Who Has Dropped Their 3 Wood? What are you playing instead?

[Thrummyfox]

On 2/27/2025 at 4:23 PM, onthebogeytrain said:

Been using a 5w turned down to 16* for years now, with a driving 3 iron. Considering adding a 13.5 mini driver, putting the 5w up to 18.5 and ditching the 3 iron. 

Mini driver has consigned both my three woods to the bench. I’m not currently good enough to hit them off the deck and the MD is longer and more consistent off the tee 

[Potch]

Trying out a 2 hybrid to start the season. That slot in my bag is mostly a shorter option off the tee; hopeful I can hit more fairways with it than a 3 wood. Distance is fine for the gaps I have.

 

If it works out, my bag will be:

 

Driver

4 hybrids

4 set irons

4 specialty wedges

Putter

 

Wouldn't have guessed that a few years ago!

[kwcsports]

Dropped 3 wood for an 18 deg 5 wood. Results are higher and longer shots. More loft is better for me. 

[TomVexille]

17^o Apex UW. Amazing off the tee, and great in the wind.

[DooZ]

Interested in the new Cally Elyte Ti 3HL. Adjusted my 15 degree TD 3w +2, and have had early success. I still would like to have reasonable length fairway finder for the tee.

[Llortamaisey]

I’m hoping that GT280 will kick my three wood out of the bag this summer. 

[LeicaRedDot]

8 hours ago, DooZ said:

Interested in the new Cally Elyte Ti 3HL. Adjusted my 15 degree TD 3w +2, and have had early success. I still would like to have reasonable length fairway finder for the tee.

I would like to do this with my TM stealth 3 wood, but increasing the loft closes the club face. I can’t play with a closed club face both visually and performance 

[hhc]

Dropped mini driver for 1 iron and replaced 2 iron with a 3 iron so I go: driver, 1 iron, 3-LW

 

struggle with heel miss on fairway woods (high spin and lose distance + inconsistent miss) and hybrids going left scare me

[alas]

37 minutes ago, hhc said:

Dropped mini driver for 1 iron and replaced 2 iron with a 3 iron so I go: driver, 1 iron, 3-LW

 

struggle with heel miss on fairway woods (high spin and lose distance + inconsistent miss) and hybrids going left scare me

what long irons are you using and how high can you hit them?

[hhc]

19 minutes ago, alas said:

what long irons are you using and how high can you hit them?

1 iron is Titleist U505 

3 irons is a Titleist T200U

Then 4-PW Miura TC-201

 

Peak height on the 1 iron is about 90-100 feet and same on the 3 iron but can deloft and get a lower flight if needed off the tee into wind.

 

Definitely not the same stopping power as fairway woods but I value left to right dispersion more and the irons gave me that over 3W/5W which off a toe or heel strike oftentimes means OB in the trees

[alas]

18 minutes ago, hhc said:

1 iron is Titleist U505 

3 irons is a Titleist T200U

Then 4-PW Miura TC-201

 

Peak height on the 1 iron is about 90-100 feet and same on the 3 iron but can deloft and get a lower flight if needed off the tee into wind.

 

Definitely not the same stopping power as fairway woods but I value left to right dispersion more and the irons gave me that over 3W/5W which off a toe or heel strike oftentimes means OB in the trees

Nice! I found u505 to launch pretty high, awesome the 1i can also still do so. Makes sense why you would switch. My 2i is my favorite club in the bag and I can also launch it pretty high 110ft. 

[ThomasM]

I took out my 3 wood(primarily used off the tee) and put the AI Smoke Mini 360 in place. I can hit it off the deck in a pinch but it’s exactly what I needed off the tee. I just don’t need 3 wood enough at my home course so it didn’t make sense. 

Edited March 6 by ThomasM

[Mostly]

I carry a Ping G425 5 wood set to 16* and fitted with a 3 wood length shaft.  I hit it far more consistently than my old 3 wood. I suspect that 70 or 80% of the time I get a better result with the 5 than I would have had I hit a 3.

[DooZ]

11 hours ago, LeicaRedDot said:

I would like to do this with my TM stealth 3 wood, but increasing the loft closes the club face. I can’t play with a closed club face both visually and performance 

It does close the face a hair, but I manipulate the clubface open and play it a smidge back in my stance. Try it, you may be surprised. Works for me, but that is one of the reasons I want to try the Ti model.  

[ScooterMcTavish]

On 3/3/2025 at 6:45 PM, Potch said:

Trying out a 2 hybrid to start the season. That slot in my bag is mostly a shorter option off the tee; hopeful I can hit more fairways with it than a 3 wood. Distance is fine for the gaps I have.

 

Good luck with this experiment!  I had also tried out a 17* Cobra Aerojet 2h last year as an alternative tee club for 190ish par 3s, and as a fairway club when playing into strong winds.

