What’s your fairway finder 3w? I need inspiration.

[PARETO]

The #2 spot in my bag lately has been a mystery…… which is troublesome because I need a fairway finder. Season is coming quick up here so I need to fill the fairway finder spot. Short par4 or tight Par5 tee. What you pulling? 

[hook_or_slice]

26 minutes ago, PARETO said:

The #2 spot in my bag lately has been a mystery…… which is troublesome because I need a fairway finder. Season is coming quick up here so I need to fill the fairway finder spot. Short par4 or tight Par5 tee. What you pulling? 

 

After years of trying I have given up using a 3 wood for "more accuracy" off of the tee.

 

I can just as  easily miss with a 3 wood.

 

And it looks like I am not alone:

 

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/why-you-shouldn-t-hit-3-wood-off-the-tee

[57charlie]

To this day and since 1998 my go to fairway woods (3, 5 & 7) have been Callaway Great Big Bertha Hawkeye's with "Hawkeye UL Firm Flex" graphite shafts. I have yet to find anything that can out perform these clubs with these graphite shafts. If I could find some new old stock Hawkeye Firm Flex shafts I would love to put them into some modern day fairway heads and see how they do.

[ChipNRun]

Go with a 4W. You'll get an extra degree or two of loft to help with launch, and a shorter shaft to help with control.

[golfschnell]

I hit the original Epic 3 wood turned up to 16 loft and shaft a 1/2 inch shorter. I’ve tried many  “upgrades” since these came out but I just unwrapped a shiny new head of this old club to replace its venerable sibling. I can hit the fairway with this club blindfolded, high, and after a 3 month layoff from the game😝My original Toulon putter the same. The rest of my clubs can mutiny at any time. My point being not so much MY fairway finder, but that once you find yours, don’t mess with it, accept the gift the golf gods have bestowed upon you.

Edited March 18 by golfschnell
Grammar

[phizzy30]

My OG SIM ti 3 metal has been my go to for all these years.  I've tested a bunch of the recent fairway offerings and nothing's been able to kick it outta the bag.  It's a larger profile with a deeper face but it works great off the tee.  

Edited March 18 by phizzy30

[T-W]

m2 tour 16.5 3hl.  Goat 3/4 wood.

[2Down]

430 MAX. Keep your driver company.  If your liking the shaft in the driver try it’s little brother in the three wood and see, I’m thinking you’ll like it.    

[hammergolf]

19 hours ago, PARETO said:

The #2 spot in my bag lately has been a mystery…… which is troublesome because I need a fairway finder. Season is coming quick up here so I need to fill the fairway finder spot. Short par4 or tight Par5 tee. What you pulling? 

Hard to find an easier to hit fwy wood than Ping.

[RacineBoxer]

19 hours ago, PARETO said:

The #2 spot in my bag lately has been a mystery…… which is troublesome because I need a fairway finder. Season is coming quick up here so I need to fill the fairway finder spot. Short par4 or tight Par5 tee. What you pulling? 

 

Do some research of Arccos and Lou Stagner (or Scott Fawcett) and you'll see that most of the time the 3 wood doesn't give you that much left to right dispersion improvement so the only time to pull 3 wood is when you have a hazard or OB at a distance where your driver will put you in it but 3 wood won't (i.e. water starts at 280, you hit your driver 300 and your 3W 250-260, so you're picking based on distance and not dispersion or the "tightness" of a hole). Otherwise if you really-really need accuracy then you should probably go down 2-3 clubs, maybe something like a hybrid or long iron, because you'll actually see quite a bit of left to right dispersion improvement with the shorter shafted club.

 

My go to on tight holes is 4 hybrid for 210 yards.

 

I do have one hole I play a fair bit where I will hit 3W/5W (or 4H) but that's just because its a 280 yard par 4 and the greenside bunkers are nasty and in play for me, so I'd rather stay short of them.

[gripandrip]

I have two, One in the main bag and one in my backup. Main 3 wood is a Taylormade R9. My other is a Callaway XR I was given after the head snapped off the shaft. I bought a no name stiff shaft, (Just to get a cheap 3 wood for my backup bag) and proceeded by accident, to cut the shaft 3/8 inch too short. Not sure what there is about that club, I don't use it a lot, but can't seem to mishit it. May be the fact that it is a bit short.

