Yesterday I was asked by a couple of local golf professionals what I thought the greatest fairway wood ever was. And why do you think they ask a duffer like me what I thought? Maybe because I have either owned or demoed almost every fairway wood known to man since 1992, so my answer could have some credibility.

“Are you asking me for the best selling fairway wood or the most effective one?”

“Both”, they said.

So I came up with some criteria:

Look

Performance

Popularity

Longevity

Now I have been playing golf since 1977 and can remember when a 3-wood was just another 3-wood, so I am taking a lot of years and fairway woods into consideration to come up with a well balanced conclusion.

TaylorMade Pittsburg Persimmon Bird (’88) – Compared to today’s standards this FW wood looks more like a hybrid; small, shallow, flat sole. Back in late 80s early 90s everybody had at least one of these in their bag, giving you that little extra pop that its only competitor (a real persimmon wood) didn’t have. The large, lighter FW woods of the mid 90s killed this work horse.

Orlimar TriMetal (’97) – One of the lowest profile clubfaces you will ever see. One of the longest hitting 3-woods I have ever hit. One of the best selling fairway woods of all time! This club was just way too shallow for the TriMetal craze to last.

Adams Tight Lies (’97) – Mid-low profile, small crown, wide sole. Awesome fairway wood. Adams still incorporates the same basic design with their current woods (which are now some of the best). A real contender but….at the time they were considered a second tier company, sales numbers were lower.

Callaway Steelhead Plus (’00) – Contemporary look, midsize appearance. The ball just seemed to pop off the clubface. Deeper profile compared to the original Steelhead. There are still PGA Professionals playing these on tour. Weren’t appreciated until after they were discontinued.

So I thought long and hard about this one, I had several disagree with me but overall it was unanimous.

Callaway War Bird (’94) – The most popular and most sold fairway wood in the 90′s, in particular the 7-heaven wood (7-wood look, 5-wood loft). It revolutionized both the fairway wood and Callaway as a golf company. The performance and feel of the War Bird still stand up to even today’s advanced fairway woods. You can still find a War Bird in the bags of weekend golfers, juniors, and women a like.