9-wood

[Enrique Fats]

Asmuch as I want to say that this is a revelation that just came to me, trying a 9-wood is something that I have been considering for a long time going back years. Long irons are hard to hit, and whether you play a lot or not, trying to hit an iron that is going to carry at least 185 yards can be a tall order.

Not only that but using a higher lofted fairway wood to get out of the rough and advance the ball is something that can help make the game easier for any golfer, including professionals at the highest level.

As you might expect, having a 9-wood makes hitting the ball higher and farther so much easier. The biggest improvement in my game has come from par-3 proximity, especially on holes in the 200-210 yard range. Rather than seeing mostly inconsistent results with my longest iron, the 9-wood makes getting 200 yards of carry feel almost effortless, and on top of that, the ball also has a much higher peak height, leading to a steeper angle of descent that stops my pellet on a dime.

If there is only 3* of actual loft between fairway woods, most players in the swing speed range that would fit into a "9 wood" loft, will usually not see enough of a difference in distance to justify carrying both.

As already mentioned, no idea why the OEMs (especially Callaway) loft their woods so close to each other. I experimented with some Maverik MAX woods and the 2* loft difference between the 5, 7, 9, 11 was just too close. Ended up only being 8-10 yards difference between clubs. Ended up going 3+, 5, 9, and played with shaft lengths and weights to get the 5 in the middle of the gap.

I play a Callaway 7-wood (21 degree) and a Ping G425 9-wood (23.5 degree adjusted to 25.0). I got rid of my 5-iron when I got the 9-wood, it was one of my best equipment moves in many years. I can grip way down on the 7-wood to hit it a similar distance to a full 9-wood, but it does not fly high, land soft and sit like the 9-wood does. Full 7-wood goes at least 15 yards longer than a full 9-wood for me, but my swing speed is way below yours.

I dropped the 5i, as well, and currently play 7W, 9W, 6i (T100s helps the gapping). It is a little tight on gapping but I can hit 7W anywhere from 215-245 (225-230 avg) depending on swinging hard, choking down, taking some off, etc. 9W normal swing is like 215, but I don't feel like I can manipulate it as much as 7W. My 6i is around 190 with maybe a max of 195 with a harder swing so there is a bit of gap there. I am a lower spin/launch player which helps considering the height you'd get from the two woods.

Gapping is tight, but versatile with my set-up and I've been playing this setup for the last few years. I'm hovering around scratch and a big part of getting there from upper 70s was ditching the 3 and 4 irons (and my ego) and realizing I'm much more consistent hitting 7 and 9 woods than I was hitting long irons.

This is where I'm at currently. My swing speed is around 98-100. I can hit a really nice 6i around 170. When I switch to the 5 iron, a lot of the ball flights are unplayable (or at least provide no real value to me) due to not having enough speed at that lower loft. I currently go 6i (27*) to 7 wood (Cobra LTDx which is 22.5*, so more like an 8 wood). I carry the 7 wood on a normal shot 195-200. Right now i'm deciding between trying to practice a 180-185 swing with the 7 wood (a distance I almost never come across at my house course, evidenced by feeling this gap in my current bag once every 3 rounds or so) or trying to find a 9 wood or 5/6 hybrid to fill it. I purchased a 24* 5 hybrid but the flight path was much too low. I'd really just be using this club to hit greens, so I want the high flight I love out of my 7 wood.

I did see that Lou Stagner (Arccos Golf) switched to a 9 wood recently to replace his 5 iron. He is using a TSR1, and did something interesting in that he cut it down an inch. I think he did it more to increase control, but in theory that would also decrease swing speed and help increase the yardage gap between a standard length 7 wood.

I am playing a G430max 5 wood and seven wood. I am playing the 5 wood at stock length and shortened the 7 wood length a 1/2" and I play it as a 4 iron replacement. My 4 iron is 22* of loft so it is closer to a 3 iron than 4, but I can choke all the way down and carry it about 8 yards longer than my 5 iron or go full length(which is shorter than stock mind) and get about 20 yards of difference.

Over the past few years, some of the best ball strikers in the world, such as Dustin Johnson and Tommy Fleetwood have opted for a 9-wood in their bag depending on the course set-up for the week to provide extra stopping power into greens versus a 3-iron. So does this mean one should find its way into your bag? Well if you struggle hitting greens from range, finding consistency with your longer irons or extracting the ball from the rough, you may want to stick around.

