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One of the areas where amateur golfers often struggle with distance gapping is in the fairway woods. The clubs aren’t always consistent and they’re not used as often as something like a 7-iron. That can make it tough to know if your numbers are “good” or just average.

Shot Scope shared updated data on average fairway wood distances by handicap. This includes the P-avg (performance average), which filters out mishits and shows you what kind of yardage you can expect on a solid strike.

If you want to know how your fairway wood distances stack up against other golfers of your handicap level, here’s what you can expect.

25 handicap

For a 25 handicap, fairway woods are often used to try to advance the ball a long way, especially from the rough or fairway on long par-4s and par-5s. However, consistent distance gapping is a known issue at this level.

Many players hit their 3-wood and 5-wood within a few yards of each other.

Golfers love to chase improvement but most go about it the wrong way. There is a right way to get better at golf and then there’s the way most amateurs think they’re supposed to. From pounding range balls to blaming equipment, the problem usually isn’t effort. Most of the time it’s focus and attention to detail. If you’re serious about getting better, here are a few things that could be getting in your way.

More range time doesn’t automatically lower scores

Spending time at the driving range may feel productive but more swing reps don’t necessarily mean more improvement. Endless time on the range might sharpen your ball striking but it rarely addresses the real reasons golfers don’t score.

In addition, without the proper fundamentals and understanding of the swing, you can spend an entire afternoon on the range practicing the wrong thing.

What to do instead:

Add variability by changing clubs, targets and shot types, making your practice more similar to the course.Simulate pressure; give yourself one ball and one swing to hit a green. If you don’t do it, switch targets and try again.Practice your short game and putting at least as much as your full swing.

Thinking new equipment will fix your game

As tempting as that new $649 driver is, it may not be the key to lower scores. Sometimes new equipment is helpful but, in reality, what helps is matching your gear to your swing. Take a good look at your strengths and weaknesses and match the equipment to those.

Those who had less than idyllic weeks at Oakmont.

On the heels of a brutally tough U.S. Open, the scores should be lower at the Travelers Championship. Bu the stakes will still be high.

The post Travelers Championship Subpar picks: Favorite bets of the week appeared first on Golf.

The third major of the LPGA Tour season starts Thursday with Korda looking to get back in the winner's circle and Ko trying to add to her impressive winnings.

Spectators can chase down autographs and interact with their favorite athletes and celebrities at the stunning Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

The post What fans can expect attending the American Century Championship, the popular celebrity golf tournament on Lake Tahoe appeared first on Golf Blog, Golf Articles | GolfNow.

The Women's PGA Championship has raised the overall purse for this year's tournament to $12 million, matching last month's U.S. Women's Open for the biggest purse of the season.

As TPC River Highlands faces an evolutionary question, Scottie Scheffler offered a different view on whether the Travelers site is too easy.

The post Is Travelers host course too easy? Here’s what Scottie Scheffler thinks appeared first on Golf.

In this edition of Play Smart, we hear from Rory McIlroy on the most effective way for amateurs to shoot lower scores.

The post Rory McIlroy reveals ‘most effective way’ to shoot lower scores appeared first on Golf.

The 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship makes history this week as it becomes the first major ever played at the PGA's new headquarters.

The post 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA makes historic debut in Texas appeared first on Golf.

While everyone is usually focused on the January driver releases, this summer is brining a flurry of iron releases and more.

The post A second wave of 2025 club releases is coming. You’ll be impressed appeared first on Golf.

2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship tee times for Thursday's first round at PGA Frisco, featuring Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko and more.

The post 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Thursday tee times: Round 1 groupings, TV coverage appeared first on Golf.

Nelly Korda's heartbreak at Erin Hills is still fresh, but she is using her mistakes as fuel to chase major No. 3 at the KPMG Women's PGA.

The post Nelly Korda, after U.S. Open heartbreak, faces 1 big question at Women’s PGA appeared first on Golf.

How to watch the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship at PGA Frisco, including a full KPMG Women's PGA TV schedule, streaming info and more.

The post 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: TV schedule, streaming, tee times appeared first on Golf.

2025 Travelers Championship tee times for Thursday's first round at TPC River Highlands, featuring Rory McIlroy, J.J. Spaun and more.

The post 2025 Travelers Championship Thursday tee times: Round 1 pairings appeared first on Golf.

Michael E. Jordan was just a teenager watching baseball in his mother’s basement when he heard the word that would define his future apparel brand.

Jordan looked on as the Boston Red Sox won the 2013 World Series. When a player was interviewed in the aftermath, he said the same word a lot of athletes like to use moments following a championship victory: “Unreal.”

That one word—a symbol for the indescribable that leaves us speechless—sent him on a path.

