Is the 3 wood becoming redundant?

[Ivyguy]

So, I’m a reasonable player (10 HCP) but have always truffled with fairway woods. 
 

Last reliable 3 wood was a Steelhead +.  Crown exploded one day, that was the most popular form of death for that model. 
 

since then, multiple tries and fittings to solve that spot. None stuck. 
 

Enter the 18 degree Wilson utility. It’s great, but I still give up a lot when leaving driver in the bag. 
 

This winter I am going to find a 13-ish degree driver and throw a a 43.5 inch shaft in it. Heavy and stiff. 
 

I think I need the face area to be effective off the tee for me. 
 

I dunno. Just trying to dig where there’s taters 

[Jifmoli]

Very player dependent. If you can hit it well of the deck it is a good club to have I would think. If you can't hit your driver well (like me), it's good of a tee (my miss with a 3w is a lot less dramatic than my miss with a driver) but a one-trick pony. Hence my order of a 17o 2 hybrid: for off the tee and long approach shots. 

 

The newer 13.5o 3woods may go too long but they seem to be marketed a lot as driver replacements in which case it is not too long is it. 

 

So for me the 3w will redundant once my 2h arrives. My 4h is the club I use if I face a tight fairway. 

[timothyjames333]

On 11/13/2021 at 12:02 PM, jt2gt said:

So are you looking to go Driver, Mini, 17UW....then what?  Ive been doing Driver, Strong 3, 16.5 then 1 or 2 hybs or a driving iron in there depending on course.  

This has been the biggest issue I've had gapping-wise, but I'm currently going with a 22* hybrid then an x forged ut 27* bent to 26* and then standard 6 iron on down. On windy days I take out the hybrid and put in a 20* driving iron but the pay off of having a club you can hit 200+ yards into a green consistently has made the hybrid the more permanent fixture by far. 

[Drivingrangehero]

I have a couple of sets of clubs, so I’ve been building a new set and trying to figure out how I may gap my bag up top myself. 
 

I figure one of my strongest part of my game is the driver, so I’m not looking for something as a “fairway finder” to chase my driver on tight holes, so a 3 wood is not needed for me personally. 
 

I’ve found that I’m looking for a set distance to hit a club, something that I can flight up or down and work both ways. Something that will give me enough distance, but not chasing distance. For me, that is something I can run out around 250y. 
 

Primarily I will be hitting this club on some shorter holes and chasing after par 5’s in two, so I decided on something around 16.5-18* range. I wanted something a little less shallow face because I have no problem flighting a ball up off the fairway, but something that isn’t a deep faced huge footprint club, because I want to work the ball both ways, also it should lend itself to flight down as needed since I won’t be carrying a driving iron. 
 

I ended up finding a Tour Edge EXS Pro 18* 5 wood  with a Tensei Orange 70s shaft worked best for me, due to its design. I’ve found that it can be shaped easily and flighted easily, not always an easy find for me. The only modification I needed to make was to cut the shaft a 1/2 inch down to 41.5” and switch the head weights from draw bias to fade bias. 
 

The Cobra Speedzone Tour 17.5  and the TEE CBX119 was great too, I just wasn’t able to shape them as well, so distance took a back seat to flight and shape for me. 
 

I think that once you set out your goals of what you want out of a club, you can attain decent results through trials. 
 

[QuigleyDU]

I dont think redundant is the right word. Although, I played for 3 years going from driver to 18 degree utility and didn't miss it. I have one now that I am really enjoying. But I don't use it in the traditional fashion I don't think.

 

I think the right word is "evolving". It is less a club played from the fairway and more of a second tee option. 5 woods are the new 3 woods, and 7 woods the new 5 woods. 

[PoeKingShankspeare]

well I got rid of my G410 LST 3 metal. It wasn't really serving any purpose for me once I got the 5w. The only reason why I got the 3w was my inability to hit my driver consistently and raise my FIR%. So when I got my driver dialed down and increased my FIR%, and also my 5w being my favorite "degree" under the driver, I didn't need a strong lofted 3w LST.

 

 

[ian-500]

Testing a TM Max D 3 wood. 16 loft and a relatively large head playing at 42 1/2" for just off the tee. So far so good.

[altess27]

I'm in the Driver, 3 wood, 5 wood top of bag category and all three clubs have their own purpose for me. My driver is my high launching bomber used for par 5's and par 4's with no trouble whatsoever. My 3 wood goes about 15 yards less than my driver but I am much more accurate with it and can work it both ways. It also flies much lower so it's nice for when it's windy and it's by far my longest club off the turf for long par 5's. My 5 wood is about a 20 yard difference from my 3 wood but it carries a much different purpose. I can hit it accurately from about 215-240 and I use it almost exclusively off the turf. It's my favorite club in the bag and I probably use it more than any club other than my wedges and putter. 

[lefthack]

I noticed a few WITB's that have 3 and  7 woods with no 5. I am interested in trying a 7 wood eventually.