As much as I thought this club would be somewhat of a one-trick pony, I was genuinely amazed with its versatility. Yes it is primarily used for sending the ball to the heavens, but I found it surprisingly easy to play a back-foot punch, getting the ball soaring through a headwind. But it was the ability to hit it out of fairway bunkers and even hit bump-and-run chip shots around the greens where I really understood how valuable this club could be to me.

At the end of the day, golf is hard and we should be doing everything we can to make the game easier. The confidence and ability to score from around the 200 yard mark is something I have sought after for a long time and I know other golfers feel the same way. Playing with equipment that helps you play better golf makes for a much more enjoyable day on the course and so I believe a 9-wood is a club that every golfer should at least consider adding to their arsenal.

Sam has worked in the golf industry for 12 years, offering advice on equipment to all levels of golfers. Sam heads up any content around fairway woods, hybrids, wedges and golf balls but also writes about other equipment from time to time.\nSam graduated from Webber International University in 2017 with a BSc Marketing Management degree while playing collegiate golf. His experience of playing professionally on both the EuroPro Tour and Clutch Pro Tour, alongside his golf retail history, means Sam has extensive knowledge of golf equipment and what works for different types of golfer.\n\nSam\u2019s current What\u2019s In The Bag?\n\nDriver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke TD, 9\u00b0\nFairway Wood: Titleist TRS2, 13\u00b0\nDriving Iron: Titleist U505 17\u00b0\nIrons: Ping Blueprint T 4-PW\nWedges: Titleist Vokey SM10, 50\u00b0, 54\u00b0, 60\u00b0\nPutter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X\nBall: Titleist Pro V1 \n"}), " -0-10/js/authorBio.js"); } else console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); Sam De'AthSocial Links NavigationStaff WriterSam has worked in the golf industry for 12 years, offering advice on equipment to all levels of golfers. Sam heads up any content around fairway woods, hybrids, wedges and golf balls but also writes about other equipment from time to time.Sam graduated from Webber International University in 2017 with a BSc Marketing Management degree while playing collegiate golf. His experience of playing professionally on both the EuroPro Tour and Clutch Pro Tour, alongside his golf retail history, means Sam has extensive knowledge of golf equipment and what works for different types of golfer.

For starters, a 9-wood imparts more spin than an iron or hybrid. This allows the ball to fly higher and can help you hold a green from longer distances. It performs the same way from the rough, and this is vital because playing out of the rough reduces launch and spin. Golfers with average to slower swing speeds often benefit from more spin to help keep the ball in the air and enhance carry distance. Another benefit of the 9-wood is forgiveness. A 9-wood head is larger than a hybrid and much larger than an iron, making it more forgiving with a moment of inertia (which increases stability and mitigates ball speed loss on mis-hits) that is significantly higher.

Reading through the various posts,

it seems that there are at least a few players, mostly other seniors and non-hybrid users,

who bag a 9-wood as I do.

It also appears, though, that those players start their numbered irons at 6.

I think this is like so many things that we love about golf. Since there are no industry standards, what's a 5 iron and what's a 9 wood? My 9 wood is similar to yours 23.5 degrees is what it is marked. The longest iron that I game is 7 iron which has 29 degrees of loft so its a 5 1/2 iron for you. I do game a 26 degree hybrid that says its a 5 but given the strength of my 7 and the loft on my 9 wood that is longer, it fits in nicely as a so called 6 iron substitute.

Honestly any more I just go by how far I hit the things rather than what they say on the bottom. If someone is really pressing me I'd say that my 9 wood replacing a 5 iron and my 7 wood replaces a 4 iron.

While not at the same time I was fit for every club in my bag as well as the Pro VI ball. I use the chrome soft x ls on my league course. It has much softer softer greens than the club that I belong to.

Back in May, at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club, it was revealed on the telecast that Dustin Johnson was using a 9-wood for his tee shot on the par-3 8th hole. More specifically, as GolfWRX learned shortly after, the club was a TaylorMade Stealth 9-wood with a whopping 24 degrees of loft (roughly the same amount as a standard 4-iron these days).

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