Low/shallow profile fairway woods: Love, hate, indifferent?

[eric61]

Just wondering what folks here think about fairway woods -- especially 3 woods/your lowest-lofted non-driver -- with shallow profiles, especially if you use it off the tee sometimes?

 

I'm on the hunt for a new 3W and have been trying a bunch of stuff out. I grabbed a G425 LST 3 wood after really liking the numbers I saw when I demoed it, but was only really able to hit it off the ground, where the shallow profile isn't really a concern and I'm hitting down on it 1-1.5 degrees. Then took it to the golf dome and hit it a bit -- again, off the ground, didn't have a shallow tee on hand. 

 

The impact marks/residue shows I'm already on the upper half of the face. I'm kind of worried that I'm going to start covering this thing with sky marks if I tee it up at all!

 

What about you all? Anybody going with low-profile 3 woods, and finding that this isn't really a problem? Or moving away from them because it is in fact a problem for you? 

 

Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:

 

[norsebynorsewest]

I switched from a G410 3-wood to a SIM2 Max 3 wood recently, after facing a similar issue.

 

It’s probably partially due to the shaft change, but I’m getting a lot more consistency and distance out of the max — and I feel much more confident taking it off a (still short) tee.

 

Granted, this experience is via simulator. We’ll see what turf interaction looks like on the course.

[hammergolf]

Maybe go with something a little deeper faced like TSi3 or Stealth.

[MtlJeff]

i like shallow 3 woods, a lot more confidence off the turf....When i used a G410 LST i just tee'd it lower when i used it for tee shots.

 

Its really more a personal preference thing. there's nothing better or worse about deep face or shallow face....it's just what you like

[quikcolin]

I hit my 3W off the tee 90% of the time. It rarely sees the turf.  I have the same issue as you. I was fitted into a Callaway Rogue Max 3 wood, but my gawd it’s shallow. I changed my order to the Rogue LS 3 wood. The face is slightly deeper, it’s heavenly.   Sounds like angels singing when you stripe it 🙂

 

 

Edited April 9, 2022 by quikcolin

[ChipNRun]

From 2002 to 2008, I played the low-profile Tour Edge Bazooka BetaTi 3W and 5W (forest green head and shaft).

 

At 14* and 19*, the pair worked well early in the cycle. But about 2006 I got my swing revamped, and I started having trouble with pop-ups - too much launch help on occasion.

 

Last couple of seasons when playing in tee shot I fluffed the grass and set the ball atop. Teed Bazookas just went too high.

 

Have preferred - if anything - slightly deeper FW faces since then.

 

[halfsumo]

For me, when teed up the shallow face makes me think I'm going to sky it and then my brain over adjusts and I top it. I have not really found any advantage to a shallow face off the deck either, so I tend to avoid shallow fairways. Have tried many many Ping G models and always end up selling them because I am too scared to hit them off a tee. 

[Drivingrangehero]

I have a couple of shallow faced fairway woods in my back up bag (2013 Adams Tight Lies 16*+19*) I bought them to be used exclusively off the deck since I am a very good driver of the ball thanks to Howard’s DiY driver tune up, and was only looking to attack some par 5’s off the deck.

 

I used to have trouble with dispersion first and foremost with a 3 wood, but weight and length solved that, and my second big problem was keeping the ball from ballooning, but weight and length helped with that too, although some deeper faced ones are easier to keep down. 
 

I noticed a bit of the same as you when I had the ball on the tee at a seemingly “normal” height.  I have hit both the 3 wood and 5 wood off the tee on occasion, but tee it up so low that it’s like a really good fairway lie. In fact, I would tee up to “normal” height with my 5 wood to cut the corner over some tall pines on a par 4 that goes 210 out to 190 in. 

The Ping reminds me of the 2013 Tight Lies, shallow face, flatter sole than most ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

With that being said, I can’t say enough about the Tour Edge EXS pro fairway woods. I find them to possibly be the best I’ve ever hit. It used to be a toss up between the Sonartec SS03 and the Titleist 980f for me, but the TEE EXS PRO simply does all things well. 

Great off the Turf   ☑️
Workable to shape ☑️
Easy to flight down ☑️
Great off the tee.    ☑️
 

I think the Cobra F9 Tour model fairway woods are great as well, but the Tensei Orange may have been a factor for the Tour Edge beating it out since the Cobra I demoed had a Tensei Blue or Aldila Blue in it, which doesn’t fit me as well as the Tensei Orange. 
 

I found the shallow face fairway woods are great if you find the right weight and length, but if you are looking for a fairway finder off the tee, a deep face 3wood, or mini driver is best.
 

