are now in order to showcase

the complete ability of these heads I have tested all of these in the shafts that I was fitted for

from each manufacturer. For those manufacturers and brands where I couldn't quite get fitted

we've tried to kind of get the shafts that match closest to my spec profile, ensuring that we show

off these heads to the best of their ability. Now, we all love smashing the big stick off the tee

but sometimes that can get us in a bit of trouble, and that's where having a strong fairway wood can

really suit us. Now, we want something that probably launches a touch higher, but spins a

little lower in order to get us down the hole producing a really high but penetrating ball

flight. Now there are a few fairway woods that I thought were really good in this category

They have typically a slightly deeper face and a further forward CG placement in order to really

give us that high launch low spinning ball flight. Now the first of those is the Titleist GT2. Now

this is a carry-on product from last year and features some really cool technology such as the

seamless thermoform crown and that's essentially weight saving on the crown and it's been buffed

over so you really can't see the difference here at address which I think is really cool and that helps redistribute weight placing it lower in the head and with the tightest GT2

you do have that forward interchangeable weight placement that obviously gives you that really

kind of strong powerful ball flight and takes a bit of spin off the ball. Moving on from there

we've got the Strixon ZX-i which I absolutely love again a carry-on product from last year these are

companies that release on a biannual cycle producing a really again fast ball flight this

was one of the longest that I tested and it's got this kind of drop step crown which again just

lowers that CG placement so you get that high launch but my god is this product quick it's got

this iFlex face as well which basically acts like a trampoline face so no matter where you're hitting

it across the face you're getting this real spring-like kind of feeling through impact and that

really shows on its ball flight. Now the last one I kind of want to touch upon is the Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond I wasn such a fan of the Triple Diamond last year I didn quite get the ball speed that I wanted out of it and I actually saw it spinning up a touch more than the Max model but this year things are different This sees a new step sole kind of design come into play

which I thought was amazing for turf interaction if you are to hit it off the deck, but off the tee

this thing is an absolute monster. Again, slightly deeper face than the Max model, so you can get

that kind of one that launches high, slightly higher off the face, which obviously drops the

spin as well and it also features an AI 10 times smart face which is Callaway's use of artificial

intelligence essentially to make ball speed as quick as possible across all areas of the face

producing this variable thickness kind of technology so you can kind of get away with a few

mishits here and there but off the tee this thing is a monster and there are none better than it on

the market right now. Okay now best off the deck is a really important section for a wide range of

golfers, whether that be advancing the ball down the hole or attempting to hit a par five in two

where you want that ball really towering with a decent amount of spin so you can hold the greens

even when they firm up. Now there are again a few models that again stood out to me as being

particularly efficient when striking off the deck and the first of those is the Mizuno JPX1. This is

a brand new model for this year, their driver features some really cool technology but so does

the fairway wood. I saw about just under 12 degrees of launch with this fairway wood and 123 feet

in peak height making it a really really high ball flight with decent launch. Might not be so great

into the wind but this is a serious contender if you're someone who hits their fairway wood off the

deck pretty regularly. Now the next model that I found to be particularly effective off the deck is

the Wilson Dynapower Carbon. Now there are actually two different models in the Wilson Dynapower range

but the carbon I just found to give me a touch of pop but actually give me that launch and spin that

is perfect if you're hitting the fairy wood off the deck. I found again this to be really really

effective when going for par fives in two and that was down to the completely excessive spin and

launch. Now I did see a slight lack in distance here but this was spinning just over 4,000 RPMs

which is up to 1200 more than some of the competitors in this test but that did make it

exceptional when hitting off the deck. We saw around 12 degrees of launch to combine that

with that spin obviously in a ball flight that just went up in the air and literally didn't want

to come down. Right lastly in this category and I think the best for hitting off the deck is the

new tailor-made Qi4D Max. This is the largest kind of head of the new tailor-made range

has a 200cc head size instead of kind of the 180 that we see on the standard and it's got that

pulled back kind of stretch shape which pulls back the center of gravity and that larger head

increases the MOI meaning it's really forgiving but equally just launches really really high it

has the ball coming down with snow on it it's got 13 degrees I saw about 13 degrees of launch and

127 feet of peak height meaning there really isn't a green that this club wouldn't be able to help

you hold. It has a eight gram weight as standard featured more towards the rear. Again, just

pulling that weight back increasing that launch And it has I think a slightly shallower appeal at address Again confidence inspiring and really enables you to help kind of sweep and hit that ball miles in the air

If you're enjoying this video, make sure you hit the like and subscribe button down below

so you don't miss any future videos. And if you like any of the products in today's video