[Poor Mans Ty Webb]

Never too late to jump on the mini driver bandwagon!

[GRam]

Like Ty Webb above me, I was having the same concerns, and bought a TM BRNR mini driver.

only played two rounds since the courses open, but it's been lights out.

For me, it just produces a soft fade over and over, really liking it in the early going!

Couple smashes off the fairway with it, and no issues with launching.

So far, so good!

[WWTWD]

Callaway Paradym X 3W

 

Probably the greatest 3W I have ever owned in my life. 

[adamwon84]

I just got the Callaway AI Smoke Max 3 wood and the thing is really easy to hit off the deck and tee, really solid club. 

[kasting333]

G25 3 wood was very good for me for a lot of years

 

Somehow the UW 17* is longer and straighter with a shorter shaft…

[KJKim93]

Had a Radspeed Big Tour that felt point and shoot of the tee. Trying a LTDxLS this season. Big fan off Cobra fairways. 

Edited March 18 by KJKim93

[A.Princey]

I think you need to find a club that is higher spinning, for directional stability and less curvature. Something that averages at least 3500rpm bs, minimum. 
 

You’re gonna lose some distance with the increase in spin, but you’ll have a trade off to achieve a straighter flight. 

Edited March 18 by A.Princey

[Brentwood]

Really like my Rogue ST Max 3w. Got it for a solid deal on Callaway Preowned and it has surpassed my expectations. A step further down the bag I would pull either a ZX5 3i or 4i. 

[03trdblack]

I replaced the 3 wood with a Taylormade 300 mini driver and never looked back. 

[goalie]

2 hours ago, WWTWD said:

Callaway Paradym X 3W

 

Probably the greatest 3W I have ever owned in my life. 

3HL 16.5* for me.  Love that club.

[tips09]

Mines a Ping G400 5 wood turned down all the way. The only way that club is leaving my bag is if and when the face caves in. 

[1puttTUT]

Cobra LTDx or TM mini driver

[aussieb]

If I absolutely have to hit a fairway, I prefer my 2i Apex UT over the 3w unless it's too wet to get the roll out.  Had an OG SIM Ti for awhile because it was very hot and low spin.  But that toe miss made me switch to the T.I. Mavrik SZ because it has a higher toe/deeper face that's really stable.  I may have found the best of both worlds with the Mizuno ST-G Titanium if I can find the right shaft combo.

[Rob G 89]

SIm Dhy 3 

[wam78]

Stealth 3HL tour issue.  Sits .5* open, plays at 5W length and is so easy to hit off the tee and the deck.  First time playing TM woods in a long while!

[ovodeano]

Stealth 3w with your ad xc-7x

[BombinJim]

I like to hit 5W in this position if not into the wind. If there’s wind I like to hit 3i. Unless I need to not exceed a distance I won’t opt for 3W over driver.

[ECgolf]

6 hours ago, RacineBoxer said:

 

Do some research of Arccos and Lou Stagner (or Scott Fawcett) and you'll see that most of the time the 3 wood doesn't give you that much left to right dispersion improvement so the only time to pull 3 wood is when you have a hazard or OB at a distance where your driver will put you in it but 3 wood won't (i.e. water starts at 280, you hit your driver 300 and your 3W 250-260, so you're picking based on distance and not dispersion or the "tightness" of a hole). Otherwise if you really-really need accuracy then you should probably go down 2-3 clubs, maybe something like a hybrid or long iron, because you'll actually see quite a bit of left to right dispersion improvement with the shorter shafted club.

 

My go to on tight holes is 4 hybrid for 210 yards.

 

I do have one hole I play a fair bit where I will hit 3W/5W (or 4H) but that's just because its a 280 yard par 4 and the greenside bunkers are nasty and in play for me, so I'd rather stay short of them.

This is pretty much my approach to these clubs as well. I have several short par 4s on local courses I play where I hit 3W to avoid bunkers, creek, pond, etc. that I can reach with driver but not 3W. 
 

If narrow landing area I’m going to hit my hybrid or 5iron off the tee depending on circumstances. 

[philly2kuk]

I appear (touchwood) to have solved my three wood issues when I changed to my tsi2 and went up to 16.5. It’s set to upright to promote my draw when I want one off the tee and I rarely miss a fairway with it to be honest.