The elusive Fairway Wood Unicorn

[heavygolffeels]

Cobra F6 Baffler. Shorter than your average 4-5 wood. A little smaller and heavier head. Rails are fantastic. This is the ultimate hitting off the deck fairway wood. Cobra has newer iterations with the tour models, but nothing is quite like the F6 Baffler. Wish they made it in a 7 wood as well. If you have not gotten along with fairway woods before, this is your ticket. I was well known for detesting fairway woods and carrying 2 or 3 hybrids until I found this gem. 

 

 

[Kocher Clamp]

My now favorite 3 wood is my Callaway Fusion… The Velocity Slot were originally made by Wilson staff but Adams-stole it first then TaylorMade.

[Puttingmatt]

Currently playing the TEE EXS Pro 3 and 5 woods. Extremely versatile woods from fairway and the tee. Compact and full of punch, best describes these woods.

Always been a decent fairway player with woods. Tour Edge woods just flat out perform. 

[Scraping It Around]

I'm in love with the M5 3 wood. It's so long that I shortened the shaft (playing at 42.5) and hotmelted the bejeezus out of it and now it feels like a 7 wood off of the deck.

[myherobobhope]

My unicorn is a 2 wood. Not an original one, but an honest to god 2 wood… 300 cc, 12-13 degree… max COR.

 

[Bosox04]

I need a 3 wood that is good off the tee. I have an Epic Flash 3 wood, and I hit it pretty well off the ground, but I have trouble hitting it off the tee. I know that's the opposite problem that most have, but that is the issue I have with my 3 wood.

[Kenny B]

48 minutes ago, Bosox04 said:

I need a 3 wood that is good off the tee. I have an Epic Flash 3 wood, and I hit it pretty well off the ground, but I have trouble hitting it off the tee. I know that's the opposite problem that most have, but that is the issue I have with my 3 wood.

Just curious.  If you hit your 3W "pretty well off the ground" and have to hit your 3W as a tee shot, why use a tee when you have trouble hitting it off the tee?  You should have, or can create, a perfect lie on the tee box without a tee.

BTW, my wife has the same issue.  LPGA player Laura Davies never used a tee, even for her driver.  She created an indentation in the ground and placed the ball on the resulting slight upslope.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

My unicorn is my super hybrid right now. My club I let get away way a TM aeroburner  5w. I felt I could swing that like an iron and get it to go 230-250 when ever. Definitely farther than the three would of that which I had. Never got along with the EF SZ 3w I had so sold it to get the super hybrid. I may go back to FWs but who knows. Great thread for discussion!

[Bosox04]

1 hour ago, Kenny B said:

Just curious.  If you hit your 3W "pretty well off the ground" and have to hit your 3W as a tee shot, why use a tee when you have trouble hitting it off the tee?  You should have, or can create, a perfect lie on the tee box without a tee.

BTW, my wife has the same issue.  LPGA player Laura Davies never used a tee, even for her driver.  She created an indentation in the ground and placed the ball on the resulting slight upslope.

I haven't had the nerve to try.

[MadMex]

If remember to stay behind the ball, my Callaway XR-16 3 wood and 5 wood are point, shoot and stay in the fairway,,,, rather than shoot and pray they stay in the same zip code..

Have tried every new PING, Callaway and TaylorMade release since 2016,,,,, not enough difference or improvement to warrant the extra pesos,,,,

[FmrCaddie13]

Go back to the Tour Edge CBX119 with a stiffer shaft. There is a reason so many Champions Tour players game the FWs and hybrids. I had the original CBX 15° with a HZRDUS Yellow 6.0. Miss was a hook when I stepped on it but other than that was perfect. Upgraded to the CBX T3 with a Paderson Ballistic TP x-flex. I can't imagine a club out there that is more reliable in all situations calling for a 3w.

[Hoyoymac]

The top end of my bag is still a work in progress.  As I mentioned in the original post I’ve been struggling to find the elusive Fairway wood unicorn.   
 

