Anyone else not carry any fairway woods?

[nfogle]

I would love to carry a fairway wood to help me reach long par 5s but it just hasn’t worked out for me. I carry driver then u510 2 iron. I rarely need a fairway wood and when I do I usually end up with a penalty or just not hitting a good shot. My misses with the 2 iron keep me in play I just don’t get quite the distance out of the fairway I need. Anyone else have this problem and if so what do you do?

[ShAMbotay]

I'm in the same boat. I go from Driver to 3-Hybrid then into 4-iron and down. there are times where I need the distance that a 3-wood might go for me, but I don't think I've ever hit a good wood shot in my adult life.

[rjp217]

I’m somewhat in the same boat here. I carry a 9* driver and 15* driving iron. My next club is a 3i which sits at 21*.

 

Driver - 290

DI - 250

3i - 230

 

One problem I have is my DI is long but the flight is super low, which has its positive and negatives. It is also very difficult to pick off the turf on a par 5. The other issue I have with this setup is I rarely need my 3i. What I am personally thinking of trying this offseason is removing the 3i from the bag and tossing in a 5 wood. This should solve my issue where I need a higher ball flighted shot with distance and also if I need it off the fairway on a par 5.

Edited November 24, 2020 by rjp217

[ShAMbotay]

for reference:
Driver: 290+

3-H: 230+
4i: 200 with no wind

[steventoo]

Similar position here. Driver, U510 1 iron, T100 3 iron, 4 iron, etc. It works for me and the majority of the courses I play. I'd probably use a fairway wood on my home course if I had one, but I'm struggling to think where: driver holes are driver holes, and there isn't anywhere where my 1 iron or 3 iron isn't suitable but a 3 wood might be.

 

Even when I travel and play longer courses, I don't think I'd be in a significantly better position with a 3 wood off the tee rather than the 1 utility, and same goes for long par 5's - I rarely need or want 3 wood distance from the fairway, and I prefer hitting an accurate iron over a less accurate longer club from a distance.

Edited November 24, 2020 by steventoo
more stuff

[geochitown]

Same here, I am about 5 rounds into using 10.5 driver then 17* hybrid.

[schwollo]

Was in the same boat then got a G410 3 wood easiest 3 wood ever to hit and plenty long 

[nfogle]

I’ve been experimenting with an old xhot 4 wood but it just hasn’t been working out. Maybe I just need to practice more with a 3 wood. I just never use one because I’m just as likely to miss the fairway with a wood as I am my driver and I rarely need a 3 wood from the fairway. 

[nfogle]

2 hours ago, ShAMbotay said:

I'm in the same boat. I go from Driver to 3-Hybrid then into 4-iron and down. there are times where I need the distance that a 3-wood might go for me, but I don't think I've ever hit a good wood shot in my adult life.

I’ve been wanting to try the Callaway super hybrid. What is your 3 hybrid?

[nfogle]

1 hour ago, geochitown said:

Same here, I am about 5 rounds into using 10.5 driver then 17* hybrid.

What hybrid are you using?

[RoyalMustang]

I have a Titleist 917D2 4-wood at 16.5 degrees with a Diamana D+ 70g X shaft.  It is stupid easy to hit.  I was never a fairway wood player as a kid, but these clubs are a lot easier to hit for some reason.  There is one hole in particular at the course I regularly play at: it is a 325 yard par 4 with a hard dogleg right.  Push it right and you end up in tall grass behind trees and can't make the green.  Draw it too far left and you are playing a penalty stroke.  Hit it too long outside of the 40 yard window with a driver with only a slight draw or fade and take a penalty on either side.  the safest option is to play a 215 yard 4 or 5 iron to the dogleg, which is what I was doing for most of my rounds, leaving me with a gap wedge approach.

 

Then, I started using the 4-wood. It turns out to be the perfect club.  It is accurate and drops into that window perfectly.  I have hit my window the last 5 times I have played that hole with the 4 wood; a slight draw puts me about 65 yards out; a on-line swing about 45 yards out, and a perfect (unplanned) fade catches a downslope and leave a 15 yard pitch.   I have a ton of confidence in this club.  I could still use the hybrid and get part of the way there, but a slight fade with that club will leave me in a big hole due to shorter carry distance.  I also played a 18-hole course last weekend from the back tees and used the 4-wood on 5 holes off the tee where I didn't want a ton of carry; I needed to land within a 260-280 yard window.  I have also hit it off the deck on long par 5s; even a less than perfect swing, assuming a straight shot, gives me 250 yards I can't get from any other club in my bag. 