I'll put the handy links in the description box down below for the best prices in your area

now considering the difficulty many amateur golfers have when striking fairway woods off the deck

having a forgiving fairway wood is an absolute must for some now everyone definitely would

benefit from a fairway wood that is forgiving on toe hits uh heel strikes and especially those

slightly thin when we're hitting it off the deck so there are a few models that to me

really stood out in this category now the first of those considering we just talked about the qi4d

max in the easiest to launch section it was actually the core head that i found to be

really really forgiving and i think a model that will actually appeal to um again a massive range

of golfers the head is i guess large enough that it's confidence inspiring but small enough that

it will still appeal um to some of the best golfers i mean we see some of the best golfers

in the world actually play the core fairway wood models scotty sheffler rory mcelroy just to name

a few so that says a lot about the potential and just how good this product is as an all-rounder

I found personally that this product is amazing on strikes and that hits slightly lower on the face

and that's largely probably down to the speed slot behind the face that we've seen in Taylor

May Fairway Woods for a few years now just really helps maximize that ball speed producing a really

consistent flight and spin. Now of course a fairway wood forgiveness section wouldn't be complete if

we didn't feature a PING product and that's where the PING G440 Max comes in. Again carry-on product

from last year, PING release every couple of years but this product is still so relevant and so so good

on mishits. We see the carbon fly wrap kind of come over the top here and that is a lightweight

essentially composite crown which enables some weight redistribution that to go along with the

new free hosel technology that Ping introduced with this range. Ping, they've managed to create

a face that's actually 4% taller. So while that doesn't necessarily come across down behind the

ball and kind of give that really deep intimidating look, they've done that so you can create a touch

more consistency and actually gain a bit of launch and spin on those strikes struck slightly lower on

the face. Now, lastly, and probably the product that I thought was the most forgiving this year

and that is the Callaway Quantum Max. Now this is just their kind of normal head but again I just

found this to be absolutely amazing. It's actually quite a large head considering it is their core

model although it does sit really shallow which I think is just amazing. It produces so much

confidence when down behind the ball. That shallow face there really helps kind of get that ball

airborne and on those toe and heel strikes it features the same AI 10x face that we talked

about earlier in the triple diamond model that is through thousands of data collection points

thousands of strikes that Callaway have manufactured this face with variable face thickness

in order to increase maintain ball speed essentially on mishit shots now those of you with maybe a slightly higher handicap or new to the game may struggle with that over the top kind of big slicing left to right

ball flight at least for a right hander and there are a few models that you'll be pleased to know

that can actually help you in this category. But if you are a more confident player who still

suffers from that kind of bleed out to the right again as a right-handed golfer then you might want

check out the Wilson Dynapower Carbon. I just found this model to be, it features a really nice

kind of squatted pear-shaped head, but it does just want to turn over a touch. So if you're someone

who wants that slightly smaller look, they don't want that stretch kind of weight, heel-weighted

head, then this is definitely a model you should check out. But of course there are models designed

specifically for those who suffer from a slice and one of those is the tailor-made max now it

does feature an adjustable loft sleeve so you can actually close the face in and make this upright

even more to help that ball kind of turn over but as you can see from my testing i i really struggle

to start this even and keep this even straight so if you are suffering from a slice and that missed

shot out to the right then this is a fairway which you're 100% going to want to check out

But the model that I found to be, I mean, just exceptional at starting the ball left and going left

which for me as a drawer of the ball isn't ideal, but that is the Cobra Optum Max

Now, this model actually has anti-slice CG positioning. So the internal mass is positioned slightly lower and closer to the heel to optimize kind of that face closure rate

getting you to kind of start that ball straight or all further left than you're typically used to seeing

and hopefully eradicate that nasty slice that you may have. So I hope you enjoyed this video

and it's given you some really insightful information as to which of these new fairway woods

may be best for your game. If I was to choose one based on its looks alone

I think the PHG Lightning Tour fairway wood looks absolutely superb and definitely a model worth checking out

if you like that squatty ahead. Now, what did I think that was the fastest

Well, the Quantum Triple Diamond for me was up there with the fastest. I got just under 160 mile per hour ball speed

with a fairway wood from the deck so that is nothing to sniff at. I thought the Qi4D from my

testing was actually the longest. I saw kind of that high launch low spin characteristic that I

really like so I saw really good distance out of that. Which one will I put in my bag? It'll probably

be between those two this year probably the Quantum Triple Diamond or the TaylorMade Qi4D Core. I just

think they have the exact properties that I look for in a fairway wood. But what do I think is the

most rounded fairway wood of 2026? Well that's a different topic of conversation. I think the Cobra

Optum X will be severely underrated this year and is a model that should appeal to a really

wide array of golfers. It features some really cool technology, you get a nice high launch out

of it, a decent amount of spin and pretty adequate distance to be honest as well. Not to mention it

does come in about £70 cheaper than some of its competitors. So will you play any of these

fairway woods this year? Let me know down in the comments below if you're planning on testing any

these making a change or will you stick with what you have in the bag i'd love to know but from me

here at the golf monthly performance lab we'll see you next time