Anyone completely ditched fairway woods in their bags?

[Nellie1]

I have gone in the other direction after years of fairway wood failure. I stopped at a club fitting at a local club and found a 3 wood I could hit with consistency. Now it is my money club on par 5’s and short and narrow par 4’s. I have since added a 5 wood same brand with equal success. 

[Bfoster06]

I got rid of my 3 wood and replaced it with a 5 wood. One of the best decisions I've made in my bag. I can hit my 5 wood consistently off the tee or deck. Past few rounds I have benched my driver and just used 5 wood. It's straight and long enough when the driver is acting up.  I've debated on swapping my 4 hybrid for a 7 wood but not sure yet. 

[Frozen Spy]

Ever thought about a 7 or 5 wood?  These things are remarkably easy to hit and with the adjustability could fill those gaps in your bag.  With the gap you have between your 3 hybrid and 4 iron you might be able to go with a 4 hybrid and narrow that gap, might give you a little more versatility as well.  Just a thought.  I've been toying with the idea but my woods are such a weapon in my bag it's hard to take them out. I carry a 3 and 5 wood.

[BigJerry]

bit late to the party but I saw this forum pop up in my mails. Describes the exact problem I'm having at the moment - hit my 3w once over the weekend which felt like the first time in probably 4 months. Its not because I can't hit it - I'm just having enough success and distance with my driver, hybrid and 4i. I find my 3w to be quite weak into the wind so have considered potentially a driving iron as a swap to help lower the ball flight but haven't mad the move yet.

Driver: Cobra LTD-X Ls - xstiff

3wood - taylormade sim - 15 deg - stiff shaft

hybrid - srixon 19 deg - stiff shaft

irons - mizuno jpx800 right through the bag

[taylorjonasher]

I currently have D, 5W, 4i at the top end after selling my 3W to a buddy this year. I just couldn't hit it very well, and I also struggle with pulling / snap hooking my 5W. However, when I DO hit my 5W flush it's an absolute missile launcher, usually around 250. It only comes on when I have lots of room left and right to play with; I weaken my grip aggressively (the only club in my bag that I do this with) and try to visualize a 45* in to out path to be able to hit it straight. If I forget to do this it's a guaranteed new ball coming out of the pouch! 

I am currently exploring new FW woods and a utility / driving iron; leaning towards TSR's and the U505. Going to get fit as soon as my kids stop getting sick!

[funkyjudge]

5 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

I'm the opposite and I have added more over time.

Me, too. I often carry three fairway "woods" these days.

[Mark.Anderson]

Ultimately I think it comes down to your comfort level in not carrying a 3 wood. With your distance I honestly don’t think you would even need another long iron.
 

I got rid of my 3 wood this off-season and moved to a stealth 2, 3 hybrid that I got fitted for when I got fitted for the new P790s when they launched in September. I’ve only hit simulators since I got the clubs because Indiana golf sucks this time of year, but I’m averaging 260-265y with 3 hybrid, so no real need for a 3 wood in my opinion.

[Zman56]

I struggle with my long irons and love my 3 & 5 woods.  I was fitted for both of them over the last two years.  Both long and straight!  Ping G425 3 wood and Cobra AeroJet 5 Wood.

[Erin B]

Interesting title and topic. I did remove my fairways about 15 years ago, but in the last two years have added hybrids. I am thinking about going back to long irons. I currently do not have a 3 or 5 wood. I do have the mini driver though. 

[Fatshot]

Mine is a SENIOR perspective, as I'm 78 years old.....several years ago, I read a similar discussion on another forum where a guy said in his opinion seniors should carry nothing stronger than a 20 degree fairway wood, b/c their swing speeds usually  aren't fast enough to get a 15* 3 wood up in the air.   I decided to try that approach, and have since gone to carrying a 20, 23, and a 26.  I also have a 25 degree hybrid that bridges the gap between my 26* wood and my 6 iron.   Just my .02 cents worth, but his approach has worked pretty well for me.

[sandwedge59]

Me and fairway woods have been a 35 year plus love / hate relationship with it being mostly hate because for every 10 times i tried to use them from the fairway / rough i would hit them solid 2 maybe 3 times so it was a no brainer to not use them off the grass period however the 3 wood off the tee i would hit solid on average 7 out of 10 which i call acceptable and for the most part it was the reason to keep a fairway wood in the bag but with me at 67 years old i have been moving up to the senior tees and i can get solid / quality ball striking with a hybrid so for the 2024 golf season i will permanently stop using fairway woods and go exclusively with hybrids only , i have more confidence with a hybrid so it is time to make a permanent switch , golf is meant to be a fun experience and i will move in a direction to have fun this year moving forward .

