Anyone completely ditched fairway woods in their bags?

[JudgeSmails]

just have a 3 and 4 hybrid.....just hit them better than fairway woods

[IanCC]

30 minutes ago, Byrnzee said:

My 3 Wood has always been my least favorite club in my bag. Rarely used, hard to hit and taking up empty space that could potentially go to a more useful club.

I have had a 3 Hybrid in my bag for as long as I can remember and I recently purchased a driving iron. My plan is to switch out the hybrid for the driving iron depending on the course I'm playing, weather conditions, etc...

I honestly wish I could switch out my 3 Wood and keep my 3 Hybrid and driving iron, but the distances between the latter two are too close. I think if money was no object, I'd swap the 3 Hybrid for a 2 Hybrid to replace my 3 Wood. My 3 Hybrid was a recent gift from a friend, so I feel obligated to use it. I might try tweaking with the settings to get more distance out of it and keep my two favored clubs in the bag.

I’d carry both hybrid and DI rather than keep the 3w in the bag if that’s what you’re doing. You’ll not get the gapping you’re after if you don’t hit it right anyway. Even if the Hyb/DI combo is similar in carry you’d choose one over the other based on lie presumably? I’d rather not take a DI out of rough for example and your hybrid has flexibility for you around the greens. As you say, ideally you’d have them gapped but nothing to say you can’t have two clubs with the same carry but for different situations if you have the space. I think Phil took two drivers round Augusta one year, a draw and a fade one. Sometimes you’ve got to ditch traditional thinking and go with what works for you, whether that’s two drivers, hyb/DI combo, a wedge only for bunkers that isn’t part of your gapped wedges, two putters (one for lag putting, one for up close), whatever works for wherever you play. There’s no pictures on the scorecard. 

[AC13]

My 3 wood was replaced with a 2 iron (driving iron) over 4 years ago and I never went back. It’s better in the wind for me and is a great fairway finder. It also has better dispersion and is nearly as long as the 3 wood. 

[Dweed]

49 minutes ago, JPDELGADO said:

3W-5W-4h set up for me, but I could see myself testing out a 2h and 3h down the road. One of the guys in my Sunday crew has driver and irons only.

Have to admit, the 3W isn’t my “best friend” but I generally do OK with it and really need that gap filler.  Welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy. Welcome.

21 minutes ago, ttasty83 said:

I always struggled with woods off the deck. I now play a 17* super hybrid with a right handed adapter (I'm left handed) so playing at 15*

On that note I need callaway to bring back the 17* lefty options on their new super hybrids.

Have to admit, the 3W isn’t my “best friend” but I generally do OK with it and really need that gap filler.  Welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy. Welcome.

[CB Lobo 4 Life]

For me personally, I feel that my 3 wood is one of the most versatile in my bag. I struggled with it for a while, especially when it came to getting it in the air. However, I spent some time working on it and now it has become my favorite. I use it mostly from the tee because up here in Northern AZ there are a lot of short par 4's with trouble near or short of the green that would just cause too many issues if I just go straight to the driver. Also, could not remove it because I simply could not find a good gap club from Driver to Hybrid so I had to get better at it. 

[Dweed]

8 hours ago, Paco Chan said:

I carry a 3W, but honestly, it almost NEVER comes out. I have a lot more confidence with my 2h and 3h.

Maybe I should play with my 3W more often to get comfortable.

Have to admit, the 3W isn’t my “best friend” but I generally do OK with it and really need that gap filler.  Welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy. Welcome.

[Rygolf32]

Following - very interested to hear the answers.

 

I've been hitting my 3 wood less and less and my 3 iron has even become my go to if I'm not having a good day with the driver, not the 3wd. I love my 3 wood, it's old and I can hit it pretty decently most of the time but seeing many of the answers, I wonder if a 2 or 2 hybrid might be a better option.

 

I hit the ball high so that 3 wood any day with wind in Nebraska (which is every day) is affected a lot. If I could find something to fill that gap between my 3iron and driver that I could keep a bit lower, might be the way to go.

Edited September 18 by Rygolf32

[Byrnzee]

22 minutes ago, IanCC said:

Sometimes you’ve got to ditch traditional thinking and go with what works for you

I really appreciate your advice here! You’re totally right that I need to do what works best for me. I think I might try ditching the three wood this week and seeing how I like the hybrid/DI combo. Updates to come!

[Matumbo]

I’m going to be in the market for some new clubs later this year. I have an old 3 wood and 4 & 5 hybrid that I’m looking at replacing. I’m still a new golfer and not sure what would work best for me. I’ve been able to hit the 4 & 5 hybrids pretty well, but the 3 wood has been a difficult club for me. Maybe new versions of these clubs would work better. May end up ditching the 3 wood and going for a 5 wood or longer iron. Planning to do some testing before figuring it out. 