Here is where I’m at for now. The Tour Edge C721 25 degree hybrid with the KBS TGI 80g shaft is my new 200-205 yard club and has a medium trajectory with a draw.

The Tour Edge XCG7 28 degree hybrid is my 175 yard club and flies very high and does not draw.  

The Tour Edge XCG7 21 degree 7 wood is very good off the fairway from 215-220 yards and if I miss it tends to be right which is unusual for me.

The Tour Edge EXS Ti 21 degree 4 utility club is a very handy rescue club and is very easy to hit low running shots 200 yards.  Addictively easy.  A fun club.  I have found it to be difficult to hit short because the face is so hot.  Great unless I have a long carry.  For that reason I keep it in reserve for windy days and for playing specific courses.

The Taylormade SIM titanium 19 degree 5 wood with the Diamana limited 75g stiff shaft is in my bag.  Great off the tee. Ok off the fairway.  Have it set to 17.5 degrees and it performs well for the one or two shots a round that I use it.  Not crazy about the sound or feel though.

Tied my best round ever a couple of weeks ago playing with our Men’s group. Shot a 68 with 8 birdies.  A personal best.  Decided to move back a set of tees after getting a bunch of crap from everyone.  Will play the back tees until the end of the year as we are only allowed to switch tees twice a year.

As a result of the switch I will probably be using my mid irons and hybrids a lot more.  Will hopefully help my game and force me to develop my approach game a bit.  

Heading north to Wisconsin for a month and look forward to a change of scenery and some different courses to play.

 

[release]

3 wood off the deck, many had declared this is the most difficult stick in the bag to hit well.

I can't say that I had experienced all the options of 3 woods out there but I certainly had my share of the chasing after the elusive unicorn.  I have come to the conclusion ( works for me , but might not be for you ) that the issue is two folds.

One is the depth of the 3 wood face.  The deeper the face, the easier to get off the tee but needs more swing speed to get it airborne off the deck.  The second and most important reason behind why the 3 wood is the most difficult golf club to hit well is, the length of the 3 wood.

In search of longer distance, the 3 wood had been getting longer just like the driver and the irons.  We just forgot that the 3 wood is the longest golf club to hit off the turf, except those strong golfers who could deck a driver ( before they moved the sweet spot higher than the middle of the driver face with bulky shape ).

The reason why most golfers found the4 /5 woods more friendly to use off the turf is because the 4/5 woods are shorter.  The traditional 3 wood was 41 1/2 " to 42 1/2" not that long ago.  Today, the 43" is most popular length for the 3 woods, almost like a standard length for all the OEM.  The only reason it didn't go longer was somehow the OEM determined the 43" will be the limit for the average golfers to use more proficiently.

I have brought all my 3 woods down to 42"-42 1/2" over the years and didn't see any real lost in distance.  Also have gone back to a heavier weight of shafts 85-105 gm. depending on the head weight.  The older fairway woods have heavier head weight to match with a heavier shaft weight for better balance.

No, I don't have a "modern" 3 wood younger than 7-8 years from the current year.  Never thrust the super light weight construction heads to be played off the turf.  Don't feel like changing the fairway woods every few years from equipment failure.   Plus the solid contact will more than off-set the "spring like effect on the face ".

IMHO, the modern sticks are way too lengthy for the average golfers.  I would definitely try a shorter 3 wood in length, before giving up on it. 

 

Edited July 8, 2021 by release

[RI_Redneck]

On 6/28/2021 at 9:33 AM, Kenny B said:

Just curious.  If you hit your 3W "pretty well off the ground" and have to hit your 3W as a tee shot, why use a tee when you have trouble hitting it off the tee?  You should have, or can create, a perfect lie on the tee box without a tee.

BTW, my wife has the same issue.  LPGA player Laura Davies never used a tee, even for her driver.  She created an indentation in the ground and placed the ball on the resulting slight upslope.

