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Fairway wood for someone who can't hit a fairway wood


md1m

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I haven't regularly carried a fairway wood for a couple of years. I normally shoot in the 80's, with an occasional round in the 70's, but don't have the confidence to hit a fairway wood when it counts (so many times don't even carry one). I'm money with my 5 hybrid (Sterling), but it's the longest club after my driver (G30), which I also hit well, so looking to close that 60-70 yard gap. The crazy thing is I used to be able to hit one all the time (off the tee and from the fairway), but just can't do it consistently now. I do have the G30 3 and 5 woods.

 

Yes, I know I need continued lessons, and it's the Indian not the arrow. Wondering if a shallow faced wood would help.

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Depends on where you want to be using it from primarily. Shallow face could help with shots off the turf but to be honest the whole idea of a shallow faced fairway wood at this point is a bit antiquated. Technology now allows for the low CG of a shallow face in the body of a more traditional height 3 wood. Just keep away from any deep face or "pro model" versions.

 

I would recommend first taking that 3 or 5 wood that you have and cut an inch off it. Rebalance the head with some lead tape on the back sole area of head and go practice with it a little. I think after some time with it you might find this does the trick and only cost you a grip and some lead tape.

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Try out the Callaway Rogue series. I'm not a great fairway wood hitter myself, but I found them very easy to hit, and very forgiving too. With the new Epic Flash being released, the Rogue series should be (more) reasonably priced. Good luck.

 

This^^^

 

I had the same issues with 3 wood. I just recently got a Rogue 4 wood and I am doing much better with it.

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G400 five wood .. low profile and low leading edge .. adjustable from 16.5* to 18.5*

Ping G400 LST 11* Ventus Black TR 5x

Ping G400 3w 15.1* GD AD IZ 5x

Ping G400 7w 19.5* Ventus Red 6x 

Ping G425 4h 22* Blueboard HY 80x

Ping i210 6i & s55 7i - PW Steelfiber 110s

Ping Glide Wrx 49*, 54*, 59*ES, Tour W 64* SF 125s

EvnRoll ER9
 

 

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Go back a few years and get an Adams Tight Lies 2 . Not the longest but definitely the easiest I’ve ever hit. Plus you can pick them up cheap so you won’t be wasting much money.

Driver- Tour Edge EXS 220

4W- Sub 70 949X

4H- Sub 70 949X

Utility- Sub 70 699U 21 degree

Irons- Sub 70 749 5-PW

Wedges - Sub 70 286 50+54 degree

                 Tour Edge 1 out 58 degree

Putter- Cleveland Huntington Beach #11

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G400 five wood .. low profile and low leading edge .. adjustable from 16.5* to 18.5*

 

Great suggestion for a Ping player. The 400’s have a reputation for being much easier to hit from the deck that the 30’s. I find the Tour Edge Exotics XCG4 incredibly easy to hit and long. For something completely different, the Adams A3 Insight XTD had a shorter playing length and crazy forgiveness.

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Go back a few years and get an Adams Tight Lies 2 . Not the longest but definitely the easiest I’ve ever hit. Plus you can pick them up cheap so you won’t be wasting much money.

 

You beat me to it. I was going to say the old Adams Tight Lies line is about the easiest thing to hit in the history of fairway woods. When we teach the Juniors, we have several of these for them to hit as they are learning and we choose the Tight Lies because they are inexpensive and very rewarding even for beginners. If you can't get one of these off the ground without stress, quit fairway woods all together.

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I picked up a Taylormade 2016 M2 3 wood HL which is more like a 4 wood. Great off the tee, but was also struggling a bit off the fairway. Found if I choke down about 1.5" when hitting off the deck it is way more consistent and doesn't give up much distance.

 

First fw I found that I could hit off the deck. Have stuck with he 16.5* head since

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I haven't regularly carried a fairway wood for a couple of years. I normally shoot in the 80's, with an occasional round in the 70's, but don't have the confidence to hit a fairway wood when it counts (so many times don't even carry one). I'm money with my 5 hybrid (Sterling), but it's the longest club after my driver (G30), which I also hit well, so looking to close that 60-70 yard gap. The crazy thing is I used to be able to hit one all the time (off the tee and from the fairway), but just can't do it consistently now. I do have the G30 3 and 5 woods.

 

Yes, I know I need continued lessons, and it's the Indian not the arrow. Wondering if a shallow faced wood would help.

 

Tried a 3 hybrid?