 

I found the key to swinging this club well is being relaxed. I can get a bit tense with my driver, but the 4-wood feels easier and I am more fluid with it.  This is probably why my ball speed is mid to high 150s with the 4-wood and only slightly more with my driver. 

 

What I did was order a few clubs from GlobalGolf (used) try them out, and keep the one I liked best. There is zero risk as long as you return them during the window. 

 

I also have a 3-wood (Mizuno ST200) purchased here ,but I find the 4-wood more versatile.  It fills a bigger gap for me. A 3-wood may go further by a few yards but it also is too close to the driver distance off the tee. 

Edited November 24, 2020 by RoyalMustang

[jmtbkr]

At my age, 69, I don't worry too much about hitting par5 greens in two. So my 3 iron bent to 20* is just fine for me. It also doubles as my driving iron on short par 4's.

[capking]

I used to not carry any, my miss is a closed club face at impact and most FW woods are closed at address. I fixed it by getting some jumbomax xl grips and by visualizing hitting it down the right side on follow through. Before this I went a year without any in the bag

[Tommy56]

I go Driver, 3H.  Being a minimalist player, the 3H offers greater versatility in more situations and is very close to 5W distance ... no need for both.  3W would be a little longer off the tee on tight driving holes, but less consistent from the turf, so the 3H wins (for me).

[ShAMbotay]

49 minutes ago, nfogle said:

I’ve been wanting to try the Callaway super hybrid. What is your 3 hybrid?

I use the PXG 0317 gen 2 19*. it's perfect for me.

[Roejye]

I started out this year with no fairway wood, I went driver to a 17.5° Adams xtd super hybrid. Because I'm a club ho, and because my dad has one and likes it, I bought a Cleveland Hibore XL 3 wood off eBay. I love it off of the tee, but merely like it off the deck. As much as I love it off of the tee, it's also possibly the most replaceable because my home course I have little to no need for it. Luckily I don't carry a 3 iron or hybrid so I don't need to get rid of it. 

[MuskieCy]

3 hours ago, rjp217 said:

I’m somewhat in the same boat here. I carry a 9* driver and 15* driving iron. My next club is a 3i which sits at 21*.

 

Driver - 290

DI - 250

3i - 230

 

One problem I have is my DI is long but the flight is super low, which has its positive and negatives. It is also very difficult to pick off the turf on a par 5. The other issue I have with this setup is I rarely need my 3i. What I am personally thinking of trying this offseason is removing the 3i from the bag and tossing in a 5 wood. This should solve my issue where I need a higher ball flighted shot with distance and also if I need it off the fairway on a par 5.

Tour numbers.

 

Which one do you play om?

[hagimihale]

No fairway woods but technically I have 2 drivers in my bag: a 9.5* TS4 and a 12* 917D2 (turned down to 11.25*).  The TS4 flights lower and favors a fade.  The 917D2 turns over and obviously gives a higher flight.  This lets me take advantage of doglegs on both sides, plus play into or with the wind.

 

My 3W started gathering dust once I put a 818H2 (19*) in the bag.  I rarely go for par 5s in 2 from outside 240, and the hybrid was more consistent off the tee.  

 

Yes, its unconventional, but my scores have gotten lower and I get to hit driver more often.  Fun stuff.  

[stevechooster]

I'm glad to know that there are others like me fitting fairway woods into the bag... haha. 

 

Not much of a hybrid user, but I thought about experimenting with two DIs by strengthening one and weakening another to fill the gap of a 3 and 5W... who knows how that'll go. 

 

 

[Jifmoli]

Get a 2 hybrid. Similar loft but much easier to hit of any lie. So annoyed I broke mine. Can only hit the 3w of the tee or very nice clean, soft lie.

[rjp217]

6 hours ago, MuskieCy said:

Tour numbers.

 

Which one do you play om?

????

[Sean2]

I am just the opposite. I have three fairway woods, never having had much luck with hybrids, and I don't have the CHS for a driving iron(s).

[lefty1978]

In my 20's I played all irons even off the tee. Now I'm 42 and play a 3 and 5 wood and sometimes I throw in my 4 hybrid (not technically a wood but close).