I learned to play FWs this way and have never changed. I simply bump the turf up about 1/8" on the teeing area and place the ball on that. I've never hit a FW off a tee my whole life. I also have never had a problem hitting any FW I tried. Some of the things I've found that make playing a FW easier are:

Heavier shafts - I like a FW shaft to be at least 10-20g heavier than my driver shaft. I play most of my clubs at around D6 and like 80-90g shafts for my FWs.

Open (measured) Face angle - I like to play my FWs with the same swing as my mid and long irons. However, FWs have a MUCH wider sole than irons. A FW with an open FA gives you a much smaller part of the sole contacting the ground when the club is squared up to the ball. This makes it much easier to swing down through the ball and let the loft do the work. I always have a shallow divot after a FW shot.

Proper loft - I find it best to forget the whole 3w, 4w, etc naming and just find the lofts that work best for you. If 16.5 is the lowest you can get good trajectory with, then don't try going any lower. Your swing should designate the loft you use on your FWs.

Practice - Someone mentioned several posts back about practicing your FWs. DO IT and don't use a tee. Hit them off the deck like they are designed to be hit. The more you practice, the more confidence you will have with them.

BT

[Play18]

I finally received my fitted TSi2 16.5° and 21° fairway metals with GD Tour AD DI 7 and Fairways Hit improved immediately.  The 21° FW launches higher than the TSi2 21° or 24° Hybrids and straighter than my old 915F or 915H clubs.  I think more players should consider getting a higher lofted FW club.

[Hoyoymac]

Well I sold the Tour Edge Exotics CBX 119 with the Evenflow blue 5.5 shaft to a friend and golfing buddy who had lost confidence in his Cobra 3 wood and he is really getting good results with the 4 wood.  Much more height, easier to launch and better carry distance.  He has a lot more confidence with the new club.  How do I know?  I play with him a lot and I see him using it frequently now every round whereas the older Cobra he would only reluctantly use.

A couple weeks ago I put a new set of irons in the bag to replace the Titleist AP3s after about 700 rounds played with them.  The new ones are forged cavity back Corey Paul irons with KBS $-Taper 120g stiff Black finish shafts, BB&F ferrules and Superstroke Traxion wrap Black midsize grips.  Vey classy looking.  Great feel and fairly forgiving.  Just using the 6-PW for now.

So far so good, the stiffer and heavier shafts have really toned down my draw.  The swingweight is also higher so I have a better awareness of where the club head is.  The irons have weaker lofts though so my 9 iron now has similar loft to my old pitching wedge.  Have had to strengthen the lofts on my wedges by a couple degrees to fill the gaps.  Playing 50, 54 & 58 degree Corey Paul wedges now instead of 52, 56, 60.

The Taylormade SIM 5 wood, Tour Edge XCG7 7 wood, Tour Edge C721 5 hybrid and XCG7 6 hybrid round out the bag. 

Have booked a lesson with an elite instructor about an hour way from my house to discuss my game and what steps to take to get down to scratch.

 

[BostonSal]

The technical superiority of modern fairway woods is pretty near undeniable, but other things also remain true.

They're long. 

They're upright. 

They're too light if you shorten them and thus require contrived weighting.

They're not gapped to be used as matching sets.

[You pick one, at most two of them; if you use them all together as a set, they're not gapped wide enough.]

Thus, if you prefer bagging a few lofted woods over hybrids and long irons, you'll probably have to mix and match models to get the gaps that you want.  Not a major problem, usually, but somebody might prefer a matched set.

These considerations are rarely, almost never, in fact, a problem for most players.  

Almost everybody benefits from the new tech.

But while I tend to stay reasonably current with numbered irons and wedges, I have  a hard time giving up old fairway woods that I hit well.  I don't need more length, even as a senior.  I'm playing the forward tees on a course built in 1906.

If the fit metrics--loft, lie, face angle, etc.--are good, I'm reluctant to give them up for admittedly more advanced tech.  If the fairway woods set up ok and are gapped right, I don't really need new ones.

