Anyone completely ditched fairway woods in their bags?

[jbsap]

As the title would suggest, I am toying with the idea of ditching my 3 wood and adding an additional long iron.  Distance is one of my strengths, and I play my 3 hybrid 19.5 deg. to 240 carry.  My next iron is a P770 4 iron that I play to about 210 carry.  I am horrendous with my fairway wood, but when it does stay remotely straight it is a 270 club and is rarely used for one reason or another.  Thinking about getting a p790 3 iron and adjusting my hybrid to 18 degrees in the hopes of filling that 225 range and having the hybrid jump a few more yards.

Anyone else done something similar?  My gapping towards the bottom of the bag is pretty good so an additional wedge wouldn't help me.  

[GolfSpy_APH]

@russtopherbdid prior to his Mizuno Long game test. 

I'm sure there are others as well, but my 3 wood is a key Club so that won't be me anytime soon.

[Mavrik]

I did. Sold the 3w and added a 2 hybrid. A lot easier for me to hit it out of the fairway and stays lower if I'm trying to punch out under trees.

[beerbellybbq]

I have been so sporadic with my driver that I have pretty much just left it in the bag and tee off with my 3 wood.  I've also been hitting it pretty good of the deck when I have a terrible drive.  I can't hit a long iron nearly as consistently. 

[russtopherb]

3 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

@russtopherbdid prior to his Mizuno Long game test. 

I'm sure there are others as well, but my 3 wood is a key Club so that won't be me anytime soon.

Yep, I went from driver to Hy-Wood (18*) then onto a 25* 5 hybrid. I found that fairway simply wasn't a club I was using often, however unlike the OP distance is NOT a strength LOL! It was more consistency than anything else (or lack thereof). Thankfully more work, a better feel for course management, and a few lessons had me wanting to put a fairway back in the bag which happened thanks to the Mizuno Long Game test. So we'll see if newer tech and a fitting help out on the fairway wood front. But when I pulled it out initially, I honestly didn't miss it at all. 

[Hasty]

I love my 3 wood, probably my go to comfort club when things start going wrong. I will hit that baby off the tee box when the driver isnt working also, but I know a ton of people that hate their woods and ditch them for a long iron so if that helps with the comfort level of your game, I would say go for it.

[Josh Parker]

Years ago when I was playing to a single digit HC I didn't play any woods including driver. Couldn't hit one to save my life. Played a strong 2 iron.  

These days I carry a 3 wood but it comes out maybe once a round. I also cut it down an inch that has helped with control.

[JAXON DE VILLAIN]

I've never had any luck with my 3 wood, and trying to hit it off the deck is a real nightmare.  So, I've just added a second hybrid into the bag knowing that it might not go as far, but at least it will stay in the fairway. 

[Bradka13]

I go back and forth between a 3W and 2 Hybrid.  I hit the hybrid almost as far but can hit it a bit more consistently it seems.

 

[Kevin fox]

Absolutely not. I have ditched those extremely hard to use hybrids. 

[WillRowland]

I have NEVER been able to hit fairway woods off the deck.  So I added wedges to fill the empty slots from pulling the fairway woods.  UNTILL this month!!!  Went through a fitting with Club Champion and they set me up with a Great Big Bertha5 wood.  I love it.  I hit it 175 yards at 74 YOA.

For the member that previously said that he used the fairway wood for punching out from the trees;  I often used the driver for punching out 40 or more yards 

[TJ Hall]

Would only use a 3W growing up and then switched to only using a driver and never hitting a 3W

After updating my 3W, it is now a weapon and feel very comfortable with it

[RickyBobby_PR]

Nope. Love a 4w or 5w with longer a 3w shaft.

 

[DRLEONARD58]

I love finding these posts. I have always had a “traditional” bag setup with Driver, 3W and a 5/7W (current setup has a 7W).

I have been looking at replacing my irons and stopping that setup at a 5i and picking up a 4 utility iron for top of the bag and supplementing the fairway woods.

When I go to replace my fairway woods, I am exploring the idea of gaming Driver + 3HL/4W and maybe a 2 utility iron.

I really enjoy the possibilities!