[pwhite150]

I did late this past summer. It started with me trying to prep for a trip to Ireland a couple years ago and I ditched my 7 wood for a 3 driving iron. It's been a fairway finder for me ever since and is a confident club. 

This past fall I looked at my Arches data and hadn't hit my 3 wood since June due to my miss of a high spinny right miss with it, so I went and picked up a 2 driving iron. U505 but bent it to 17 degrees from the 18 to fit the gap between the 3 iron and it. It's been good thus far. 

I know some hit fairway wood better but I'm a better long iron hitter than fairway wood player.  If it works for you it works! 

 

[EnderinAZ]

Pulled the 3, 5, and 7 woods out and replaced them this spring when I was fitted with Ping 2, 3, and 4 hybrids. 

I have to say I really miss my 7 wood. An off the shelf Tour Edge, it is my favorite "oh crap, that is a terrible lie" long club. But, the 4 hybrid does the same thing and I can play it low and straight in a wind. The 7 NEVER went low. 

I had a love hate relationship with my 3w and that depended upon golfer had his hands on the club that day -slow and steady or wired up and excited. Wired up and excited always pushes right with a fade, and tended to show up on the course more often. The 5 wood was just a place holder in the bag. It might get used twice a year., so it came out. I could honestly do the same with the 3 hybrid today.  It really is just a club to put in an empty slot. 

[Byrnzee]

I ditched my 3 wood this past season and opted for a 2-iron and a 3-hybrid at the top of the bag. I couldn't really hit my 3 wood well so I figured might as well get rid of it. As I've become fond of the 2-iron (especially off the tee), I've ditched the 3-hybrid and I am returning to a 3 wood (albeit a new one with a better-fitting shaft) for this upcoming season

[Preeway]

I game a 16.5° 3-wood that I use primarily off the tee when I need something shorter in distance because my driver will reach potential trouble. I will occasionally hit it into par 5s if the situation is right. It is possibly the least played club in my bag but I will guess my 4-iron and 5-iron are also played minimally as well. Just don’t hit a lot of shots over 200 yards that aren’t drives. 

[Julius]

No and wouldn't think to.  I have a 3,5 and 7 wood, and would keep them (I might drop the 3 wood only because my 5 wood also gets very good distance and is slightly more consistent).  I carry one hybrid which is more for taller grass (I play mostly Links courses).  I cannot hit a long iron to save myself, I start with a 5 iron that I usually only use to get out of trouble if I am under a branch or something and need to keep it low but get roll.  My iron use really starts at a 6 iron. I tried irons from 2 to 4 in the bag but I just could not hit them consistently and it was hard to see a distance/consistency/accuracy tradeoff that made sense. 

[vandyland]

I still keep my Sim 2 Max 5 wood and I look at it longingly every now and then. For some reason, I really WANT to be able to play a fairway wood. I am not sure if it is vanity or conformity or just the frustration of not being able to do something golf-related. It is almost like the final level to any swing improvement or change...when I am playing good sustained golf I always pull the 5 wood out...take it to the range...and then hit it like crap. I don't think it is a setup issue, the shaft is known and comfortable to me and I have a 4W as well that I sometimes try to hit and it is similarly bad. Maybe that will be a goal some year is to "hit 5 good shots in a row at the range with a fairway wood". Haha. I don't know what is about them but I cannot get along with them. 

[StrokerAce]

On the contrary!
I've realized after trial and error and missing too many shots that my best chances for lower scores are by starting at a 6 iron.

That leaves me with a
23* hybrid
19* hybrid
16* 4w
14.5* 3w

The fact that the center of gravity can be moved in these makes them more forgiving for me and I don't see anything changing soon.

FWIW: I think the term "fairway wood" is a little misleading. I probably use the 3 and 4 wood more off of the tee than the fairway. I might use them off the fwy once a round if I feel like going for a long par5 without many hazards.

Edited January 8 by StrokerAce

[d0m41n]

I actually just added the wood back to the bag. I couldn't hit it worth anything and I finally got my swing with it now. Now my conundrum is, at the 3 courses I sort of cycle play, I can really only use it on maybe 3-4 holes or replace my Driver to use it more? I have a long iron but I was struggling with it as well but I like the idea of less roll out with the iron. I'm torn.

[Another Steve]

From 1999 a 2012 i played Driver, putter, 2i-pw, 51*, 56*, 60*. In 2013 I pulled the 2i and added the 5w back in. In 2017 I pulled the 3i and added a 3w. 
 

