A high-quality shaft can make a significant difference in your performance on the course. But with so many options available, how do you know which one is the best for you?
In this guide, we'll discuss the top shafts on the market for fairway woods. These shafts offer the best of both distance and accuracy. Your fairway woods will often be used both off the tee and into greens. So it's important that you determine your ideal launch characteristics, and choose a weight, flex, and shaft profile that promotes your ideal ball flight.
If you use your fairways more often into greens, then a high launch shaft may help increase your stopping power. While if you use your fairway more often off the tee then a lower to mid launch shaft profile could be better suited for you.
Throughout the list we've provided each shafts launch characteristics to help you make the best choice for your game!
Best Fairway Wood Golf Shafts
#1 Pick
Fujikura Ventus Blue
LAUNCH PROFILE: Mid
Since it's initial release, The Ventus Blue shaft has been a consistent best seller for all skill levels. It's Velocore technology provides exceptional stability by offering a high resistance to torque. Which helps you deliver your clubhead square more consistently.
Depending on the weight and flex you select, the blue profile offers a mid-to-high launch, fitting the largest range of swing patterns. For slow to mid speed swingers, the 5R, 5S, 6R, and 6S will be the most popular flex's. For faster swingers, the 7S, 7X, 8S, and 8X will help keep spin down and provide better accuracy for faster ball speeds.
Runner Up
Accra TZ Six
LAUNCH PROFILE: Mid-High
TZ Six is a premium aftermarket shaft that you won't find on any stock clubs off the rack at your local superstore. It uses advanced materials that form a uniquely responsive and torsionally stable tip section that transitions into a firm butt section. This combination generates power without sacrificing stability, and results in a higher initial launch that flattens due to the controlled spin rates - making it ideal for fairway woods.
TZ Six incorporates the same technologies and aerospace materials that drove TZ6 to become ACCRA’s most successful shaft ever. With the versatility to fit all levels of golfers from the longest hitters on premiere tours worldwide to golfers playing a local muni on the weekend, TZ Six offers weight and flex options for discerning golfers of all levels.
Shop NowShop Fairways With Accra TZ Six
Fujikura Ventus TR Red
LAUNCH PROFILE: Mid-High
The exceptionally engineered Ventus is designed to significantly tighten shot dispersion and maximize ball speed especially on off-center shots.
Ventus TR Red is a mid-high launch and spin shaft within the ventus shaft lineup. Many players who use the ventus blue in their driver will opt for the ventus red or tr red in their fairway to help launch it slightly higher than the driver.
Slower swingers who desire a slightly higher trajectory can choose the Ventus Red, which is slightly higher launching than the TR red model.
Shop NowShop Fairways with Ventus TR Red
Graphite Design Tour AD VF
LAUNCH PROFILE: Low-Mid
The Tour AD VF shaft fits right in between the popular Fujikura Ventus black and ventus blue profiles. Ideal for players that can swing it over 105mph with the driver, this shaft is perfect for players who want a controlled/flighted ball flight but with a touch extra height over the lowest launching profiles such as the ventus black, Mitsubishi Chemical Whiteboard, or Tensei White profiles.
Futhermore we like the AD VF for it's smooth, and responsive feel.
Shop NowShop Fairways with Tour AD VFBest Budget Friendly Fairway Wood Shaft
#1 Pick
Fujikura Vista Pro
Vista Pro Woods are flighted lines designed with specific performance characteristics based on weight and flex. Lighter weights provide higher launch and more spin to improve carry distance while heavier weights will generate a mid-launch with moderate spin.
The Vista Pro is a great value at only $95 per shaft, offering some of the same technology found in the Ventus line. Even lighter, lightweight models with improved stability were created through stronger and lighter materials in a multi-material bias core.
Shop Now Shop Hybrids With Vista Pro
Runner Up
Aldila NVS
The Adilia NVS wood shafts are an absolute steal. At only $80, the NVS wood shafts are great for golfers looking for an upgraded aftermarket shaft that doesn’t break the bank.
A constant taper design combined with NexGen Micro Laminate Technology® creates a smooth and stable feel.
The NVS Orange is for those desiring high launch while NVS Green offers low launch.