Mix and match is an option, a deep face 3wood for off the tee and a shallow face 5 wood for off the deck 🤷‍♂️

 

In all honesty, how often are we hitting a 3 wood off the deck into par 5’s and expecting to knock it stiff?
 

As a 2 handicap, I was happy to hit the green if I was hitting a 3 wood from 250+ out. More often than not, I’d be anywhere from on the collar to 15-20 yards off the green (most often to the right and sometimes in the woods 😂).

 

I feel like the 5 wood is a higher percentage play of hitting the green for me than my 3 wood, maybe double 🤷‍♂️

[Flip4000]

I have the G425 max and love it. I have a similar strike pattern as you do, but I have never had any issues or worries about it off the tee. I still hit it in the same place teed up or off the deck. As others have said, I just tee it low off the tee and topping it isnt really that much of a risk. 

 

I'd actually argue that I am more likely to sky it out of a lie in the rough where the ball is sitting up, than off the tee.

Edited April 9, 2022 by Flip4000

[CodyJSparks]

I have tried and tried to love Ping fairway woods but for some reason the shallow faces just don't work for me. I think it's more of a mental block at this point rather than an issue with the club, but since I have switched to my Mavrik 3wood with a much more traditional / deeper face I have been far more consistent. 

 

Just my 2 cents 

[uglande]

Love from the fairway, hate from the tee. 

[DCCarpenter]

I bought the Ping G425 5 wood, had the occasional unbelievable shot with it but just couldn't get used to the shallow face.

 

I was very inconsistent off the tee and was skying it short or topping it as often as I was getting good hit.

 

Been making much better contact with a 20 year old Wilson Deep Red with a deeper face off the tee. From the deck I got a Titleist ts2 which has been treating me better as well as far as consistency.

[Stinger83]

Well sell me your shallow faced throw always then. Cuz PING 3 woods are about all i can hit from the fairway. I have been trying so many different fairways the last two years just trying to find ANYTHING i can consistently launch in that 11-15 degree window and still carry 250-260 ish. PING G 425 lst is about the only thing i can get over 10 degrees. I spent a solid two hours today testing fairways. PING was about the only thing that worked. I was able to elevate the 3 wood more than taylormade 5 wood. I think i finally found a solution that i won’t have to constantly play conservative anymore 

[Nebraska]

For years I played and had a love hate relationship with taller faced fairway wood.  I never liked how a shallow faced fairway wood looked.  During this time I also play an old Cobra rail H hybrid.  So on a lark I bought a used and abused Cobra rail F 3 wood off eBay for 30 buck and some sipping.  It is a shallow faced club and it has changed my game.  Sooo easy to hit of the tee or deck.  So now have a set of 11 year old fairway woods in the bag.  

[Milfordlefty]

Like - Hit shallow face better than deep off turf. Short tee used when hitting off tee box. Gravitated to Pings. I tried Cleveland Launcher HB Turbo this year, really liked the looks, but they didn't like my swing. I've improved my fairway technique with much better results at end of season. Just added 7w with expectation it will replace my 4H next year. I am a picker not a digger with irons, so just scuffing the turf with a fairway wood or shallower hybrid fits my swing.

[NewDecadeMultiCompound]

This is why im looking forward to the g430 fairway woods. Shallow like past pings, but theyve made the very center just a bit deeper which should in turn increase confidence that youre not gonna sky it

[ChristopherMcDonald]

Love em. My 07 burner and Cobra LTD's are both pretty shallow. Just makes sense to me with my shallower AOA

[PEI_Golfer]

Shallow face fairways and I don't get a long.  Can't get a Ping fairway or hybrid in the bag in the last few generations no matter what.  Titleist just seem to work best for my swing/needs over all.

[NZ315]

I just got fit into TSR fairway woods coming from the Ping 425. I found myself putting a couple idiot marks on the crown due to the shallow face out of the rough. Once off the tee but since have just tee’d it up lower ever since. Hopefully the TSR fairways are better for me this coming season. Got a long wait winter hasn’t even begun yet. 
but to answer the topic question indifferent because the 425 7wood has been an auto pilot club this past year

Edited November 30, 2022 by NZ315

[Port and Starboard]

My misses have always been hitting a little high or low on the face instead of toe and heel so I have always prefered deeper faces.

