Equipment
‘Anyone else not carry any fairway woods?’ – GolfWRXers discuss
In our forums, our members have been discussing the strategy of leaving fairway woods out of the bag. WRXer ‘Nfogle’ says:
“I rarely need a fairway wood, and when I do, I usually end up with a penalty or just not hitting a good shot. My misses with the 2 iron keep me in play I just don’t get quite the distance out of the fairway I need. Anyone else have this problem and if so, what do you do?”
And our members have been discussing the issue, with plenty of other members taking the same route as ‘Nfogle’.
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.
- schwollo: “Was in the same boat then got a G410 3 wood easiest 3 wood ever to hit and plenty long.”
- jmtbkr: “At my age, 69, I don’t worry too much about hitting par5 greens in two. So my 3 iron bent to 20* is just fine for me. It also doubles as my driving iron on short par 4’s.”
- capking: “I used to not carry any, my miss is a closed club face at impact, and most FW woods are closed at address. I fixed it by getting some jumbomax xl grips and by visualizing hitting it down the right side on follow through. Before this I went a year without any in the bag.”
- Roejye: “I started out this year with no fairway wood, I went driver to a 17.5° Adams xtd super hybrid. Because I’m a club ho, and because my dad has one and likes it, I bought a Cleveland Hibore XL 3 wood off eBay. I love it off of the tee, but merely like it off the deck. As much as I love it off of the tee, it’s also possibly the most replaceable because my home course I have little to no need for it. Luckily I don’t carry a 3 iron or hybrid so I don’t need to get rid of it.”
Entire Thread: “Anyone else not carry any fairway woods?”
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
View this post on Instagram
According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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- Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here. Driver: TaylorMade...
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Ludvig Åberg what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)...
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Guy
Jan 1, 2021 at 8:59 pm
I used to hit long irons, sometimes off the tee when I needed 240 yards with no margin for error. As I’ve gotten older (now 68) I’ve traders longer irons for shorter woods. Currently carry TM M1 10.5* driver, TM 3HL set to 17* (almost a 4 wood) and adjustable Cobra 7/8 wood set at 21.5*. Then 5H and 6H at 25* @nd 28* and strong lofted irons from 7 to LW. Can play course lengths to 6300 yds in low to mid 80’s. Those odd lofted FW woods definitely fill a gap but not in the expected lofts.
greg
Dec 9, 2020 at 10:29 am
Great topic. I hit my long irons well off the fairway and tees, as I never developed the appropriate swing characteristics for fairway woods. No need for the additional hardware.
Imafitter
Dec 7, 2020 at 10:37 pm
As a senior I go from driver to a 5-wood set -1.5° to an approximate 4-wood. It’s great off the tee on narrow fairways, sometimes a second shot on a par 5, if I don’t pull my 4-hybrid or 5-iron. I learned years ago I can’t hit a 3-wood off the turf.
littlepingman
Dec 1, 2020 at 8:53 pm
My TS2 three wood is my can’t miss club. Fairly consistent 240 off the tee or off the deck. Reliable flight and control.
Super Hybrid
Nov 28, 2020 at 9:27 pm
I dropped my 3 and 5 woods for the Callaway Super Hybrid and Cobra utility iron. Found a combination that works great for me.
Rich Douglas
Nov 27, 2020 at 2:51 pm
I don’t play any fairway woods. I have a TM Original Mini-driver that functions like a 2-wood, followed by 3- and 4-hybrids.
The Mini-driver is longer than a 3-wood. I use it for tighter holes or to avoid close fairway bunkers. I can hit it off the deck, if necessary, but that’s so rare. Usually, if I can’t reach the green with a hybrid or an iron, I lay up. I might use a fairway wood–if I had one–maybe once every couple of rounds. But I use that Mini-driver on every course I see.
Gerry
Nov 27, 2020 at 7:09 am
Might as well stay at home if I did not have my Mizuno 7 Wood. Going to replace 3W with a 5W. Don’t carry a 3 or 4 Iron any more. Depending on conditions I would hope the 5W and 7W takes care of distances from 180 to 240 yards.
steve jenney
Nov 26, 2020 at 8:32 pm
Driver. Recently added a bridge stone 3 small head 18 degree 3 then a 22 rocket ballz 4 then start bag at 5 iron 47, 49, 52 and 55 wedges. If I need to drop a club its 9 iron.
Jim Duffus
Nov 25, 2020 at 10:08 pm
Added a ping G410 5 and 7 wood to the bag.
At 62 with arthritis in my hips my handicap dropped from 4.5 to 1.9.
I started sticking shots into long par 4’s with the 7.
KARL SUNDEN
Nov 25, 2020 at 6:29 pm
I don’t. Driver ,18 hybrid then 3 iron. Never have an issue where I needed a 3 wood