Titleist 980F Fairway Wood Golf Club

Having traded my incredibly good Ping G2 3-wood for the G5 in the hope of getting even better performance, I ended up with a club I didn't like. It had a much higher and shorter ball flight and was more difficult to hit off the turf...but that's another review. I intended to go to e-bay and get a G2, but apparently the club is in high demand and auctions were rare and the prices were soaring.

I talked to a local pro who pointed me in the direction of the Titleist 980F fairway woods. He said that with the introduction of the new 904 series, the 980F had become plentiful and that most people who had gone for the new series wished they'd stayed with the older model.

Price:
The prices were great -- I got a 980F 15 degree 3 wood with a YS 6 Graphite Design stiff shaft. Prices for the woods range from about $30 (US) to $100 (US) with the 17 degree 4 woods apparently being the rarest and most expensive.

Feel:
The best attribute is the solid feel of contact at impact. Ping feel is like breaking glass, the Titleist is a solid "thunk".

Workability, Hitability & Flight:

It's easy to draw the ball with the 980F. It's harder, but not impossible, to hit a fade. The club face sets up just a bit closed like a Callaway Steelhead, which is not all that bad. Most mid-cappers have a tough time NOT hitting cuts, particularly with a 3 wood off the ground. The soleplate is almost like a Warbird and lets the clubhead speed through chucky and thick impacts. If you're worried about down-sizing, don't be -- the club is pretty much all sweet-spot. There's no problem hitting the 980F from any lie, tight fairway, long rough, whatever--with the smallish head, the club works like a utility club.

Shaft options:

When buying the club, get the shaft that fits you best. The 980F comes with a variety of shafts -- the most easily obtained is the stock Titleist 4375 graphite. It's a good place to start because the shaft was closely matched to the head and if you don't like it, you can easily obtain Pro-lite, Graphite Design, Fujikura and other shafts on ebay already tipped and trimmed for the Titleist bore-thru head and .335 diameter tip. These shafts can be expensive new, but on ebay, they run as low as $13 (US). If you intend to swap shafts, remember to get a graphite shafted club if you intend to stay with graphite, steel if you're going steel because the heads are weighted for different shaft material.