 

Thing was an absolute nightmare, except when I hit it well, which was maybe 20% of the time.  Small head + long shaft + low loft + low/forward COG made this an incredibly difficult club to play.  Have gone back to an 18* 5W for the current year - farther back COG and more forgiving head has been appreciated. 

[roxald]

Callaway Ai Smoke 18° hybrid fits the bill nicely.

Easy to hit,  consistent flight and long.

great feel and sound as well.

 

Turd

[jhughes058]

For the past few years my bag was 10* driver (about 240 yards), a 19* rbz hybrid (210) and a 23* hybrid which I don't think will ever leave my bag (195 or 200). I started to pick up some distance this winter so I added a c721 14* 3 wood which I can get about 230 otd or 240 off the tee. I also just added an Adams tight lies 18* because I have mostly a hate relationship with the rbz lol, hopefully the Adams can be a bit more reliable and get me around 215. Still waiting to test it out

[ARSM1932]

2 hours ago, ScooterMcTavish said:

 

Good luck with this experiment!  I had also tried out a 17* Cobra Aerojet 2h last year as an alternative tee club for 190ish par 3s, and as a fairway club when playing into strong winds.

 

Thing was an absolute nightmare, except when I hit it well, which was maybe 20% of the time.  Small head + long shaft + low loft + low/forward COG made this an incredibly difficult club to play.  Have gone back to an 18* 5W for the current year - farther back COG and more forgiving head has been appreciated. 

That really surprises me because I also played a Cobra Aerojet 17 degree hybrid for almost 18 months and it was my favourite club in the bag and a very reliable fairway finder on par 4s of all lengths, I found this club easy to hit and it was much more forgiving than many low spin 3 woods and my dispersion was much tighter with the hybrid compared to a 3 wood, I played it 0.75" shorter than standard at 40.75" with a Fujikura Ventus HB Black 10 TX shaft and it was an perfect 260-270 yard club for me which performed amazing especially off the tee, I guess it just comes down to a player's ball striking ability and also quite a bit of speed is probably needed to get optimal launch and spin conditions with low lofted hybrids especially low spinning heads like the Aerojet.

[ScooterMcTavish]

12 minutes ago, ARSM1932 said:

That really surprises me because I also played a Cobra Aerojet 17 degree hybrid for almost 18 months and it was my favourite club in the bag and a very reliable fairway finder on par 4s of all lengths, I found this club easy to hit and it was much more forgiving than many low spin 3 woods and my dispersion was much tighter with the hybrid compared to a 3 wood, I played it 0.75" shorter than standard at 40.75" with a Fujikura Ventus HB Black 10 TX shaft and it was an perfect 260-270 yard club for me which performed amazing especially off the tee, I guess it just comes down to a player's ball striking ability and also quite a bit of speed is probably needed to get optimal launch and spin conditions with low lofted hybrids especially low spinning heads like the Aerojet.

 

As you swing a TX Black flavour shaft, and hit the 2h 260-270, I would suggest we are likely playing a different game, LOL.  I'd be surprised if I could get your setup more than 12" off the ground.  Of note, my ball striking is pretty good, so it's usually quickly clear when I have a club that is ill-suited to me, as long as it has a shaft that I like.   

 

For someone with your sort of club speed, I am pretty confident that they would not have as many issues as I did, as they actually benefit from the forward CoG in keeping spin down and maximizing distance.  However, someone with my pedestrian SS will have larger challenges with this club.  

[buckethat72]

I play a 4 wood and then 3 utility iron right now.  I hear the concerns about the damage you can do with a fairway wood and see some of the same issues in my game.  However when Ive hit a good drive on a par 5 the 4 wood is a weapon for getting to the green or near the green and I score well when that happens - birdie or par most of the time.

 

I think the key is evaluating the risk of taking fairway wood off the tee on a shorter hole or for a par 5 approach.  If there is too much risk to put it out of play I just hit the 3 iron which is very accurate. 

 

So for me its too much of a weapon in the right situations to drop it, its more just a matter of making better decisions about when to use it.

[Obee]

I no longer carry a 3-wood. I know carry a Ping G440 Max 17° 4-wood, turned flat/down to 16. 
 

LOVING IT!

[Dmartica]

Dropped my 3 wood for a 5 wood, there's not many golf course where I need the 3 wood distance. 

 

3 wood sim ti, tour accra z rpg 75, carry 270 ish carry (haven't hit it in so long)

5 wood, callaway rogue ls, tensei white x 80g, 255 carry.

[erock9174]

I dropped a 3w years ago in favor of a 64* wedge then a chipper then back to a 64* wedge. 