Maybe you have a good gap

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Depends on where you want to be using it from primarily. Shallow face could help with shots off the turf but to be honest the whole idea of a shallow faced fairway wood at this point is a bit antiquated. Technology now allows for the low CG of a shallow face in the body of a more traditional height 3 wood. Just keep away from any deep face or "pro model" versions.

 

Purely out of curiosity, but assuming two fairways with the same loft, what is it about a deep face model that makes it tougher to hit off the deck? Is the leading edge different on these, or is it something about the weighting/CG vs a standard shallow face model that makes it more difficult? I've only hit a standard/shallow 3W myself but have been curious about deep face models.

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Try something with a little more loft - for example, instead of a 15* 3W, perhaps go with a 16* or 16.5* "HL" (high loft) model. Or carry a 4W instead of a 3W, etc. Also look for models which have weight ports toward the back of the sole, which brings the center of gravity back and generally allows the player to elevate the ball more easily.

 

Another post mentioned Callaway Rogue, which I would tend to agree with as a good option. One reason I did not end up putting one of these in my bag is that it was TOO easy to elevate and too high-spin, for me at least - but that might be a good fit for you if you struggle to elevate other FWs. For the TaylorMade M series, check out the even numbered models (M2, M4, M6) as those are mainly geared toward forgiveness (where the odd-number models tend to have weight forward and geared toward keeping spin down).

 

Another good one to consider might be the Cobra F9 - or any model with rails for that matter - those do help a bit with turf interaction, which also makes it easier to elevate the ball.

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I have a collection of 3 woods because it's one of the most pleasing clubs to hit off the deck imo. That being said, my favorite by far is my TEE XCG 6. The thing has a deep face which I didn't think would be great off the deck, but the heavy tungsten sole makes it effortless to launch high from the fairway. I reached quite a few greens in 2 from 240 yards out this year which I had never done before. This club feels as easy to hit as my 6 iron. Try one of the TEE's out. They can be had for very cheap. I'd stay away from the CBs however.

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I had struggled for years with a traditional 3 wood until last year. I typically used a 4 wood a weak 3 wood and had decent results. But when doing this the gap between a 3 hybrid and that wouldn’t be very large. So last year I took a 5 wood length shaft and stuck it into a 3 wood and it was great. I added a little lead tape to the head to bring the swing weight up a little.

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Why not try a 4 and 7 wood? Increased loft has made a difference for me, easy to elevate off the turf and virtually no difference to standard lofts (15/18) off the tee for me.

I have been playing 4W + 7W since 2012. A couple of different models, but still 4W + 7W.

 

The average golfer can hit a 4W more consistently - and sometimes longer - than a 3W. The extra loft really helps. And, the 7W is a blaster out of light and medium rough.

 

Also, you might have someone check your swing. If you are bottoming out poorly, shifting the ball up or back an inch might help.

 

Shallow-face FWs work for some. I used in early 2000s. but had trouble with pop-ups once my swing improved.

What's In The Bag (As of April 2023, post-MAX change + new putter)

 

Driver:  Tour Edge EXS 10.5° (base loft); weights neutral   ||  FWs:  Calla Rogue 4W + 7W

Hybrid:  Calla Big Bertha OS 4H at 22°  ||  Irons:  Calla Mavrik MAX 5i-PW

Wedges*:  Calla MD3: 48°... MD4: 54°, 58° ||  PutterΨSeeMore FGP + SuperStroke 1.0PT, 33" shaft

Ball: 1. Srixon Q-Star Tour / 2. Calla SuperHot (Orange preferred)  ||  Bag: Sun Mountain Three 5 stand bag

    * MD4 54°/10 S-Grind replaced MD3 54°/12 W-Grind.

     Ψ  Backups:

  • Ping Sigma G Tyne (face-balanced) + Evnroll Gravity Grip |
  • Slotline Inertial SL-583F w/ SuperStroke 2.MidSlim (50 gr. weight removed) |
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Any ping fairway from g15 onward. Easy peezy to elevate and hit straight.