[ericft]

11 hours ago, schwollo said:

Was in the same boat then got a G410 3 wood easiest 3 wood ever to hit and plenty long 

agree with this. cannot hit fairway woods either but this one is great. Something about the flat sole and low face height. Not as long as my 2016 M2 3HL but predictable to hit off deck. 

[Unplayablelies]

I have had a love/hate relationship with my 3w. I’m currently checking out 5w ‘s 

[ND2005]

I used to love my 3 wood. Played Titleist fairways all the way from the 975 days up to recent years. Until about 2013 still had a steel shaft in them. 

 

More recently I find it has less and less of a role. Drivers are just so forgiving these days, and if I truly need a "layup" shot off the tee I'm pulling out the 3 iron (U500) 

 

I've also reached a stage in my golf game where if I can't reach the par 5 in 2 with a hybrid or less, I just shouldn't be going for it. 

 

I played 90 holes of golf in the last 4 days and afterward realized I hit the 3 wood exactly ONE time (badly, at that). Can't say that for any other club in my bag. It may be time to re-evaluate the set up. 

[geochitown]

11 hours ago, nfogle said:

What hybrid are you using?

 

It's in my signature.

My go to hybrid as has a late model Tour Edge Exotics, the XCG7 Beta 17* (2H).

It's in my signature, shafted with an Aldila Tour Blue 85H Stiff.

 

I really like the Aldila Rogue Black in the 85TS flex in my 22*.

 

It's a mid-high launch shaft, and I will put it in the CBX119.

 

I will be trying out a more recent Tour Edge Exotics model, the CBX119 in a 17*

 

Edit to add: I had dropped the 3W from the bag maybe 5 years ago or so, and went to a 4W, at 41.5-42".

I kept it as an alternate tee shot club and it was deep faced enough that I didn't feel confident hitting it off of the fairway, so eventually, I felt that I was losing out by having the longest club in my bag for non-tee shots being a 22* hybrid.

 

Hence the move to a hybrid, which is a shorter club, and I find easier to hit off of the fairway.

 

I will also try a shorter length, shallow faced fairway as well, something almost in the range of single length clubs.

 

40.5" 17* fairway.

 

So, I'm hoping between shorter length and shallow face, I might have an option for a tee club that I can also hit from the fairway.

 

Then, I'll have the option to play either/or - 17* hybrid or 17* short shallow-faced fairway.

 

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by geochitown
add background

[Aprovenz]

I'm glad I'm not the only one! Driver, 19° hybrid for me. I've tried so many 3 woods and I just can't hit them. The way I look at it,  I want to have zero doubts with any club in my hands. If I hit a good drive on a par 5 and want to try to reach, I pull the 3 wood out and instantly tense up. 98% of the time I ruin a great drive with a horrible 3 wood. 

[Fairway14]

13 hours ago, nfogle said:

I would love to carry a fairway wood to help me reach long par 5s but it just hasn’t worked out for me. I carry driver then u510 2 iron. I rarely need a fairway wood and when I do I usually end up with a penalty or just not hitting a good shot. My misses with the 2 iron keep me in play I just don’t get quite the distance out of the fairway I need. Anyone else have this problem and if so what do you do?

 

For about 50 rounds of golf I carried driver, 16*, 19* and 22* hybrids. This set up worked well , especially from an accuracy perspective

However, 3-wood from the tee boxes is a strength of my game and I missed having that club to use from  5 or 6 tee boxes each round.

For long fairway shots the 19*hybrid is close enough in distance to the 16* that I don't miss having the 16* within the bag.

If one is a player who likes hitting driver off of 14 tee boxes per round then I don't see a need for fairway woods and having hybrids instead will provide better accuracy for the long shots from the fairway or rough. But if you are a player who likes hitting less than driver from several tee boxes then having a fairway wood in the bag makes good sense.

[manima1]

I was like this for years - went driver straight to my 2i.  Worked pretty well for the most part, but you are definitely leaving out a valuable weapon from the bag. 

 

For me - finding my current 4W setup (16M2 DF) has been a game changer.  It just has another gear that the 2i does not and also provides another option off the tee.  It honestly can go 90% of driver distance off the tee, so provides a controlled option there.  

 

Great for long par 5's, short par 4's, or shots where I want to move the ball right to left instead of my normal driver fade.

 

I recommend finding a setup that works and not leaving a valuable weapon out of the bag.  For me - getting a tour-issued setup with the face cranked open a couple degrees was the ticket