Equipment
What GolfWRXers are saying about the search for the holy grail of fairway woods
In our forums, our members have been taking a deep dive into fairway woods. WRXer ‘serveitup911’ is on the hunt for the perfect fairway wood setup but is having trouble in his search and says:
“I cannot stand clubs that look closed at address. I need some forgiveness, mostly toe side. I don’t like tiny heads. The 3 wood will be used mostly from the tee, and 5 wood will be used mostly from the fairway.”
And from ‘serveitup911’s opening post, our members have been sharing their thoughts in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- hoosier84: “You may want to give the TS2 a shot. I played it yesterday (3 wood) for the first time. I do have trouble hooking woods. It wasn’t as bad yesterday, but still going a bit too much left and then I pulled out the tool and switched it from the default to the B-1 flat setting. Maybe it was psychological, but it Immediately helped. I tend to balloon my woods and irons (swing flaw) and wasn’t doing so with the Smoke Black 6.0 shaft, which felt pretty smooth. Going to now get the 4 wood of this and do a bit of a battle of the bag. And experiment using the 4 wood shaft in the 3, so I can play the 3 wood at 42.5″. Shortening my driver length really helped me a couple years ago. Curious to see the differences between the 15* and 16.5* heads at the same 42.5″ length with the Smoke. This has been a spring for me to mess with fairways and 2/3 hybrids. I have been trying the Cobra F7 woods since the F7 3/4 and 4/5 hybrids earned a spot in my bag earlier this year. But they may sit a tad too upright for me. Right now you can get a pretty good deal for a used TS2 on 2nd Swing. Use the Titleist coupon code they have at the top of the page.”
- Argonne69: “If your 3 wood is going to be used exclusively for tee shots, then why not go with a deep face 3w or mini driver? I never hit my “3W” off the turf, so I went with a mini driver. I have an older TM Aeroburner, but a Callaway 3Deep would be an option, as well as the newer TM Original One. I had the same issue with my G400 5 wood, so I swapped it for a G400 7 wood and delofted it. That opened the face a bit, and still kept the distance slightly less than a standard 5w.”
- Yuck: “I always was very picky about fairway woods and do not like closed faces. Until a couple months ago I played a 15-degree TEE CB2 I have had well over 10 years. Recently I picked up a like new Epic flash sub zero 3 wood. Worked out very well. If it is too low spin for you the weights can be reversed. I liked it so much I ordered a 5 wood, which I have not bagged since my wood club days. You can pick up a like-new from the Callaway preowned website right now for about $120. Cheap experiment if it does not work out.”
- asumberdawg: “Look at Tour Edge Exotics. I’m still gaming a 2013 CB pro. They produce some of the best fairway woods on the market.”
- cw1209: “I would vote for the Cobra SZ Big Tour 13.5 and SZ Tour 17.5. I had the F9 14.5* fairway and found it to be spinny/hook prone as well. Most of that was due to the upright lie angle. SZ fairways are all more flat than the F9 series. The SZ shape is great, and the tour fairways don’t have the yellow strips on the crown either, which is a plus for me.”
Entire Thread: “The holy grail of fairway woods”
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- Kris Kim what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.
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TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.
TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.
TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.
Can you see where this is going?
Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”
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TaylorMade PUDI
TaylorMade PUDI technology cutaway (via TaylorMade)
Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.
In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.
TaylorMade PDHY
TaylorMade PDHY tech cutaway (via TaylorMade).
Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.
Club Junkie’s take
Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.
For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.
PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?
TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:
- PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
- PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
- Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
- PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
- PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family
Pricing, specs, and availability
Price: $249.99
At retail: Now
Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)
Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)
PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed
PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Madeline Morgan
May 19, 2020 at 7:12 pm
My Holy Grail found has been a Sonartec NP-99 paired with an Oban Devotion shaft. For the last 10 years or so there’s always been either a 14 degree 3 wood or a 16 degree 4 wood version of this club in my bag, depending on which of my swings arrives at the course that day. There’s nothing particularly exotic about them and they don’t feature a lot of bells and whistles. But for a confident, creative striker of the golf ball they’ll deliver long, accurate, and workable shots with pretty much every swing. What else do you need, n’est-ce pas?