Anyone not carry a 3 wood / best 3 wood of 2022

[RoryLox]

I recently sold my Mizuno STZ 3 wood to help fund some other purchases. My bag is literally completely set now. Down to the shafts in every club. 
 

All except I now don’t have a 3 wood.   But the thing is. I almost never hit a 3 wood.  I have a 5 wood that I love and it’s probably my most trusty club.  So usually if I’m not hitting driver, I pull out the 5 wood. Just because I’m so confident in it (srixon zx with blue Velocore shaft).  And honestly if I’m 240-250 out. I’m not good enough to hit 3 wood off deck and go for it. I’d rather lay up and get an easy GIR.  Therefore my 3 wood rarely gets touched. 
 

but now I have a hole in my bag.  I either get another 3 wood. Or don’t?  
 

If I don’t, what should I get in it’s place? A mini driver? But what’s the point really? In what scenarios would I use this over my normal driver or 5 wood?  A driving iron? Sounds intriguing but probably hard to hit?  Don’t really need another wedge down low. 
 

if I do get another 3 wood.  What’s the best one out these days? Just not sure dropping $300-$500 on another club that would rarely get used makes a lot of sense.  

[greenomics]

I carry driver, 5 wood set to 17*, 20* driving iron. 5 wood provides better gapping behind my driver than a 3 wood.

[Strategery]

Don't like it, don't need it on my course. Where I play most, there are no holes which require 3w from the tee, and the 2 longest par 5's have too much trouble near the green.

[hagimihale]

I pulled my 3W a few years ago when I realized (same as you) that it was gathering dust.  I had better options off the tee, when driver wasnt the right option, and I rarely hit it off the deck.

 

What do you have after your 5W, but before your lowest-lofted iron?  I put a hybrid in my bag years ago to serve primarily as a rescue club: punches out from under trees, to get out of thick rough, etc.  Its amazing how many ways I've found to use that club.

 

Might be an option for you, if you don't have need for another fairway wood, nor another wedge...

[OnTheBag]

I carry a 5w set at 16.5° then a 20° hybrid in my normal setup.  It works on all but 2 courses that I regularly play. 

 

On those, I throw the old Adams 3w in the bag just to help with my 240-260 driver distance.  If I could reliably hit driver off the deck, I wouldn't carry it on those courses, but alas......I can't.  

[Shushwap]

I was fitted for a 3 wood last year... I plan to pull it from thr bag this year as I have my trusty 5 wood that I use on narrow  par 5 and when things are not working with the driver 

My home course has a dog leg par 4 that I can go over the trees with and go for a eagle..

That's the only place I really use it...

Have u considered a 7 wood.. I picked one up last year and it's almost as good as my 5 wood.. Easy of the deck and lands and sticks on par 3

[ChadL]

I have a 3 wood, but it's rarely in my bag.  The course I play league on, and my "home" course don't have opportunities for 3 woods (for me anyway). I have a 5 wood that serves me very well.  The only reason I still own a 3 wood is there are a few courses I play each year where I do use one.  I like the 3 wood I have, but I just don't have much of a need for it.  If for some reason I start playing from the tips then that 3 wood would be in the bag.

[Is Golf Fun or Work]

I hit my driver accurately enough, no need for a 3 wood off tee, plus, it's so much easier to hit a 4 wood off the deck.

[B.Easy]

I stopped thinking about what number was on the bottom of any given club and just focus on gapping of distances.  This has made club selection/purchasing far simpler for me.  I focus on the course that I play the most and have a couple of back up clubs for when I play different courses.  

[Bdck]

A pretty common element of golf course architecture is hazards or narrowing of fairways to push golfers into landing areas that allow the green to reward/punish specific things.

 

Which is to say, bomb and gouge isn't a winning strategy on a ton of courses. 

 

If things get scary around 300 off the tee, that's where my 3 wood comes into play.  If it gets reeeeally scary, 2 iron around 270 is all I ever want.

[jomatty]

How fast do you swing and how much further do you hit your 3W than your 5W? For lots of moderate speed folks 3W is a lot harder to hit and doesn’t really go much, if any, further than a 4 or 5 wood.  If you basically never use your 3W then I think the decision is clear.  I personally don’t use 3 wood much.  I do carry one though.  The og sim is perfect, as it is not super expensive but is a very solid club.  If you decide you do want a 3W but don’t want to spend a lot I would look at the sim or sim max.  Less expensive and you are not giving anything up.

[rkillian]

I've not used a 3 wood. I have a 4 wood now but a 5 wood is on the way to potentially replace it. Depending on how it works out and how the gapping is, it may kick both the 4 wood and 20* super hybrid out of the bag. On the courses I play, if driver isn't the play off the tee a 3 or 4 wood really isn't so much either. I've gone D - 5W before and the 5W is definitely more useful and easier when I do need to hit it off the deck. 

[teehilden]

15 hours ago, RoryLox said:

I recently sold my Mizuno STZ 3 wood to help fund some other purchases. My bag is literally completely set now. Down to the shafts in every club. 
 

All except I now don’t have a 3 wood.   But the thing is. I almost never hit a 3 wood.  I have a 5 wood that I love and it’s probably my most trusty club.  So usually if I’m not hitting driver, I pull out the 5 wood. Just because I’m so confident in it (srixon zx with blue Velocore shaft).  And honestly if I’m 240-250 out. I’m not good enough to hit 3 wood off deck and go for it. I’d rather lay up and get an easy GIR.  Therefore my 3 wood rarely gets touched. 
 

but now I have a hole in my bag.  I either get another 3 wood. Or don’t?  
 

