Stealth 3HL fairway wood - what a surprise!

[MWLEFTY]

I recently got fit for new irons and as my distances moved forwards I no longer needed a 4 iron. I’ve been playing with 13 clubs whilst considering and analysing where any gaps are. 

After some heavy data analysis going over my notes from rounds through the year and seeing the true carry numbers of my 5 wood on various Trackman visits, I figured the best club I could add in was a 3 wood. 

I go driver, 5 wood, hybrid. I’ve never really found a 3 wood that clicked for me and in my Ping 5 wood fitting, I carried the 5 wood further than the equivalent 3 wood as strike and launch conditions were just way better due to improved strike. I used to deloft the crap out of everything but I don’t do that very much at all now. I expected hybrid to maybe be a weak link but I actually carry my hybrid a lot further than I thought I did and it gaps beautifully with the 5 iron. My wedge play is versatile so short of adding a 64° for giggles, the biggest yardage gap was actually between the driver and the 5 wood. 

What’s more, in analysing my rounds, I am not quite getting to some Par 5s in two that I feel I could with a little more fire power - and there’s a funny dogleg on my home course where driver is suicidal and 5 wood has to be pure to open up the green  

I looked at a few fairway woods and as a former Taylormade M6 player, I tried the Stealth Plus and Stealth as the previous generation clubs are a lot cheaper now and they meet my eye. Stealth Plus was a rocket blaster but it killed me on toe strikes. Lost golf ball territory. The standard Stealth was so forgiving. Like, way more forgiving than I thought it would be. I got on well with the Smoke Red RDX X Stiff of the stock options but launch was a smidge low hit off the deck with total distance a bit too smoky! 

We’ve a left handed specialist retailer here in the UK and often they sell their ex demos on eBay. You have to be quick, but it’s worth paying attention. I opened up the app and there it was. A Stealth HL with the exact shaft that I gelled with most. Ex demo. Less than half the RRP.

I pulled the trigger faster than a teenager getting his first reach around. The added loft makes it even more forgiving and it’s solved my mental block towards 3 woods. Launch conditions match what I like seeing in my 5 wood but distance is obviously longer due to less spin. 
 

We’re in a honeymoon period now, but it ticks the boxes. Interestingly given it’s a much taller face than my G425 5 Wood, it looks and feels like a mini driver. So yeah, if you haven’t looked at one - do so. Don’t sleep on the HL. (They should’ve called it a 4 wood)  

 

[Micah T]

My stealth 5 wood goes 15 yards past my ping 3 wood: stealth fairway woods are  just rocket launchers!

[MWLEFTY]

The HL impressed me as the landing angle was retained vs 5 wood. That’s a big contributor to the dispersion tightness. Enough backspin to mute side spin is a powerful thing with a fairway wood, even more so when the ball speed is so high the additional spin doesn’t kill distance. 

[G56788]

I went HL in my 3 wood as well (although it’s a Callaway Rogue Max). I hit it every bit as far as my old 3 wood, but with a higher trajectory and more forgiveness. Definitely a club more people should consider. 

[Grand Stranded]

Agree 100% about the Stealth 3HL. I played an M2 version for 6 years then wandered into the wilderness looking at various 3&5 wood combos, including the G425. 
The 16.5* Stealth is as long or longer and flies higher than the 425 3W. Pairing the 3HL up with a matching Stealth 7W and 5H has simplified my “headcover game” and my scores have been the better for it.

I still play the G425 5W with the matching 4&5 hybrids in a spare bag when I’m up on Long Island, but that Ping 3W is collecting dust.