[ I recently bought four, not new, to collect, not play, but I've had second thoughts about that extravagance and they may be back in the pro shop on consignment again. ]

So vintage metals that I can play well work for me.

Titleist PT 17º.    Top Flite Intimidator 400    21, 25º.    Yes, of course there's better stuff available.  

But these fairway woods, sometimes with a Titleist Howitzer driver to keep them company, can get the job done at least as well as I can. 

[Murray06]

I find I smoke my 3 wood at the range, but on the course can be 50/50. Not entirely sure why. 

[PBH3]

8 hours ago, Murray06 said:

I find I smoke my 3 wood at the range, but on the course can be 50/50. Not entirely sure why. 

Mats are very forgiving on fairway woods

[RoverRick]

I struggled with this also, until the Ping G425’s came along. My friends call this the Ping Demo bag because the shear number of them. I have some credit and am considering upgrading my 3 & 5 woods from 410’s to 425’s.  
 

My 3 wood is mostly for off the tee on 2 holes. My 5 wood goes only 6 yards less than the 3 off the deck and way easier to hit, so the 3 wood is for hitting off the tee or punching out of the woods. 

[Micah T]

On 6/28/2021 at 7:33 AM, Kenny B said:

Just curious.  If you hit your 3W "pretty well off the ground" and have to hit your 3W as a tee shot, why use a tee when you have trouble hitting it off the tee?  You should have, or can create, a perfect lie on the tee box without a tee.

BTW, my wife has the same issue.  LPGA player Laura Davies never used a tee, even for her driver.  She created an indentation in the ground and placed the ball on the resulting slight upslope.

This!!! 
Hitting my 3 wood(G410 LST) off a tee just makes it spin more. Noticed a 23 yard disparity off a tee vs off the deck. Once I realized I hit it longer and straighter off the deck, I just started skipping the tee. 

[Hoyoymac]

Generally speaking hitting off of a tee allows for a slightly more upwards attack angle that often results in a higher launch and a little more total yardage than hitting the same club off the ground without a tee.

It is not uncommon for people to find that they hit a 4, 5 or 7 wood the same distance as a 3 wood off the deck because of the additional loft making the ball easier to launch.  The slower their swing speed the more likely this is to happen as the higher lofted clubs add both launch and spin resulting in the ball staying in the air longer and carrying further.  

The 7 wood often has been called an old man’s club or a gentleman’s persuader.  

Golf clubs made for the Japanese Domestic Market and specifically by  XXIO are aimed at the slower swinging men and women that are willing to pay for lighter shafts, lighter grips and lighter clubheads and often come with more loft. 

The other group of people that struggle with lower lofted clubs are people like me that tend to hit down on the ball and deloft their club at impact.

Those golfers with very high swing speeds could need less spin and the lower lofted strong 3 woods with low launching and low spinning shafts might be a better choice. 

I believe that for most amateurs the fairway wood is one of the hardest clubs to get along with because of the variety of swing speeds, swing faults, the length of the golf shaft and the economies of the golf industry.  Also they are clubs that may be used less frequently than other clubs in the bag resulting in less proficiency due to lack of use.

My guess is that the readers of this forum are highly committed, passionate golfers that are much more proficient than the average golfer.  Most golfers do not break 100.  Only about 10% of all golfers even carry a handicap.  The biggest swing fault of the occasional golfer is that they slice the ball.  The swing speed and technique of the average golfer is inadequate to get a 3 wood to launch the ball in the air consistently.

The economics of building fairway woods are challenging. The price to the consumer for a fairway wood is not high enough to put in a high performance shaft for the proficient golfer with higher swing speed.  Most fairway wood shafts are higher torque, low kick point and fairly soft tip section shafts to aid with launch, add spin and help fight a slice.  These kinds of shafts are not that expensive to make.

If you put in a low torque, stiff tip, real deal premium aftermarket shaft in a fairway wood, the total cost to the consumer might be upwards of $600 and would be hard to sell except to the most dedicated golfers willing to pay for the performance they need.

