The third portion of ClubTest 2012 covers fairway woods and hybrids.
We enlisted 40 amateur golfers to rate and review every model within a club category on the course and driving range. Hybrid categories are “Better-Player” (evaluated by testers with +1 to 10 handicaps) and “Game-Improvement” (14 to 22 handicaps). Fairway wood categories are “Better-Player” (6 to 16 handicaps) and “Game-Improvement” (10 to 19 handicaps). We tested 17 fairway woods and 15 hybrids during a two-week stay at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla. Our research partner, Hot Stix Golf, custom fit the testers and recommended sticks based on data gathered using the TrackMan launch monitor. Achieving proper launch, spin and ball speed is critical to optimizing performance in fairway woods and hybrids. You, too, should work with a fitter who can determine your ideal specs. We've teamed up with GolfTEC and Golfsmith to offer you three custom-fitting options.
Note: Since we originally published this article, some companies have released new hybrids. Those clubs, marked with an (*), have not been through the ClubTest process yet, but we've included them in the chart below to help you find more clubs in one place.