[Big moose]

I have a 3,4 and 5 hybrid and a 3 and 5 wood. On 3 shot par fives I hit 3 hybrid second shot and whatever iron I need to the green. I use my 5 wood on long par 3s and my 3 wood on short par 4s or if I think my driver will go through the fairway on dogleg. I hit my 3 wood on a 228 yard par 4 Sunday and hit the green, just missing the eagle. So my 3 and 5 wood are here to stay. Have a wonderful day everyone. 

[Krls032022]

I’m a senior, 73, and my 3 wood is not leaving any time soon. I also carry a 4 wood & 3 hybrid then 5 thru SW irons.

[Rheustess]

After trying to use fairway woods for years with limited success I have removed them from my bag and replaced them with hybrids. The result has already lowered my handicap by 4 strokes. I may have lost a little distance, but keeping the ball in the fairway makes a huge difference.

[Golf Dawg]

I’ve had a like/hate relationship with my 3W for years.

My Callaway BB 3H is a gamer, but my Cobra 2H isn’t the answer. I have a GBB 3W, but that’s more miss than hit. 

My best luck has been with an Adams Speedline Super S 3W. It rotates in/out of my bag. 

[Sherlock]

On 8/17/2023 at 9:43 AM, 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 was in the same boat for a while. I didnt have a 3 wood in my bag. Got one finally a few years ago and didnt use it because of the inconsistency. I got 18 degree hybrids instead and just had large gap issues beyond 250 yards. I got a 3 iron to match my set (Titleist T200) but that didnt work out for me despite being a good iron striker. Decided to get custom fitted into that p790 utility iron, but you really cant hit that club out the rough and barely out the fairway. It was really a useless club for me even it was a beastly fairway finder off the tee. I ditched that p790 for the U505 utility as you can hit that out the rough. It worked for a while but it didnt have the same distance as the p790. Then i decided to get custom fitted for a tsr3 4 wood. Game changer!! I could get that 235-240 with consistency. I liked the fit so much that I decided to get a 5 wood as well, and that has been great. I still had that 250 gap in my bag and still didnt want to get a 3 wood, so I recently purchased the callaway paradym super hybrid 16 degrees (sold my p790 and got double the trade-in credit for a 21 degree hybrid that I didnt need to pay for super hybrid) and dialed the super hybrid down to 15 degrees!! LOVE IT!!! Played in a scramble this past weekend and we reached all the par 5s in two from 240-255 out, even out of the rough. So right now im gaming a callaway paradym super hybrid 15 degree (240-250), titleist TSR3 4 wood 16.5 degrees (230-240, tee), titleist TSR3 3 hybrid 18 degrees (200-220, long par 3s), titleist 2021 T200 5 iron (190-200, axiom shafts). All my woods and hybrids have the custom fujikara ventus shafts which have helped me tremendously. Depending on the course, I may switch out the hybrid for my 5 wood. My bag is finally set after many years of tweaking!!

Edited September 18 by Sherlock

[Wozgolf]

I got rid of my 3 woods. 
The only club in the bag that would slice all the time (must be the club).

I went to a 17 deg hybrid (2). 
Now my mis hits will go straighter.

Maybe its the shorter length that helps.

[US_Navy_Retired]

Short answer, yes

I'm not long off of the tee so I rarely have the opportunity to get after par 5's in two anyways. I'm a strong iron player and take no shame in laying up with my 7 iron or whatever to 100'ish yards.

I do carry a 5 wood and it rarely if ever comes out of the bag.

[RwsGolf1]

Although still in my bag, the 3 wood is a waste in my bag.  I use my 3 hybrid which is adjusted to a stronger loft for almost all long fairway needs.  No, maybe not as long but much easier to hit and better out of the rough.  I need to take some time and determine how to best replace its position in my bag.

[billybogey]

Congrats on being a Long Hitter!! Wish I was as am a Legend in my own Mind & now Hit from "Reds" as need all the help I can get to keep "close" to young guns!! So 1-3-5Woods + 4Hybird are staying in my Bag.  Even a 7W has made an appearance. It is the "Head" that is made of Wood ["Bright" Shine has seen Better Day's] that is more the problem!! Just sayin' Sports Fans.

[Forbes]

Buy the g430 2 hybrid. 17* and you can deloft it to as low as 15.5*. I just did and it’s great. 

[wely324]

I’d go with the stronger loft hybrid and add a 3 iron in your case. I’ve been thinking of taking out my 3w and adding a 2 iron as I rarely get to play courses where a 3w is used off the deck.