That is why I believe the search for a ready made, off the rack fairway wood is so frustrating for a lot of people and why once you find a fairway wood that works it tends to stay in the bag a long time.  Conversely it is also a club that gets changed out a lot due to lack of performance or lack of confidence.

Good luck to all y’all in your search to find or build the perfect fairway wood Unicorn.

 

[JonMUSC08]

Its taken me quite a while to find a good 3w i like both off the tee and off the turf. Used the TM M4 for a while and it was a rocket off the tee but couldn't hit it real great from the deck. Grabbed a Titleist TS2 off ebay for like $100 and can CRUSH it off the deck but not ideal off the tee. Would prefer off the deck since im consistent with my driver. 

Ideally i should get fit for a 3w and 5w but i havent yet. Really try out a few and get the right shaft in them. 

[Cblade]

For those who can't seem to find the right shaft I would look at Monark Golf. They have off brand graphite shafts of good quality in the $25 to $35 range. Plus older brand name shafts from Talyormade, etc.

For years I couldn't hit any fairway wood consistently so I played a 2 or 3 iron off the tee. However, since I got back into golf I have started building my clubs and have found that I am very particular about my shafts for my woods (I like them a little heavy) as well as the shape of the head and how they set up. 

After researching a lot I decided to try a 7 wood, a 99 Big Bertha and I hit it great. I tried the same model 4 wood but it was a little too small to hit consistently so picked up an off brand 4 wood.

I have also tried various hybrids to replace my 4 iron but I hook them mostly, due to the offset face. For that reason I'm going to build a shortened BB 9 wood so that I keep 15 yard gaps between my 9, 7 and 4. 

[Kocher Clamp]

On 6/15/2021 at 10:59 AM, Grit Golf said:

Lots of Taylormade, yes, but the Taylormades in question are all descendants from Adams - they benefitted from ripping off Adam’s “Velocity Slot”.

There’s a lot of good clubs in the mix here, Adam’s, Exotics, Cobras, Taylormades, Callaways, you just gotta find the one that clicks.
 

I think one of the things people don’t think about with woods enough is lie angle and length. I have a tendency to “sole out” the club at address. If my hands are too high or too low, it can create a chain of events in my takeaway and then downswing that leads to inconsistent contact. I can hit a newer Ping wood (generally low lie angle) well, but only if I pick the heel up a tiny bit and get my hands a bit higher. Different manufacturers have different “standards” for length and lie and I think that explains a decent amount of why some people rave about a specific brand of fairway?

Adam stole the velocity slot from Wilson Staff.

it’s a lot older idea than you think.

[Gavwlee]

On 6/15/2021 at 9:38 AM, M. Parsons said:

My SonarTec 3W is the longest tenured club in my bag, at approx. 11 years.  It was given to me by my brother-in-law, who said it was his favorite club ever, but he stepped in a hole that he didn't see and used this 3W to catch his fall...snapping the shaft in half.  So, all I had to do was put a new shaft in it.  There have been many times that I've thought about upgrading this club, but every time I go to test other 3Ws, they just don't perform as well.  Oh and my brother-in-law had put lead tape on the back, from the middle stretching to the heel, and I've just never removed it.  I've recently thought about going with a more weighted shaft as I feel this one is too light for me now, but I just don't want to mess anything up.

Good luck finding the right one for you!

What model SonarTec do you have? I used to play the GS Tour and loved it. Absolute rocket of the tee and predictable off the fairway. Man I miss that club.

[tehuti]

My unicorn is my Maltby KE4 Tour 4 wood. The only fwy I have been able to reliably hit so far. I also carry a Srixon 7 wood. It launches higher than anything else I have, but I am not as consistent with it.

[fetch29]

I still game an SLDR 3w.  Tried a SIM2 last year and the feel/feedback was incredibly muted in comparison despite keeping the same shaft in both, and sold it/returned to the SLDR after about a month. I love the more compact shape off of the deck, especially relative to some of the newer and often bigger 3 woods.  It is oddly confidence inspiring.