Club to fill this 3 wood to 4 iron gap with?

[AgentM21]

I can't hit hybrids. I've hit a lot of them, practiced a lot with them, and no matter what I always have some good shots but a lot of hard left misses that I don't with any other club.

 

I'm thinking 5 wood, 7 wood, Heavenwood, or an Apex UW 19 or 21 degree. If I went with a wood is a low spin version like a triple diamond or LST worth going for? My driver is a low spin and that helped a lot, but my 3 wood is not and that doesn't seem to hurt me other than the occasional balloon shot. A higher lofted wood would generate more spin though I assume so it may be a larger worry.

Swing speed with driver is about 117mph.

 

The below stats are at my local TopTracer range. 10 shot averages after warming up.

 

Flat Carry:

 

Total Distance:

[BagofToast]

5 or 7 wood could be a good option. UW could be better if you're worried about spin

[poor_putting]

I’m in the same boat. 3 wood carries about 260 off the deck, 4 iron about 225. I have a Smoke TD 7 wood but it spins a bit much and doesn’t quite get me the 245 carry I’m looking for. 
 

id look 5 wood if I were you, TD 7 wood may work but at least by me, no one had them to try. I bought on a whim and it’s not exactly what I need 

[tomdabomb]

2/3 iron if your local course demands it, but also its fun. I play a 2 iron, but I also live in Scotland where we have harsh winds.

[phizzy30]

UW.  Launches a touch lower and spins less than higher lofted fairway metals. 

[AgentM21]

44 minutes ago, poor_putting said:

I’m in the same boat. 3 wood carries about 260 off the deck, 4 iron about 225. I have a Smoke TD 7 wood but it spins a bit much and doesn’t quite get me the 245 carry I’m looking for. 
 

id look 5 wood if I were you, TD 7 wood may work but at least by me, no one had them to try. I bought on a whim and it’s not exactly what I need 

Awe that's unfortunate on the TD 7 wood. I was hoping the TD might knock down the spin enough to make it not balloon. Might try a TD 5 wood.

[AgentM21]

42 minutes ago, tomdabomb said:

2/3 iron if your local course demands it, but also its fun. I play a 2 iron, but I also live in Scotland where we have harsh winds.

I have a 2 utility iron! It's super fun and I love it off the tee. However I hit it awful out of the rough and only okay off the deck. So it only makes the bag on windy days.

[Valtiel]

UW for sure, either 19* or 21*. Whichever can carry ~230y. 

[poor_putting]

11 minutes ago, AgentM21 said:

Awe that's unfortunate on the TD 7 wood. I was hoping the TD might knock down the spin enough to make it not balloon. Might try a TD 5 wood.

Definitely try before you buy. I went TD 7 because the TD 5 was a rocket launcher, carried about 250 off the deck which was too far for me. The regular 5 wood may have been the choice, I just never hit it as shops didn’t have it with an X flex shaft to try.

 

I recommend hitting before you try if possible 

[AgentM21]

50 minutes ago, poor_putting said:

Definitely try before you buy. I went TD 7 because the TD 5 was a rocket launcher, carried about 250 off the deck which was too far for me. The regular 5 wood may have been the choice, I just never hit it as shops didn’t have it with an X flex shaft to try.

 

I recommend hitting before you try if possible 

Yeah I went to all of the shops in town today and unfortunately I don't have any of the good box stores like Golf Galaxy and PGA SS that carry everything. So they only had the standard little fitting carts with the basic 3 wood head and said "just extrapolate your distances down from that" which is no help. Plus they had nothing TD.

 

When you hit a 3 wood do you hit a lower missile or do you get it up in the air pretty high? Just asking because if you high it would make sense that you send a 7w to the moon with spin. I tend to hit my 3 wood unconventionally low and only really overspin it when I hit down on it like an iron swing.

[CTgamer]

Depends whether it’s primarily a tee club or fairway club or both. I have similar carry numbers (4i - 215, 3w - 250) and find an 18-19* utility iron (U505, T200) fills the gap perfectly at 230 carry. Hybrid or wood options were great from the fairway, but felt useless off the tee because I didn’t trust covering the ball and flighting it down. Felt like it would shoot off the top of the face. 
 

Instead, the utility iron is a great tee club and the newer models are rocket launchers from the deck, no trouble with height or spin unless you’re in a shaft that’s just too stiff or have some unique delivery conditions. 
 

At your speed, I’d guess you don’t struggle with height, so the iron feels like a far more versatile club. Cheers!

[poor_putting]

49 minutes ago, AgentM21 said:

Yeah I went to all of the shops in town today and unfortunately I don't have any of the good box stores like Golf Galaxy and PGA SS that carry everything. So they only had the standard little fitting carts with the basic 3 wood head and said "just extrapolate your distances down from that" which is no help. Plus they had nothing TD.

 

When you hit a 3 wood do you hit a lower missile or do you get it up in the air pretty high? Just asking because if you high it would make sense that you send a 7w to the moon with spin. I tend to hit my 3 wood unconventionally low and only really overspin it when I hit down on it like an iron swing.