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[Slight shank]

Interesting thread. I’m very interested in going to a 19 degree hybrid. 3 wood is gone and I have a 22 degree hybrid I don’t like that much plus 5 wood. I want to drop those two and replace with a money club

[TylorJudd]

7 hours ago, jbsap said:

As the title would suggest, I am toying with the idea of ditching my 3 wood and adding an additional long iron.  Distance is one of my strengths, and I play my 3 hybrid 19.5 deg. to 240 carry.  My next iron is a P770 4 iron that I play to about 210 carry.  I am horrendous with my fairway wood, but when it does stay remotely straight it is a 270 club and is rarely used for one reason or another.  Thinking about getting a p790 3 iron and adjusting my hybrid to 18 degrees in the hopes of filling that 225 range and having the hybrid jump a few more yards.

Anyone else done something similar?  My gapping towards the bottom of the bag is pretty good so an additional wedge wouldn't help me.  

I went 16 years without a fairway wood. Literally just put it back in my bag in May. Used a 22 degree hybrid only then a 6 iron. Like you, distance is a strong suit of mine. Got down to a 6 index doing that but having a few more clubs made me more versatile. I upgraded this year before the fairway wood and had both an 18 and 22 degree hybrid. That honestly could have sufficed fine too, my 18 goes ~265. I never found gapping to be a massive issue, just some instances where having a couple more clubs would have been nice

[JerryB]

I'm always fascinated by the fact that most of the people I play with don't use woods at all.  Many go with driver, then irons.  I've thought about getting rid of 3 wood on occasion, but mostly because the top of my bag starts to bunch up a bit, distance-wise.  Don't really know what I would replace it with.  Can't hit longer irons to save my life.

[RickyBobby_PR]

8 hours ago, JerryB said:

I'm always fascinated by the fact that most of the people I play with don't use woods at all.  Many go with driver, then irons.  I've thought about getting rid of 3 wood on occasion, but mostly because the top of my bag starts to bunch up a bit, distance-wise.  Don't really know what I would replace it with.  Can't hit longer irons to save my life.

I can go multiple rounds without hitting a fw if I wanted to. At most I hit it twice a round. I rarely hit it off the tee anymore.

3w off the deck is hard for many amateurs because if their swing faults and/or lack of speed to effectively get the ball in the air. A higher lofted would is a much better option and would go as far if not farther than their 3w because of the added loft and ability to get it in the air

[RockerFCC]

I was there last week, I just can't hit the darn thing, my 3 Hybrid gets me the same distance. But at my lesson the next day my instructor told me I am being an idiot LOL, and he was going to get me smacking that thing better, so we will see 

[CrazyGolfNut]

I am a short hitting and really like fairway woods.  I never use my 3 wood in the fairway.  Instead, the 3 wood is used off the tee for tight holes and also chipping out from trees which can go as much as 150 yards.  My 5 wood is the main fairway wood off the fairway and sometimes the rough.  The 7 wood is used in the rough, fairway and tee box when shorter distance is the main factor. I wish I had ordered a 7 wood to match my 3 & 5 when I bought them. Next time I will. 

[Nigel P]

I was in exactly the same situation at the start of the year, as I really didn’t trust my 3 wood to go at the target. That was until I tried a Ventus Red velocore shaft. These babies are so consistent I almost feel more confident with it than my hybrid now. When getting fitted, there was a marked difference in playability between the different weights - but give them a go, so stable!!!

[Rene2.5RS]

I'm with you on this. I sold my 3w last year on the course, couldn't make it work on course, not off the tee, not off the deck, rarely.

My 3H is my go to club, 100% confidence with it in all situations. I have considered getting the matching 2H to take the gap from driver to 3H

[MarvChamp]

No...In fact, I wanted to add it but never got on with a 3 Fairway. I added a Cobra Fly-Z adj. 5-7 Fairway, dropped my Mizuno 3HY and added a Tour Edge C522 6HY. At age 77, I needed the forgiveness and distances. Best, -Marv

[Bradka13]

3 minutes ago, Rene2.5RS said:

I'm with you on this. I sold my 3w last year on the course, couldn't make it work on course, not off the tee, not off the deck, rarely.

