Fairway woods
Sweep is a skill. Dig is a sole that was built for rain.
A 3-wood that needs a cushion to get airborne will tell on itself by the third swing on our firm plate. We keep heads that can leave a shallow trail without mining a trench toward the canal.
The bruise we want
A faint, long scuff starting at the ball and fading forward. Depth under two millimeters on the dry plate. A deep heel trench means the head arrived closed and hungry; a toe skip means it never committed to the turf at all.
From a tee, we still ask the sole to behave. Plenty of 509 golfers tee their 3-wood an inch up and then wonder why the same head excavates from the deck at Fisher. Both lies get a plate.
What we change first
Ball position and shaft length, then sole width. Loft is a later conversation. A stronger lofted wood with a greedy sole still digs; a weaker loft with a shallow sole can sweep and still hold a window in valley wind.