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Step 1
Learn about the variety of fairway woods. This class of club actually includes utility clubs and hybrids.
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Step 2
Check the loft of your driver. Check the loft of your longest iron. Determine how long you hit your longest iron.
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Step 3
Determine the loft of your highest lofted fairway wood by spacing it with the loft of your lowest (longest) iron. For example, if your lowest numbered iron is a five iron with a 26-degree loft, and you hit that club 165 yards, you are going to need a club that hits the ball 175 to 180 yards. You will probably want to look for a hybrid club with a loft of 20 to 22 degrees.
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Step 4
Fill in your needs for yardages and get a rough idea of what clubs you're looking for.
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Step 5
Go to a demo day where you can hit clubs and try to gauge not only what clubs you are hitting comfortably but also how far you are hitting them. For the clubs replacing long irons, you will probably be looking at hybrids or utility clubs.
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Step 6
Choose a loft for your three wood based upon the loft of your driver. For example, if you are comfortably using an 11.5-degree driver, you probably want to look at a three wood with a loft of 16 degrees or 17 degrees. It's a fairly good idea to match the type and shaft of your three wood to your driver--assuming you're happy with your driver.
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Step 7
Determine the number of "fairway woods" you carry by deciding on the number of wedges you need for your short game and the yardages you need to cover with clubs other than irons.