 

My tee game has been so bad this year that I was going back and forth between picking up a used Callaway XHot 3 deep 15 degree, or the TM SLDR mini 14. I hit quite a few shots with both and settled on the TM SLDR Mini 14 because it was a little easier to for me to fade with.  The Xhot 3 deep and the SLDR mini also look great sitting behind the ball in the fairways and I get about the same ball flight as my shallower faced 3 woods.  

 

I really don't mind the distance loss going from my driver to the Mini 14 because it's a lot more fun hitting from 150 markers in the fairways than hitting from 130-140 from the trees and rough.

 

 

[tipperi]

I used to struggle with the fear of the dummy mark from the tee with my fairways which would always push me into something deeper that I didn't hit consistently off the deck.

On an old No Laying Up episode, Justin Huber talked about making a grass tee and its been a game changer for hitting my fairways from the tee.  Ball goes a little straighter, doesn't spin as much and does well into the wind compared to even the shortest of tee's.  The boxes at my club are nothing special, and usually i can make a spot at the back of someone else's divot. I could see it being an issue somewhere with really nice tee boxes, but at that point i could probably just "fluff" it up.

Playing a TSi2 4w and TSi1 7w right now which i would classify as "average to shallow" depth, hitting them better than I have ever hit fairway woods.

[MattM97]

I play my G410 LST off the tee a lot and have no real issues just make sure I don't tee it up too high and let it go. I'm sure a deeper faced one would be more helpful but I like the G410 off the tee and I don't have the best swing out there. 

[PoeKingShankspeare]

I love fairway woods, 3w and 5w's have been my favorite long clubs to hit for decades. I have the G410 LST 3w and I love the low profile design which suites my eye. Though, when I tee'd it up I had issues with it for a bit, just couldn't make good solid contact with the tees. I was seeing ballooning ball flight or ball flights with lots of spin. The same with the 5w. 

 

But recently, I started to using the tees due to the tee box conditions with these wet cold weather. Just like my irons, I barely raise the ball off he turf with the tee and changed my AOA - I sweep instead of "dig" like I normally do. I also move the ball forward a tad in my set up which results into a baby fade.. (not on purpose lol)

 

 

 

 

[stormbringer]

I have one low profile (G410 SFT 5 Wood) and one deep faced, (Ping Rapture mini-driver 13.0 degree).  Both work fine for me from the tee or off the deck.  Never sky'ed the 5 wood or take one off the crown even in the rough.

 

I have no preference.  The G410 5 wood does have a wide sole.  The SFT is much wider than the normal G410, larger too helping it from sliding under the ball 

 

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by stormbringer
typo

[sergizmo]

For 3 wood I prefer something a little deeper faced. Waffling back and forth between SLDR Mini TP 14* and an old Yonex V Mass 350. Generally it's a tee club so something super shallow like that 425 in the OP would make me very nervous. The Yonex is surprisingly good off the turf though, titanium with tungsten sole weights. SLDR Mini is a no go off turf but offers a bit more forgiveness off the tee. If someone is really consistent on high-low strike location, a shallow faced 3 wood should be fine. I am not.

 

 

[avguy]

For many seasons, I considered a 3W as a Driver alternative, never to be hit from the turf.  I've collected 4 that I still possess, going back to 2009 thru 2011 because most of them had titanium faces. (TM  R11 ti, TEE XCGV, TM RBZ TS.)

 

Now, I only play one of them, the lowest profile off turf only with occasional short teeD up shots for short par 4's.  The Mizuno MP titanium is also very compact, and in another bag, I play the 5W as they were just so good and easy to pick a ball off turf with their nice flatter sole plate and great feel/sound titanium.

 

If my game needed to go back to more teed up 3Ws, I would switch out to either of those other three and stick with my 18 degree hybrids as the longest club off turf besides that MP titanium 5.

Edited December 1, 2022 by avguy

[phizzy30]

Currently rocking the OG SIM ti which is considered shallow face and I have no issues with it off the deck or tee.  In fact, almost all my 3 metals past and present have been shallow face.  I had one deep face and it and I didn't notice much of a difference strike pattern wise.  I've always teed the ball the same height with 3 metal. 

[Boognish]

This seems like a weird mental issue for some people.  Just tee it lower or use an earthen tee and there should be no risk of pop up shots.  There's no reason to ever tee up a fairway wood with any part of the ball above the crown.

[ZAS]

prefer shallow fairways

[me05501]

If you really love a shallow face off the fairway you can set your tee so it's basically just a perfect lie on top of the grass. 

 

Seems like face depth preference usually comes down to how people prefer to use the club. Is it primarily a safe tee club or a go for it in two club? 

 

Personally I've split the difference and carry an Epic Speed 4 wood. It works well in both situations.