My 3H is my go to club, 100% confidence with it in all situations. I have considered getting the matching 2H to take the gap from driver to 3H

What club would you give up to add the 2H?

[billybogey]

Got to hit my 3W & hope it goes 200yds. & in the Middle!! Happens usually!!

[Bulldog]

I just switched my 4 wood to a 2 hybrid and replaced a 7 wood with a 4 hybrid. I’m more confident hitting hybrids than fairway woods and, for me, the hybrids have less dispersion. Long irons are definitely not an option for my ability. 
 

[MIGregB]

23 hours ago, jbsap said:

As the title would suggest, I am toying with the idea of ditching my 3 wood and adding an additional long iron.  Distance is one of my strengths, and I play my 3 hybrid 19.5 deg. to 240 carry.  My next iron is a P770 4 iron that I play to about 210 carry.  I am horrendous with my fairway wood, but when it does stay remotely straight it is a 270 club and is rarely used for one reason or another.  Thinking about getting a p790 3 iron and adjusting my hybrid to 18 degrees in the hopes of filling that 225 range and having the hybrid jump a few more yards.

Anyone else done something similar?  My gapping towards the bottom of the bag is pretty good so an additional wedge wouldn't help me.  

Well, at your swing speed your needs are very different from mine. But from what I understand from a recent article about the proliferation of 7 woods on tour (for the life of me, I can't remember whether it was a MGS, Golf Digest or Golf Mag article... sorry), if your goal/need is to hit greens from a distance, then a fairway wood is a far better choice than either a long iron or a hybrid. Neither of those impart enough spin, at least at an amateur level, to stop on a green; a fairway wood does. The article goes on to say that most struggle with the 3 wood, but 5/7 woods are easier to hit, provide substantially better height (for a steeper decent angle) and spin more for stopping power. They said that Pro's often shorten the shaft length on their 7 wood for gapping purposes.

They surprisingly said that many (alluded to most) people struggle hitting hybrids. I've always struggled with that myself and have given away 3 different hybrids that frustrated the crap out of me. But my 7 wood, in particular, is relatively easy. 

Oh! And you may notice that I also carry a 4 iron hybrid. I generally use that for hitting into the wind instead of my 7 wood, but I still don't hit it as well.

[ChiefMikeOfficer]

23 hours ago, jbsap said:

As the title would suggest, I am toying with the idea of ditching my 3 wood and adding an additional long iron.  Distance is one of my strengths, and I play my 3 hybrid 19.5 deg. to 240 carry.  My next iron is a P770 4 iron that I play to about 210 carry.  I am horrendous with my fairway wood, but when it does stay remotely straight it is a 270 club and is rarely used for one reason or another.  Thinking about getting a p790 3 iron and adjusting my hybrid to 18 degrees in the hopes of filling that 225 range and having the hybrid jump a few more yards.

Anyone else done something similar?  My gapping towards the bottom of the bag is pretty good so an additional wedge wouldn't help me.  

I ditched it for a while -- had no confidence in the 3w, felt like I topped it 60% of the time. So, I swapped out my 15* 3w for a 16* 1-Utility (specifically the Titleist U505 -- also considered the T200 2i, which is slightly more lofted and smaller profile, but decided to go bigger for the longest iron). Lost a little distance, but gained consistency and options off the tee. It worked well for a while, but decided I wanted a FW back, and made a couple minor swing (and mental) tweaks when buying a new Stealth2 3w that I cranked down a bit -- to make room for both, I actually removed a wedge from the bag(changing up my wedge lofts) -- actually love the new setup, and I think it's made short game easier because I have fewer options (haven't found a shot that I could hit with the 60 but not the 58, and it's easier for me to pick the best option between 54-58 than it was between 52-56-60). 

[cst2112]

I too struggle off and on with my 3 wood.  Currently, I've switched to using 3 and 4 hybrids as they are easier to hit for me and tend to be more forgiving.    I'd rather be 20 - 30 yards shorter but on target then chucking the shot or fading it into the rough.   

[JudgeSmails]

I don't carry any fairway woods

I just hit hybrids so much better, and my callaway super hybrid goes as far, if not farther than my best hits w/ a 5 wood