Fairway wood advice for off the deck

[roxald]

I still play an epic Flash Heavenwood turned down to 19° and it’s Mr reliable.

230-250 depending if I play the ball normal or back a bit.

 

Ain’t going anywhere.

 

Rox

[deepbore]

Struggled to hit fw for a while. Finally tried a stealth 2 hd model and I don’t even look at fw anymore. Easy to pick off the ground and deep faced enough to tee up.  

[J-Walker]

Been loving the Cobra DS-Adapt LS 3W. Lower spin, but not hard to launch off the deck. The FF-33 adapter makes it so easy to dial in. 

[bodhi555]

It's a few years old now, but I'm still finding my 917F3 an absolute cannon, either off a tee or the deck. Easy 240 carry and will roll out a bit more than that if needed. 

 

It's actually the club I'll reach for off the tee first unless I've got plenty of space to pull the Driver. Deadly accurate and easy to play a slight draw with - although mine is slightly upright to assist with that. 

 

It's got a Rogue Max 75X shaft in it, and it's not leaving the bag unless it breaks - and even then I might just find another off eBay. 

[shankasaurus rex]

On 7/3/2025 at 10:49 PM, stratgolf said:

+

 

+1, I adore mine. Even if you can find a Qi10, they're also rockets.

Came here to say QI10. I have it in 5 wood, and if I do my job it's an absolute weapon. 

[cl001]

I typically prefer more shallow faced fairways, but picked up a used TSR3 5wood a couple months ago and have been surprised with how easy it is to hit off the deck. The extra adjustability to dial in a more neutral flight is nice too

[leojax]

On 7/2/2025 at 9:16 AM, parbung said:

mavrik subzeros maybe? 

 

very easy to hit and goes super long. have the Aldila Rogue Silver 130 MSI 70 shaft and doesn't spin much. 

 

 

Came here to say this, and they have a 4w retail version as well. 

[leojax]

Mizuno options like STZ and STZ 230 over the last few years fly under the radar but are solid too. Very neutral.  

[odshot68]

Wish I could find a Qi10 tour 16.5 degree 4 wood.

[Frank_Kasule]

If you are going to hit some in a bay then definitely try the Srixon ZX at 13°. I only use it off the deck, even when on the tee, it is an absolute rocketship! Best 3 wood I've ever had tbh. 

[wam78]

One of the best off the deck I ever played is an OG stealth plus 5 wood turned down.  Really easy to hit and is HOT off the face.  The stealth woods were fantastic!  Equally as good was the tour issue OG stealth 3HL.  You can still find them on eBay for a decent price.

 

Currently in a tsr2 5 wood and it’s pretty damn good as well.  Not quite as hot as the stealth plus, but not far behind it.  I get a little more launch and peak height from it which is why i switched.  Ball speed is close.

[NRJyzr]

Year or two ago, took a shot at trying a Sim2 Ti 3w.  It has a somewhat deeper face, but I can still get decent elevation with it, even turned down to 13½° with my modest speed.  The Tour Blue shaft may be a player there.

 

However...

 

I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned Tour Edge yet.  As good as that Sim2 Ti is, it's been supplanted by my Tour Edge E8 Beta.  I'd picked it up during its initial product run in the strong 3w loft.  At the time, I still had a bit of speed and found I almost never needed it, because I was hitting it too far.

 

Now, with me having slowed down quite a bit, I find it a quite useful club on the two front nine par 5's on my home course.  I largely can't reach these any longer, but using the E8 Beta, I've found myself near enough the green to have a short pitch or even chip 3rd shot.  

 

It's always been easy for me to elevate, which surprised me considering the low loft.

 

[odshot68]

I don’t launch it high off the deck. May try a TM tour 5 wood delofted with 3 wood length shaft in it or ping g440 4 wood. I do prefer a low spin low launch shaft 

[Hawkeye77]

On 7/2/2025 at 8:25 AM, odshot68 said:

I'm looking for a neutral weighted fairway wood to bomb off the deck.  I don't want draw bias and won't be used off the tee.  I also don't it be spinny (ie:  Ping).  Last fairway wood I used was a m6 rocket until the face finally cracked.  

Ping might be spinny (which one, what setup?) for you but not really an informed criticism in general.  Bomb? Lots of good options out there, just need to test them for your swing and conditions.  Shallow face may be part of the equation. Just a matter of what you want for distance/finding the middle of the face/accuracy - but still all down to your swing.

[odshot68]

OP here, I just got back from the range.  I can't do the Ping (too light and couldn't feel the head and skinny).  Titleist meh, Callaway meh, liked the Qi35 tour (but not enough forgiveness), but deciding between the 16.5 head or the 5 wood (delofted down and open face) head both at 3 wood length (Tensei 1K Black 75).  I'm going back tomorrow to decide.  I preferred the heavier SW of the 5 wood head so going to play with the weight kit of the 16.5 head to increase swing weight.  Getting close.  