[ARSM1932]

13 hours ago, ScooterMcTavish said:

 

As you swing a TX Black flavour shaft, and hit the 2h 260-270, I would suggest we are likely playing a different game, LOL.  I'd be surprised if I could get your setup more than 12" off the ground.  Of note, my ball striking is pretty good, so it's usually quickly clear when I have a club that is ill-suited to me, as long as it has a shaft that I like.   

 

For someone with your sort of club speed, I am pretty confident that they would not have as many issues as I did, as they actually benefit from the forward CoG in keeping spin down and maximizing distance.  However, someone with my pedestrian SS will have larger challenges with this club.  

Yes you are correct in what you say and even though you are a good ball striker that 17 degree hybrid just wasn't an optimum fit for your game and I can relate to that because about 7-8 years ago I bought a set of Titleist blades and could not hit the 2 or 3 irons to save my life so just like you I soon realised that these clubs were just too demanding for my level of ball striking at that time and I would only hit maybe 1 good shot to every 2 horrendous shots so I sold the blades and have played compact CBs ever since, in my previous post I was suggesting that I found the Aerojet 2 hybrid easy to hit consistently compared to 2 and 3 irons, I also think that fairway wood and hybrid stock shafts have gotten way too long in recent years hence why I play my 2 hybrid at 40.75" and when I put a 3 or 5 wood in the bag they are played shorter at 42.50" and 41.50" respectively.

[cmgolf]

Playing  driver 10.5 and fairway woods 16.5 degrees and 21.  I like the gap between those 2.

16.5 is more like a 4 wood  but sometimes considered as a 3 HL by some .

[phillyspecial]

2 hours ago, cmgolf said:

Playing  driver 10.5 and fairway woods 16.5 degrees and 21.  I like the gap between those 2.

16.5 is more like a 4 wood  but sometimes considered as a 3 HL by some .

Same.  Flip flopping between 3HL 16.5+1 or 5w 18-1, then 21 UW, 5H

 

The key for me is more playing that first slot at 42" or shorter.  

Edited March 6 by phillyspecial

[Potch]

19 hours ago, ScooterMcTavish said:

 

Good luck with this experiment!  I had also tried out a 17* Cobra Aerojet 2h last year as an alternative tee club for 190ish par 3s, and as a fairway club when playing into strong winds.

 

Thing was an absolute nightmare, except when I hit it well, which was maybe 20% of the time.  Small head + long shaft + low loft + low/forward COG made this an incredibly difficult club to play.  Have gone back to an 18* 5W for the current year - farther back COG and more forgiving head has been appreciated. 

 

That was the experience I had a few years ago when I first tried it. Tough time elevating the ball and hitting it well consistently, went back to a fairway. But this time around, trying something slightly different. In my more lofted hybrids I have low launch, low spin, X flex shafts. In the 2 hybrid? Have a high launch, mid spin, S flex shaft. Trying to let the shaft forgiveness counter the more punishing head and find a happy medium. Due to the time of year I've only been able to hit it on the range, but the results have been promising. Doesn't seem like a hard club to hit, but also don't get the snap hooks that I was worried about with a weaker shaft. Get to play for real in a little over a week down south - will see how it goes!

[ScooterMcTavish]

1 hour ago, Potch said:

In my more lofted hybrids I have low launch, low spin, X flex shafts. In the 2 hybrid? Have a high launch, mid spin, S flex shaft. Trying to let the shaft forgiveness counter the more punishing head and find a happy medium. 

 

Not a bad approach.  Although I play S flex in my woods, I stepped down to an R in my hybrid and irons and have so far been pretty satisfied.  And you noted choosing a shaft that was "high launch, mid spin" which can certainly help with launch conditions.

 

And my 3W/5W/4h combo has been a champ on the launch monitor.  Pretty sure I'll be cursing it by mid-May. 

Edited March 6 by ScooterMcTavish

[NYDave]

I play a 5 wood turned down to 18 deg, and 22 deg 7 wood, and 22 deg hybrid... 7 wood I like for long par 3 or par 5 I can reach on 2nd shot, I use the hybrid when it windy and I need to keep it lower, or a par 5 that the lower shot can run up....

[Roejye]

8 hours ago, NYDave said:

I play a 5 wood turned down to 18 deg, and 22 deg 7 wood, and 22 deg hybrid... 7 wood I like for long par 3 or par 5 I can reach on 2nd shot, I use the hybrid when it windy and I need to keep it lower, or a par 5 that the lower shot can run up....

I had a similar setup at the end of last season with a 5w lofted up to 20° and a hybrid at 20°. I hit some really good approach shots with that 5w, so of course this year I'm going I'm starting out with it back in the stock 18.5° to free up a spot for club testing. I might put it back at 20°,  or I might keep it stock and throw in a lower bounce wedge at the top of the bag.