Callaway Paradym TD “S” 420cc 8.5. @ 45.5”

Driver Shafts: Project X Evenflow Riptide MX 60TX & MCA Kai’Li White 70X

Mizuno ST Max 230 12.0 Project X Hzrdus Smoke Black RDX 6.5 @ 45.25”
ON ORDER: Mizuno ST Max 230 15.0 Mitsubishi Rayon Kai’Li Blue 70X

Mizuno STZ 230 Hybrid 19.0 @ 17.0 UST Lin-Q Blue 75 F5

ON ORDER: Mizuno Pro 243 5-GW Nippon Modus Pro 120X

Mizuno T24 56/12S & 58/4X Nippon Modus Pro 120X

🤔 Titleist Vokey SM9 60 K Grind 

Rife Phenom.Z 34”
 
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Hitting off the deck isn’t as hard as you would think it is. I acknowledge if someone has physical restrictions but if you swing is consistent it’s really easy to get down mentally at least lol. But when I was younger I watched a old YouTube video with a Irish feller broke down the sequence of hitting fairway woods in such a simple way.

 

To hit them, it broke down with a club waggle that included brushing the ground with the sole of the club. After just feeling that pathing the objective was to understand that that was the way to pass through the ball and of course with a slight descending blow. What I’m getting at is, if you understand this pathing tip and do it as a reminder before having to hit your wood(whether tee or ground) it’s a good reminder to do and one that I use especially as a routine and reminder so I don’t get choppy or steep.

 

The fairway wood I use has a deeper face and not so much a shallow face and I do not find it hard to hit deep faced woods imo. But if you do heed my advice I think any wood will become easier to hit for ya and it’ll just come down to feel and distance etc for ya.

Ping G400/ Ping tour 65 s

Ping 410 3w / Ping tour 65 s 

Nike VRS covert 5w/ kurokage black s

Titleist 718 T-mb 4 iron / amt white s300

Titleist 716 AP2 5-pw/ amt white s300

Cleveland Rtx4  48(bent to 50)mid, 54 mid, 58 mid / dynamic gold s400

Nike midnight method 006/ Black SS Gt 1.0 w 25g counter core.

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Lots of good suggestions on easier to hit fairway woods in here.

 

Regardless of what model you end up with, a few basic thoughts on bag composition:

 

1) What is the use case - do you want (a) a fairway finder, (b) something to hit mainly into long par 4's / par 5's, © both?

 

2) If you need both, try hitting either a 4W or 3HL - something 16-17* in loft - this has been suggested by a few, and I would highly recommend at least experimenting. Personally, I went from a 14* to a 16.7* (same shaft length) and probably only lost 5 yards but found the higher loft significantly more consistent off the deck.

 

3) If you mostly need a consistent club off the tee, consider some of the driving irons. I play a Taylormade P790 UDI, though others are probably more forgiving. It's the straightest club I've ever hit off the tee (very low spin), and I probably only lose 5-20 yards (depending on ground conditions) vs. my 3W. It requires a very good swing to effectively hit off the deck, but if you're looking for a fairway finder and don't mind long irons, this may be the way to go

 

4) If you want something for off the deck, mess around with some lower-lofted hybrids. The higher launch/spin makes them less effective (for me) off the tee than a driving iron, but they can be quite versatile off the deck

TM M1 9.5* Kuro Kage XT70 X
TM M2 Deep 16.7* Kuro Kage XT80 X
PXG 0317 19* Kuro Kage 80HY TX
Mizuno MP64 4-PW C-Taper S
Vokey SM5 50-55-60 C-Taper S
Scotty Cameron Newport 2

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Cobra F6, 7, 8 or 9. I also hear the TM M6 is very easy to hit, but haven't demo'd it yet.

Driver - Cleveland Launcher Turbo 10.5* Miyazaki 5R
Hybrid - Cleveland Halo #2 16* Miyazaki 6R
Irons - Cleveland CBX 4-PW Miyazaki 6R
Wedges - Cleveland CBX 50* & 54* Rotex
Putter - Cleveland Frontline Elevado
Ball - Srixon Z-Star
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Depends on where you want to be using it from primarily. Shallow face could help with shots off the turf but to be honest the whole idea of a shallow faced fairway wood at this point is a bit antiquated. Technology now allows for the low CG of a shallow face in the body of a more traditional height 3 wood. Just keep away from any deep face or "pro model" versions.

 

Purely out of curiosity, but assuming two fairways with the same loft, what is it about a deep face model that makes it tougher to hit off the deck? Is the leading edge different on these, or is it something about the weighting/CG vs a standard shallow face model that makes it more difficult? I've only hit a standard/shallow 3W myself but have been curious about deep face models.

 

It's the cg mainly. Higher cg launches lower. These clubs usually have lower launching, heavier shafts also that keep the ball flight lower. They can be great to use off a tee like a 2 wood but fairway use usually requires higher swing speeds to make it work.

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