The journey led Jordan to found UNRL, an apparel brand that was not manufactured in a board room or accompanied by massive budgets and decades of industry expertise.

No, UNRL was born out of a basement. It was created out of sheer willpower and grit. It was birthed through a grassroots, word-of-mouth, hands-in-the-dirt kind of effort.

Sometimes, maybe often, golf doesn’t have much going for it. It’s frustrating, expensive, time-consuming, and as complicated as you want to make it. On your best day, it’s the greatest game ever invented. On your worst day, you wonder if your time wouldn’t have been better spent slamming your head in a car door.

Most days, I suppose it beats mowing the lawn.

Fair warning: What I’m about to share won’t help you simplify the game. In fact, I’m about to suggest you spend a bit more money for the privilege of adding complexity to your equipment strategy. I’ve already given you a reason to overthink your golf ball selection and now I’m going to introduce you to one of my favorite equipment philosophies. I call it Two in the Trunk.

No, this isn’t a euphemism for the kind of thing some of you are googling at 2 a.m. I’m suggesting that, quite literally, you should keep two extra clubs in the trunk of your car.

(Though, truth be told, the trunk isn’t the ideal place to store clubs. Maybe keep those extra two in the garage for when you need them, although “Two in the Garage” doesn’t have nearly the same ring to it.)

We’ve all been there: standing over a three-foot putt on the first hole to save par. It looks straight as an arrow. You are confident about your line. You make your stroke. It’s right on your start line, looks good … and then abruptly puts on the turn signal and just cruises past the hole.

Not too encouraging for the day ahead on the greens, especially as your playing partner has just drained a 20-footer with more break than a mountain road.

Sound familiar?

Most golfers think green reading is some kind of mystical talent that only pros possess. They’ll spend hours on the driving range perfecting their swing but walk onto every green like they’re playing pin the tail on the donkey.

Here’s the truth about green reading: it isn’t magic—it’s a skill you can learn.

If your answer to “which hole at Oakmont was the hardest?” is “all of them,” you’re not far off. It’s been a while since we’ve seen pros humbled the way Oakmont did it this week. While birdies and eagles are fun to watch, sometimes it’s refreshing for the best players in the world to face challenges.

From the Church Pew bunkers to brutal par-4s and long par-3s, Oakmont demanded precision and punished mistakes. Here’s how every hole played, ranked from the most difficult to the least based on scoring average.

Full Hole-by-Hole breakdown at Oakmont

Rank	Hole	Par	Yards	Avg Score
1	9	4	472	4.520
2	15	4	507	4.505
3	8	3	289	3.466
4	3	4	462	4.450
5	18	4	502	4.367
6	1	4	488	4.349
7	2	4	346	4.313
8	7	4	485	4.309
9	16	3	236	3.300
10	10	4	461	4.232
11	6	3	200	3.167
12	5	4	408	4.153
13	11	4	400	4.092
14	14	4	379	4.070
15	13	3	182	3.032
16	12	5	632	5.018
17	4	5	611	4.991
18	17	4	312	3.845

Brutal front nine stretch

The front nine played nearly three shots over par on average. The ninth hole was the most difficult o the tournament at +0.52 over par. Between holes 3, 8 and 9, players were simply trying to survive.

The Church Pew bunkers: Prediction vs. reality

Shot Scope warned us: If you end up in the Church Pew bunkers at Oakmont, expect real damage.

On Hole 3, players were expected to lose 1.25 strokes after finding the Church Pews.On Hole 4, the expected loss was 0.61 strokes.

That prediction held up.

Hitting a bad drive or slicing a fairway wood is frustrating but it’s also expected. These are tough shots that demand speed, timing and precision from a long way out. But duffing a short pitch shot from just off the green? That’s a different kind of pain. You’re close. You’re in position and then, all of a sudden, you are trying to save bogey.

For most golfers, those chunked pitches aren’t swing issues; they’re setup problems. In this Chris Ryan video, he walks through a few simple setup changes that helped a student go from chunking everything to spinning shots cleanly and confidently.

Shift your weight forward at address

Most amateurs set up too centered. Some even put weight on the trail foot in an effort to lift the ball. This weight distribution at setup causes a fat shot. The goal is to get more left-sided for right-handed players (or lead-sided) in the setup.

Let your lead hip bump slightly forward.Move your head just ahead of the ball (about the “middle of your hat” over or in front of the ball).You don’t need a massive lean, just enough to feel pressure on your lead foot.

This forward bias helps you stay over the ball and encourages a cleaner, more confident strike.

Narrow your stance and stand closer

If you’re too far from the ball, you’re more likely to swing with stiff arms or hit off the toe of your wedge. For pitch shots, it helps with feel and distance control to get closer to the ball.