PXG Lightning fairway woods boost speed and launch for more players

Gear: PXG Lightning, Lightning Tour fairway woods

Price: $379 each

Specs: Stainless steel body with variable-thickness face, carbon fiber crown, movable weights and an adjustable hosel.

Who it’s for: Golfers who want more ball speed and height from their fairway woods, without giving up forgiveness.

What you should know: The Lightning fairway woods are built around a thinner, more flexible face and a more stable chassis. The standard model provides draw, fade and spin adjustability, while the Tour allows players to adjust the trajectory.

The Deep Dive: Recreational golfers use their fairway woods from all types of places. They hit them off the tee, they use them to reach long par 4s and par 5s, and they use them to hack out of the rough and fairway bunkers. Some golfers even use them around the green to chip or putt when they are faced with tight lies or awkward positions.

Pros, on the other hand, use fairway woods mostly off the tee because they rarely need a wood to reach the green on par 4s or par 5s.

So, knowing that one group of players needs distance, forgiveness and versatility while another wants to focus on performance off the tee, PXG gave the Lightning and Lightning Tour fairway woods some shared technologies, but designed them in different ways.

Both clubs feature a large carbon fiber crown that helps to remove weight from the top of the head, and both have been made with a variable-thickness face that is thinner around the perimeter to enlarge the sweet spot and protect ball speed on mis-hits. And both clubs come standard with an adjustable hosel mechanism that allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the loft.

The standard Lightning fairway wood (15, 17, 18, 22, 24, 27 degrees) will likely be the ideal choice for the majority of players, and it has a footprint that inspires confidence and a profile that is comfortable off the turf or from the tee. It has a square-toe, low-profile head that makes it easier to get the center of the hitting area directly behind the ball. There are three weight ports in the sole — one in the toe, the heel and the back of the head — and it comes with a 12.5-gram weight and a pair of 2.5-gram weights. Adding the heavier weight to the heel creates a draw bias, while putting it in the toe promotes a fade. When the 12.5-gram weight is in the back, the Lightning gets more stable, generates more spin and should produce a higher launch angle.

The Lightning Tour (15, 18 degrees) is more compact from front to back and has a taller face, a profile that typically appeals to skilled players who like to shape shots or who want a slightly flatter ball flight. The Tour model has two weight ports and comes with one 12.5-gram and one 2.5-gram weight. This means players and fitters can lower the launch angle and spin rate with the 12.5-gram weight forward or increase launch and spin by adding it to the back.

But as with the Lightning drivers, PXG designed the Lightning fairway woods with overlapping performance zones. Golfers who prefer the standard Lightning’s look might still get ideal spin from the Tour model, and vice-versa, which gives fitters room to fine-tune ball flight based on a player’s swing, preferred trajectory and turf interaction.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PXG Lightning fairway woods speed launch forgiveness