So I have the OG Paradym strong 3 wood, 13.5* I think. 
 

Off the deck, GCQuad says 90-95 feet but that’s just stock ball aero. Not sure real world numbers with the ball I actually play. Off tee GCQ says 110+/- a few. 
 

Club delivery is neutral and angle of attack about 1.5* down. About 110 for swing speed with it. Oh and ball speed in low-mid 160’s
 

hopefully that helps a little, if you want any more info, I’ll give whatever I know off the top of my head. If I don’t know, I can hop out to the sim and get it for you. 
 

 

[hammergolf]

4 hours ago, AgentM21 said:

I can't hit hybrids. I've hit a lot of them, practiced a lot with them, and no matter what I always have some good shots but a lot of hard left misses that I don't with any other club.

 

I'm thinking 5 wood, 7 wood, Heavenwood, or an Apex UW 19 or 21 degree. If I went with a wood is a low spin version like a triple diamond or LST worth going for? My driver is a low spin and that helped a lot, but my 3 wood is not and that doesn't seem to hurt me other than the occasional balloon shot. A higher lofted wood would generate more spin though I assume so it may be a larger worry.

Swing speed with driver is about 117mph.

 

The below stats are at my local TopTracer range. 10 shot averages after warming up.

 

Flat Carry:

 

Total Distance:

If you’re wanting lower spin go with the Apex UW. It’s more fade biased than a hybrid and lower spin than a fwy wood.

[Dewdman42]

Last night I just bought a 5W to fill the gap between 4h and Driver.  I don't have room in my bag for a 3W.  The 5W in question can fly 235 and I hit my driver 250+, so that is actually better then a 3w for me.  And I found it much easier to hit directly off the mat, which means I might actually be able to try some of those 225-230 approach shots with it...knock on wood.  I hit 4h about 215-220 for reference.

 

I got the TaylorMade qi 5W.  It was great, and I use TaylorMade drivers since forever, so I'm just used to that feel.  I plan to adjust the loft one degree stronger on the 5W.

[Ben B]

With the right shaft the UW (19 or 21) is a force to be reckon with. 

[AgentM21]

9 minutes ago, Ben B said:

With the right shaft the UW (19 or 21) is a force to be reckon with. 

Does it swing more like a hybrid or a FW?

[Ben B]

5 minutes ago, AgentM21 said:

Does it swing more like a hybrid or a FW?

Honestly, I feel like it swings more like a utility iron which is why I like mine so much. But I also have it set up that way too. From there I go in my  Cobra. LTDx LS 5 wood turned down to 16.5*.

 

With the UW, I can draw or fade it with ease. And I hit it plenty high enough to hold most greens, though the 21* would be even better at that. 

[halfsumo]

Last year I had a 21* uw that I hit some phenomenal shots with….so of course I sold it 😂. The 19* went way too far for my gapping but hit some great ones with that, too 🤔.

[02bluesuperroo]

The UW flies high enough that it will hold on receptive greens but low spin enough that if it lands on a firm fairway it's going to roll 30-40 yards.  I'm seriously loving the thing.

[hook_or_slice]

For your swing speed and distance I think a 5 wood is the best choice. I would think a 7 wood might spin too much.

 

And depending on the courses you play most likely there are hole where a 3 wood off the tee is still too much club.

[LCP]

5 wood. If you go with a driving iron, you'll probably find you don't hit it high enough off the deck to be of any use going for it on a par 5 unless it's a roll-it-up-there approach.

[Joesti]

My numbers for 3 wood and 4 iron are bang on what yours are. You may want to get on a trackman or gc quad tho to verify  swing speed with them as my driver ss is a good 10mph less than yours. I have filled that spot with a taylormade p790 3 iron that I put a hzrdus smoke black 6.0 80g hybrid shaft into (I call it Frankenstein). I use it mostly off of the tee and it’s a weapon. I carry it around 230 yards and if i turn it over some it will roll for days. I have had it go 260 after roll out many of times. Its always fun pulling up to your 3 iron tee shot right next to your buddies driver😄

Edited May 12 by Joesti

[dmeeksDC]

17 hours ago, tomdabomb said:

2/3 iron if your local course demands it, but also its fun. I play a 2 iron, but I also live in Scotland where we have harsh winds.

 

27 minutes ago, Joesti said:

I have filled that spot with a taylormade p790 3 iron that I put a hzrdus smoke black 6.0 80g hybrid shaft into (I call it Frankenstein). I use it mostly off of the tee and it’s a weapon. I carry it around 230 yards and if i turn it over some it will roll for days. I have had it go 260 after roll out many of times. Its always fun pulling up to your 3 iron tee shot right next to your buddies driver😄

This is the direction I am going in. At the OP’s speed it is worth considering. I put a p770 4 iron (22.5) in the bag and it got me thinking because it is so easy to hit. I like it better than a hybrid or a wood. I feel like it is easier to hit to a flag. I look forward to hitting it which is never the case with a hybrid. It’s a big difference on windy days, which we have a lot of. 
 