[odshot68]

Just curious if anyone knows how many grams heavier a 5 wood head is than a 3 wood head?

[MichMan123]

Just spent 2 hour testing fairways.

 

GT2 16.5 Deg easy winner.  Wasn't the longest but launched so easy off the Deck.  High and straight.  I dont hit fairway woods off the Tee I'd rather Bunt a driver.

 

Tested Elite GT3 Ping Srixon ,.....

 

Ping is pretty good too.  A little Shallow.  GT3 looks almost too deep probably a cannon off the tee.  Elite Meh. Srixon Meh.  Qi35 not bad.

 

 

[Juice1121]

I still use my SIM Titanium 5 wood. 220+ off the deck don’t really need much more for the courses I play so I stopped bagging a three wood. 

[Pack7483]

I love the AI Smoke Max 3HL.  Set it to 15.5 degrees.  Easy to hit off the fairway and flies straight and long for me.  

[wildcatfan9698]

7 minutes ago, Pack7483 said:

I love the AI Smoke Max 3HL.  Set it to 15.5 degrees.  Easy to hit off the fairway and flies straight and long for me.  

ditto

[odshot68]

After hitting most options still haven’t found a winner. Shop is getting a titanium Elyte 4 wood with tensei 1k black 75. If I like it I may cut it -1/2” shorter. If this fails, there’s always next year

[ShortSticks]

21 hours ago, odshot68 said:

After hitting most options still haven’t found a winner. Shop is getting a titanium Elyte 4 wood with tensei 1k black 75. If I like it I may cut it -1/2” shorter. If this fails, there’s always next year

I think you will like this one.

 

I am falling for my Elyte Ti 3 wood that I have set at +1 (16*) and I have been very picky about my 3 woods over the years. I almost went with the 4 wood myself, but I found a good deal on the 3 wood and decided to go that way. The adjustability with loft and weights should get you to where you wanna be.

 

I feel this is the Unicorn of 3 woods, great from the fairway and the tee, and it is LONG!

[me05501]

I used to be biased against shallow faced fairway woods because I was afraid of getting under the ball, especially off a tee, but then I could never hit one off the deck until I gave up that thinking and tried one. Now it's no big deal. 

 

My tool of choice is the AI Smoke Max 3HL. 

[Ri_Redneck]

On 7/19/2025 at 4:20 PM, odshot68 said:

Just curious if anyone knows how many grams heavier a 5 wood head is than a 3 wood head?

EVERY clubhead should weigh what it NEEDS to weigh to be right for you. That's why we have weighting options. Golfers have been adding weight to clubheads for hundreds of years. There is NO reason to just accept a club as it is and write it off due to weighting.

 

BT

[QNTN]

Tried every OEM brand and my favorite woods were Srixon and the TSR3. They just sat perfectly and framed the ball nicely. Both were great off the teebox and off the deck.

 

Testing the GT3 currently, if that doesn't click, I'm going back to my TSR3

[mcoy24]

On 7/3/2025 at 10:46 PM, klbcec said:

Wait fornthe GT1 tour coming out

I have heard this is the direct competitor to the Taylormade core 3w models, it's supposed to be really good!

[Mobert19]

On 7/23/2025 at 3:20 AM, ShortSticks said:

I think you will like this one.

 

I am falling for my Elyte Ti 3 wood that I have set at +1 (16*) and I have been very picky about my 3 woods over the years. I almost went with the 4 wood myself, but I found a good deal on the 3 wood and decided to go that way. The adjustability with loft and weights should get you to where you wanna be.

 

I feel this is the Unicorn of 3 woods, great from the fairway and the tee, and it is LONG!

I found the Elyte Ti too spinny compared to my AI Smoke max.  Glad it works for you. 

Edited July 24 by Mobert19

[keith723]

Did you say you’ve tried the Qi10 core 15° 3w?  That launched really high for me and I had a HZRDUS RDX 80 6.5, tipped 1” at 42.75”

 

I gave it to a good friend and he loves it but I hit it so high off the deck or tee where I think it’s a great fit for a lot of players looking for that kind of versatility (easy off the deck and great off the tee)

Edited July 25 by keith723

[benz5521]

On 7/24/2025 at 2:48 PM, Mobert19 said:

I found the Elyte Ti too spinny compared to my AI Smoke max.  Glad it works for you. 

that’s odd because the Ti is supposed to be the lowest spinning, even more so than the triple diamond. 

[Mobert19]

2 hours ago, benz5521 said:

that’s odd because the Ti is supposed to be the lowest spinning, even more so than the triple diamond. 

I know