I am long overdue for a new set of irons but will probably keep the 3/5w in the bag as I never had much success with hybrids. There IS a good chance that the current 5w might get replaced since it dates back to the mid 1990’s. 

[Iowa Hacker]

I am down to just one, a 4 wood. Typically, it hides in the bag except for a couple tims a round on par 5's and long par 4's depending on the lie. I started playing with a 3 and 4 Hybrid last year and they became go to clubs that I hit consistently. The 4 wood is kind of a feast or famine club for me.

[Divescribe]

As an older “gentleman” with bad hips and a bad back, my distances are significantly less than the OP. Driver is about 200 so my 3 wood is indispensable. I hit with that club about 180. Next down is a 7 wood (love this baby) at 170. Yes, I know the gapping is off.

it took a while to learn to use the 3 wood but I am not sure a low iron will provide the same results.

[ElmMan]

I don't have your swing speed. I added a 7 wood to my bag. Fairway woods are a key part of my game to make up for my lack of length.

[Dead Solid Bogey]

38 minutes ago, Divescribe said:

As an older “gentleman” with bad hips and a bad back, my distances are significantly less than the OP. Driver is about 200 so my 3 wood is indispensable. I hit with that club about 180. Next down is a 7 wood (love this baby) at 170. Yes, I know the gapping is off.

it took a while to learn to use the 3 wood but I am not sure a low iron will provide the same results.

I am almost with you in distance. I am afraid that the only time I will ever see a 200 yard drive again, will be on mid-August cement like sun baked caliche based fairway, with a 30 mph wind, going downwind. 

[hoppman]

Down to a TSR 4wd for long par 5s, I have, 3, 4, 5 Cobra LTDx hybrids that I seem to hit long and straight, along with my 6-P irons. I tend to get more rollout on the courses I play and the hybrids tend to launch a low so it works for me. Having back surgery in a couple of weeks and have no idea how that might impact my swing. 

[pdr747]

I did years ago.  Carry a 19.5 hybrid carry of 250 off tee 240 off the ground use a 4 iron crossover for 225 and then 4 iron. 

[dinomack99]

I had tried for many years too ditch my fairway woods. I typically defaulted to a 2 hybrid to replace my three wood with mixed results. It was very difficult to hit and always came up about 10 to 15 yards shorter than the 3-wood. This didn't put it much further than my 18° 3-hybrid. After getting the mega hot Stealth 3 hybrid, I splurged on the 3-wood shortly after and have no regrets whatsoever. I just need to swing within myself and the results are typically about 230 to 240 yards.

[Jeffthechef23]

I actually think fairway woods are becoming harder to hit as the technology has moved on . Over the last 5/6 years I have bought various Callaway , Ping , PXG and Titleist fairway woods and have struggled with all of them after initial success . I have now gone back to my old faithfuls Callaway FTiz 3 and 5 woods which must be at least 10 years old . Once again I am loving them and usually hitting them past most of my peers Drivers . 
I plan to stick with these as long as they stay in good health . 

[LinksgolfFever]

Over the past two seasons I've bounced around on either side of this.  Played 3 and 5 wood, dropped the 5 replaced with a hybrid º19, dropped the 3 wood, replaced with a 2 iron, etc.  Last season I went to a course specific setup.  I tend to play the same 6-10 courses on a mostly regular basis and since I know what I need where I adjust my bag depending on the course.  Drop the 3 wood for a 2 iron, pull the 5 wood and add a 4th wedge.  Playing in the wind, carry a driver º9, drop the 3 and 5 wood carry a 2 and 3 iron, pull a wedge.  trying to maintain as consistent of club gaps as possible.

[Wu1f]

I returned to golf last summer after 15 years away from the game (I'm now 67).  Once I ironed out some swing issues, I decided to do a full bag fitting to replace my 20-25 year-old clubs.  

I ended up with the latest Titleist T200 irons (6-iron through gap wedge) and a Titleist TSR1 driver.  I wanted to try hybrids to fill that gap in between the driver and the 6-iron.  At that time, the gap was small enough that the fitter felt I really only needed one hybrid, a 23-degree Titleist TSR1.  He predicted that as I grew accustomed to my new clubs, larger gaps would start to form on one or both sides of the 23-degree hybrid.  He suggested that until then it didn't make much sense to spend the money for additional hybrids.  (Wow, a fitter who recommended spending LESS money!)