Shop Now Shop Fairways With Aldila NVSBest High Launch Fairway Wood Shafts
For many, a high-launching fairway wood is ideal in order to increase accuracy and stopping power into greens. Here are the top high-launching fairway shafts on the market and shafts we see people getting fit for most:
Fujikura Ventus TR Red
LAUNCH PROFILE: Mid-High
The exceptionally engineered Ventus is designed to significantly tighten shot dispersion and maximize ball speed especially on off-center shots.
Ventus TR Red is a mid-high launch and spin shaft within the ventus shaft lineup. Many players who use the ventus blue in their driver will opt for the ventus red or tr red in their fairway to help launch it slightly higher than the driver.
Slower swingers who desire a slightly higher trajectory can choose the Ventus Red, which is slightly higher launching than the TR red model.
Shop NowShop Fairways with Ventus TR Red
Oban Devotion
LAUNCH PROFILE: Mid-High
Oban is quietly becoming a popular choice amongst club fitters. The Oban devotion is one of the most popular wood shafts from Oban. High quality graphite utilized throughout shaft construction creates firm butt, mid and tip sections and provides inherent stability throughout the shaft load sequence.
The Oban Devotion offers mid-high launch and spin. For high launch we recommend the 45, 55, or 65 gram options.
Shop NowShop Fairways with Oban Devotion
Accra GX Blue
LAUNCH PROFILE: High
Accra GX wood shafts have often been compared to Autoflex, the most premium lightweight shafts in the industry. So at 1/3 of the price, the GX series provides exceptional value for performance.
The Accra GX Blue is an extremely lightweight shaft optimized for speed and distance. It produces high launch and high spin across all flex's.
When using in a fairway wood, we recommend for GX 160 M3 for average swing speeds looking for increased carry.
Shop NowShop Fairways with GX Blue
Mitsubishi Chemical C6 Red
LAUNCH PROFILE: High
The Mitsubishi Chemical C6 Red is about optimizing shaft frequency, weight, torque, profile, launch and spin, to help individual players hit it as long, straight, and as consistent as possible. The C6 may be the highest launching profile on this list and is also considered slightly draw bias and can help those who tend to miss right.
You can purchase the Mitsubishi Chemical C6 Red in 40g, 50g, 60g, and 70g options depending on your swing speed and ideal weight.
Shop NowShop Fairways with C6 RedAre driver and fairway wood shafts the same?
As a general rule of thumb, almost all driver shafts can be used in a fairway wood. However, fairway wood specific shafts cannot be used in a driver.
From a club building standpoint, you can use a driver shaft in both a driver and fairway wood. However, because fairway woods typically have heavier head weight, most people opt for a model that is around 10 grams heavier than their driver shaft to counter balance the club.
This means if you use the Ventus Blue 6 S shaft in your driver, most will opt for the 7 S shaft for their 3 and 5 wood, and up to a 8 S if using a 7 or 9 wood.
In addition, many players will want different characteristics out of their fairway woods versus their driver. You may want a low launch low spin driver flight to maximize distance. While you may want a higher launching profile in your fairway wood to help you stop shots into long par 5's. For this reason, many players will opt for a different fairway wood shaft.
Shafts designated specifically as fairway wood shaft will typically offer launch characteristics and weighting specifically designed for a fairway wood - and thus should not be used in a driver.
How heavy should a fairway shaft be?
Fairway wood shafts will typically sit between your driver shaft weight, and hybrid shaft weight. For most, you'll want something around 10-15 grams heavier than your driver shaft. This accounts for the additional head weight of a 3 wood as well as provides additional stability. For most players, 65-85 grams will be an ideal weight for a fairway shaft. On the lighter side, fairway shafts will be between 55-70 grams. These are designed for slower swing speeds needing more help to generate club head speed and height. 70-90 gram weights are typically best suited for faster swing speeds or those who prefer a more controlled trajectory.
What length should a fairway wood shaft be?
Fairway shaft lengths vary depending on the loft and model of the club. As a general rule of thumb here are the average lengths of various lofted fairway woods. You will see +/- .25" depending on the manufacturer and model:
- 3 Wood: 43.25"
- 5 Wood: 42.5"
- 7 Wood: 42"