Don’t like woods, hybrids or utility irons when aiming at a flag. Don’t like utility irons off turf. Want a forgiving set iron for that if at all possible. Some of these irons are as easy to launch as hybrids. 
 

So now am eyeing a p790 3 iron to take the place of a 7 wood. Low and deep CG (see Maltby) without a fat sole. Am mulling graphite vs lite steel shaft. I have C Taper Lite in my 4 iron, may go to KBS Max 85 in the 3 iron or the graphite version. Interested in @Joesti’s setup. 
 

I think it depends on what shot you are looking for. I want a club that is one club longer than my 4 iron to hit to a green. If I wanted something to go a general distance between my 5 wood and 4 iron, might go with a UW. But that will likely be more than a club longer than my 4 iron. I am now leaning toward a driver/5 wood/3 iron as my long game setup. When I found myself avoiding hitting the hybrid to a green because I can’t count on it, it’s time to do something different. 

[isgerrior]

I have almost identical distances to you and I rock the 21 degree uw.  It slots perfectly in that spot.  I play mizuno jpx923 irons, and a cobra 3 wood. 

[Adam B]

17 hours ago, 02bluesuperroo said:

The UW flies high enough that it will hold on receptive greens but low spin enough that if it lands on a firm fairway it's going to roll 30-40 yards.  I'm seriously loving the thing.

I’m no expert ball striker but I find the 19* super easy to work both ways so it is able to span a much larger gap than any other club in the bag. 

[AgentM21]

So I have ordered an Apex UW 21* in the Hzrdus gen 4 black 70 shaft. I will update with my experience when I have played it some!

[CTG77]

I'm waiting for a (BST purchased) P790 UDI 2 iron and an X100 shaft to arrive Wednesday so I can build those up and see how they gap in between my 4 iron and 3W.

[Rosco1216]

It completely depends on what purpose you need it for more so than just filling the gap. If you need something to hold greens on par 5’s, most would gravitate toward 5 or 7w. 

[Pepperturbo]

I can hit hybrids, just don't like looking at the ugly things behind my ball, same is true with 7 or 9 wds; they just appear cockeyed.  Anyway, I have 3wd then 17' 2i, and 20' 3i then 23' 4i. 

 

I prefer long irons over woods or hybrids because I get my jollies from striking long irons well.   Yesterday, off a 379yd Par 4, downhill uphill, hit marginal 2 iron off the tee, a bit yanked into left rough 5', about 215yds, then using 4i needed full carry uphill +2 clubs, to pin high, easy par. 

 

What felt damn good was that 4i out of the rough, reaching pin high.  There's no drama hitting a hybrid.  I don't hit the ball as far as a few younger friends with jacked lofts and out drive me by 20-30yds, but they can still be beat by the ole man, by five strokes.  More jollies, and why I still hit the gym, and love this game. 😛

 

Edited May 13 by Pepperturbo

[Joesti]

On 5/12/2024 at 9:50 AM, dmeeksDC said:

 

This is the direction I am going in. At the OP’s speed it is worth considering. I put a p770 4 iron (22.5) in the bag and it got me thinking because it is so easy to hit. I like it better than a hybrid or a wood. I feel like it is easier to hit to a flag. I look forward to hitting it which is never the case with a hybrid. It’s a big difference on windy days, which we have a lot of. 
 

Don’t like woods, hybrids or utility irons when aiming at a flag. Don’t like utility irons off turf. Want a forgiving set iron for that if at all possible. Some of these irons are as easy to launch as hybrids. 
 

So now am eyeing a p790 3 iron to take the place of a 7 wood. Low and deep CG (see Maltby) without a fat sole. Am mulling graphite vs lite steel shaft. I have C Taper Lite in my 4 iron, may go to KBS Max 85 in the 3 iron or the graphite version. Interested in @Joesti’s setup. 
 

I think it depends on what shot you are looking for. I want a club that is one club longer than my 4 iron to hit to a green. If I wanted something to go a general distance between my 5 wood and 4 iron, might go with a UW. But that will likely be more than a club longer than my 4 iron. I am now leaning toward a driver/5 wood/3 iron as my long game setup. When I found myself avoiding hitting the hybrid to a green because I can’t count on it, it’s time to do something different. 

Full transparency it’s basically a tee club. It’s fantastic off the tee but I won’t hit it out of rough or at a pin. Flight is low off the turf probably like 70-80ft peak. But still it’s so dang good off the tee. Just today one of my best tee shots was with it. Hardest hole on the 18. Par 4 through the woods slight dog leg left. 420 yards to the pin. There is a creek about 265 out the goes right to left and splits the fairway. Can’t hit driver unless you are confident you can carry it 300 through the woods to a tight fairway. I hit the 3 iron with a 10-20 yard draw. Ended up about 15 yards back from the creek. Smooth 7 iron in for a par on a hole that I would typically be happy to bogey.