At first, I really struggled with the hybrid.  Off tight lies, I hit it like I would a fairway wood, using more of a sweeping motion.  With the lack of success and the gapping distance hole between my driver and 6-iron, I was desperate to find a solution and started to experiment.  Eventually I tried hitting the hybrid like I hit irons, slightly down on the back of the ball, leaving a small divot just forward of the ball.  It worked great and I was even starting to hit the greens in regulation on long par 4's that were previously played like par 5's for me.  I was hooked on hybrids!

As the fitter had predicted, the gap between my driver and my 6-iron grew and it made sense to add a 26-degree hybrid.  It has been a very good addition to my bag.  Later in this comment, I give a more detailed explanation of my results with it.  

NOTE: The gap between my driver and the 23-degree hybrid is also increasing.  It may eventually make sense to fill that gap with a 20-degree hybrid.

So what do I mean when I say I hit the hybrids better than fairway woods?

- I have far fewer mis-hits.

- I hit the hybrids consistently straight, much better than I better than I ever did with fairway woods.  (Except off the tee, which I describe later.)

- I have had excellent performance hitting hybrids out of the rough.  This is probably due to the more downward strike rather than the sweeping motion with fairway woods.)  

- In addition to hitting them straighter, I also hit the ball much higher with a hybrid.  The angle of descent with my hybrids is much steeper than I had with the equivalent fairway wood.  The steeper angle of descent also results in a shorter and more predictable rollout.  (Golfers who routinely have to deal with high wind probably won't like the higher ball flight, but that's not usually an issue here in Ohio.)

The benefit to me of the steeper angle of descent is really evident on a nasty, long par 3 on my home course (long for me and my 67-year old game).  I need my 6-iron to cover that distance, but on the infrequent occasions where I managed to hit it straight at the green, the lower descent angle and longer rollout usually sent the ball off the back of the green and into a situation that typically led to a bogie or worse.  The new 26-degree hybrid has the right distance and I have a much better chance of hitting it straight at the green. The higher descent angle and shorter rollout means that when the ball lands on the green, it sits and stays there.  My former nemesis is now a (somewhat) routine par.  I have even had a couple birdies -  NEVER did that before.  By the end of the season, the more consistently straight shots with more predicable roll helped me save a stroke or two on other holes.

According to my Arrcos data, approach shots are my greatest opportunity to gain a few strokes.  The data also shows that I hit a lot of 7-irons on approach and that I am considerably less successful with it than with my 8-iron and up.  The distance for a 29-degree hybrid should be equivalent.  Even higher loft than my current hybrids should be even easier to hit on target, and with even less roll.  I don't get much height off my 7-iron and the roll upon landing is long and often difficult to predict).  A 29-degree hybrid could be the solution to getting back a few of the strokes I am currently losing with my approach shots.  Stay tuned. 

I've written about how hybrids are working for me, but how to I hit fairway woods?  Prior to my fitting, because I couldn't hit my older driver, I was teeing off with my old 3-wood.  I consistently hit it very straight and only lost a couple yards off what I got in the rare occasions that I managed to hit the old driver straight (my swing speed is in the low 80's).  As I mentioned above, this was a 20-some year old club, and Mr. Murphy struck (no relation to Mr. Mulligan).  I snapped the head off the 3-wood.  It had the old bore-through technology and no one, including the manufacturer was willing to repair it.  I tried replacing it off the tee with my old 5-wood.  I hit it straight even more consistently than the 3-wood, but I lost so much distance that subsequent shots got much more difficult.  I ended up buying a new model of 3-wood hoping I could use it off the tee.  Unfortunately, modern 3-woods have a much lower profile, less than half the face height of my old 3-wood. With the shallower face height, most of the time I either topped the ball or undercut the ball sending it into orbit.  Good tee shots were almost nonexistent.  The new 3-wood was expensive, and on a few occasions I have tried to find a use for it in my bag, but as I wrote above, I have more success of the fairway and in the rough with the hybrids.  I need to accept that I don't really have a need for the 3-wood and should sell it before it loses any more value.

Although I had great success with my old fairway woods off the tee, my success with them off tight the fairway or out of the rough was so low that rather than attempt it, it made more sense for me to hit a couple of irons.  On par 5's, I had far fewer mis-hits than with the fairway wood, the even if I managed to get a decent fairway wood shot, I got more overall distance out of the two irons and the short game was easier.  On par 4's, I was so likely to muff the fairway wood and need at least one more iron, that I was more likely to save a stroke by just hitting two irons.

So hybrids allow me to play much better than with fairway woods.  But keep in mind, I'm 67, have a low swing speed and a high handicap.