If I don’t, what should I get in it’s place? A mini driver? But what’s the point really? In what scenarios would I use this over my normal driver or 5 wood?  A driving iron? Sounds intriguing but probably hard to hit?  Don’t really need another wedge down low. 
 

if I do get another 3 wood.  What’s the best one out these days? Just not sure dropping $300-$500 on another club that would rarely get used makes a lot of sense.  

 

My buddy does not have a 3wood in the bag. He says he doesn't notice a difference in distance between 3 and 5 wood. In all fairness, he's not long enough to attack most par 5's in two anyways so it would be a forgotten club in his bag. If it doesn't fit your game, don't use it man!

[70sinsight]

Have gone back and forth on a 3W for years. Sometimes it works off the deck and sometimes it doesn't. Decided to go with the 425LST 2 Hybrid. Can loft it down to 15.5 degrees if need be. Plenty soft into greens and can still use it of the tee with tighter dispersion and more stable contact than my 3W.

[Kyfra]

Best 3W is a TM Mini Driver

[anser85029]

3 wood heads today are the size of an old persimmon driver and boast 43+" shafts.  And people wonder why they can't hit any off the deck?

 

Find an 18*/19* small headed FW or hybrid with around a 41" length shaft that you can hit consistently good off ANY lie.

 

Leave that 3 wood for good.

[JAM01]

Returned fairways to the bag a few years ago as I just needed the distance as I aged. Ping G410 now replaced by the new Stealth. Indoor sim golf only so far, but it’s been a very nice edition. Fingers crossed for a similar outdoor performance. 

[jtmagic]

Driver, 4 wood, 4 hybrid then 5 iron on down for me. Fits gapping well and hit 4 wood better off the deck than 3 wood.  Allowed me to add an extra wedge that I use a lot more than I did the 3/5 wood combo previously. 

[m_w]

If you need low launch and lower spin: Stealth+ 15*

If you need more lauch and mid spin: ST Rogue Max 15*

If you need high launch and mid spin: ST Rogue Max D 16* or G425 14.5*

[tomathist]

I recommend a 17 - 19 degree hybrid. I carry a 19 degree hybrid with 13.5 deg wood, but almost always use a hybrid unless off the deck. If you want to keep a 5 wood, you can maybe fill the gap between a 5 wood and a driver with a 17 deg hybrid?

[getitdaily]

I've hit every 3w made in the last 3 years. 

 

Get the Rogue st ls 16.5 or the g425max.

[DaveMc82]

3 wood is relegated to the reserve pile in the office until next autumn. No need to carry it once it gets hard and fast on our courses. I will be going driver - 2UDI - 5w - 20 hybrid - Frankenstein 4i - set 5-pw - 50/56/. 
 

The 3 wood is only good for lower trajectory tee shots through the winter months that still need carry for me. Mainly due its flight characteristics into wind or with stiff cross winds. UDI gets swapped for it as soon as the ground gets too wet for the UDI to get the roll out. 
 

Personally I see the 3 wood as as a UDI with less control but more carry. A necessary evil where the UDI doesn’t work. Through the summer I regularly see the UDI get out further than my driver by taking advantage of the hard fast ground.  

[spokora]

I made the same decision this year - top of the bag is driver, 2-hybrid (lofted down to 15.5) and 3-hybrid (lofted down to 18), then 4i on.

 

I have a Srixon ZX 3w that is the best and longest 3w I have ever hit - but I just never pulled it unless I was on a wide-open par 5.

 

I can carry the 2h 220+ and that is all I need, really. Giving up yardage but I am confident swinging it in any situation and that was the decision point for me.

[soufrog]

Personally sounds like your good to go if that one open hole is driving u nuts get ya an umbrella or small bag style ones to fill that open hole lol boom your good go play and enjoy!!!

[owu23]

Op, i also sold my STZ and got myself a Stealth plus 3 and 5 wood.

 

I absolutely loved the STZ but i just didn't have the carry distance with it vs the Stealth plus. It was causing me too wide a distance gap between driver and the old 5 wood (PXG Gen 2)

 

 

[rondre3000]

Impossible to answer without knowing what the rest of your bag looks like.  That said, I'd say add NOTHING. Play your bag as-is.  You don't get docked strokes for having LESS THAN 14 sticks in your bag.  😉

 

 

 

[Millhill88]

A 3-Wood is essential for me.  90% of my tee shots are with the 3-Wood.   I'll even carry 2 sometimes, 13* & 15*.  The courses I play are in the 6,650 - 6,780 yard range and fairly tight.  3-Wood puts me out 260 off the tee and in the fairway.  With my courses not being that long, I'd rather be in the fairway hitting an 9 or 8 iron into the green, than be a wedge away but in the crap.

[MP4444]

3 wood has been out of the bag for close to a year and even when it was in the bag it was rarely used. I have a 19 degree hybrid that is my safe tee shot and long approach club.

 

I just haven't put in the work with a 3 wood to feel like it's worth the risk of pulling it and it has become a self fulfilling prophecy. Every year (including this one) I tell myself I'm gonna work on my 3 wood so it becomes a club I have confidence in because there is a real use case for me with it.

[Kale_m]

Loving my STZ. Had a brief lapse in judgement and was going to get rid of it for a 5w or the 4w but I like the flight and feel of it to much. It probably goes to far for me at 14* but oh well. 
 

if it was to be replaced it will probably be a Taylormade 5w dialed down to 17 or a Titleist 16.5* 

[ChipNRun]

I am in my 11th season of some combo of 4W + 7W. In past, 3W launched sometimes, 4W launched always.

 

You might consider 4 + 7.

 

On 3/10/2022 at 6:58 PM, RoryLox said:

I have a 5 wood that I love and it’s probably my most trusty club.

 

You're in good company! The pro who serves as my clubsmith carries a 5W with 4W-length shaft for his solo fairway.