On this week’s Fully Equipped podcast with Johnny Wunder, we talked about Tommy Fleetwood’s 9-wood in the bag for the Masters. Fleetwood has said the addition of the 9-wood is to make sure the ball is getting high enough and landing steep enough to battle the increasingly tough greens at Augusta. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should run out to buy a 9-wood. I’ve already gotten roasted in our YouTube comments, but I stand by my explanation of where I feel the club category falls.
My argument is that the 9-wood is great for either the player who has tons of control, or the player who needs all the help they can get to launch the ball. It’s the group in the middle that may have a hard time finding ultimate success with a 9-wood. I fall into this bucket. I am also a big fan of hybrids, so I don’t really ever have moments where I wish I had a 9-wood or a 7-wood in the bag. So let’s talk about the two sides of the game for a second.
First, we’ve got the tour-level guys who are putting high-lofted fairways in the bag. Fleetwood’s got one, Scottie Scheffler has messed around with it, and Dustin Johnson is the original high-speed 9-wood player. The reason they choose to put a 9-wood in the bag has been to make sure that they are getting enough height on the club at the distance they need with their stock shot. And that’s an important designation. The stock shot. By starting with a club that’s going to launch higher than any other alternative, these pros and their elite ball-striking can figure out how to bring flight down or add spin when they need to. These 9-wood builds going in their bag have a bit of versatility, but they are really meant to do a specific job. And that job is to get high up in the air with little effort and enough spin to fall softly onto firm greens just like this week at Augusta.
Chris Condon
The reason tour pros and other high-skill golfers can get away with this, though, is because it’s situational and they treat it as such. It’s a tool in the bag to do a job. When a situation comes up for that distance, but the tool can’t fulfill the outcome with a stock shot, they are able to manipulate that offering to do what they need it to do. The best example, of course, would be into the wind. For an amateur, any amount of wind in the face would normally take the fairway wood out of the hands. It’s simply too high and produced with too much spin for the ball to fly properly. It is quite fun to watch a high-lofted fairway get hit into the wind because it’s almost an exaggerated penalty, but again, not useful. And this is where the middle ground of players begin to falter. Fleetwood has no problem controlling the flight and spin of his 9-wood. He may find a situation where he chooses to go with another option for the shot he needs to create, but it’s not out of the question for him to flight the 9-wood to a more reasonable peak height window if he’s battling some mild elements. For the average 10 handicap though? Likely not an option. They’re better off with a large, driving-iron style club in that area of the bag, or my choice: a hybrid.
That brings us to the other side of the spectrum — the golfer who just needs launch help.
This is the golfer that I think SHOULD buy a high-lofted, forgiving fairway wood, and as many as they see necessary to play well. I’m talking 11-woods, heaven woods, spinners, all of it. Whatever you need to get that ball up in the air. The beauty of this category, which usually coincides with slower players as well, is that the high-lofted fairway woods are just so easy to hit. There’s no fear of getting steep on the ball, the more shallow face makes it easier to pick off the turf, and the size of the heads gives plenty of confidence if you’re in a sticky situation like long rough, pine straw, debris or even in a fairway bunker. For slow swing speed players, the speed benefits that a fairway wood will get you over an iron replacement or a hybrid are going to be pretty extreme. In most cases, you’ll see a 2-to-3 mile per hour difference between the groups, with the fairway wood leading the way. Because of the size, shape and center of gravity of the club head, you’ll also see a strong increase in forgiveness over other options of the same loft. Really, the only argument for the slower swing speed or lower-skilled category to not play a high-lofted fairway is if they just absolutely hate how it looks behind the ball.
The group in the middle and the group that I do not think needs a 9-wood is the largest group on the bell curve. Fleetwood even mentions in the above video that a 9-wood isn’t built for speed or distance, and it’s also not particularly built for tee shots. With the shots that are left to play at that point, I just don’t see the value in a 9-wood as a 4-iron style replacement for many golfers. The range I’m talking about here is a five-to-12(ish) handicap range. They’re good enough players to hit a more forgiving iron-replacement style club, or choose the flight characteristic benefits of a hybrid. Now, if those players really hate the look of the hybrid, or maybe have zero confidence in the iron, sure, spring for the high-lofted fairway wood that makes you more confident with that longer distance shot. That decision, though, will come with drawbacks, mainly a lack of versatility and a club eliminated when playing in the wind.
As always, my opinion on any club is that if it works for your bag and you’re fitted for the club with an understanding of the role it plays in your bag, then add it to the bag. Nothing is off limits. That’s the beauty of the game that stresses us all out. There’s endless options. Sometimes that can be overwhelming and create some stress to decide, but work with a fitter and find out what you NEED for your bag. If it’s a 9-wood, then I hope it ends up being the best club in your bag.
