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
Rory McIlroy spotted testing a new TaylorMade “PROTO” 4-iron at the 2024 Valero Texas Open
Update, 5:30 p.m.: Regarding his prototype iron, McIlroy offered this in his pre-tournament press conference:
“Yeah, I went out, spent a couple of days with the TaylorMade guys at the Kingdom. Yeah, they just produced these couple of proto, I guess like are they the MC replacements maybe…
“They performed really well. It’s just as fast as the 760 that I was using. Launch is a little higher actually, which was surprising, and it’s just sometimes I felt like when I hit my 5-iron in the blade and then the 4-iron in the 760 it was such a different feel. To go from a 5-iron now to that 4-iron, it feels a little closer to what I feel in the 5-iron. So just a little bit more responsive, but didn’t lose any performance from it, which is great. Yeah, it will be in the bag this week.”
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Now just what do we have here?
On Wednesday at the 2024 Valero Texas Open, GolfWRX.com spotted Rory McIlroy testing a new, mysterious TaylorMade “PROTO” 4-iron.
Clearly, the 4-iron is a prototype, but since it doesn’t say “Rors Proto” or “RM” on it, then maybe it’s a prototype for an upcoming iron release from TaylorMade. Or, maybe it’s an upgrade for a previous or existing iron model from the company.
For reference, the photo below shows what McIlroy’s previous P760 4-iron looks like…
If the new prototype was an upgrade on the former P760 design, that would certainly be a large design departure, aesthetically speaking. It’s not impossible, but the new proto definitely looks significantly different.
McIlroy’s new proto – aesthetically, at least – looks more similar to TaylorMade’s P7MC irons, a model that Collin Morikawa uses for his 5 and 6-irons, as pictured below.
The new proto is also reminiscent of TaylorMade’s old P750 and P770 irons:
So what could McIlroy’s new TaylorMade “Proto” be? Is it a one-off prototype for McIlroy? Is it a re-design of an older model? Is it a harbinger of a bigger release in the future?
What is it?!
Unfortunately, TaylorMade hasn’t yet commented publicly on the prototype iron, so for now, we wait. And enjoy the photos of McIlroy testing it on Wednesday in San Antonio.
Here’s what it looks like from address…
And here’s what McIlroy’s numbers looked like while testing it on the range…
Uhh, yeah. Those are pretty good 4-iron numbers.
Will McIlroy make the switch into the new prototype 4-iron this week? That remains to be seen, but it should be noted that it was the only 4-iron in his bag on Wednesday.
*We’ll update this post as further information becomes available
See what GolfWRX members are saying about the TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron here, plus more photos!
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Whats in the Bag
Raul Pereda WITB 2024 (April)
- Raul Pereda what’s in the bag accurate as of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, B2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 5 X
3-wood: Titleist TSR3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 7 X
7-wood: Ping G430 Max (21 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 50-08F, 54-08M, 60-08M)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey 2-Ball Ten Tour Lined
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy
Grips: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x+
Check out more in-hand photos of Raul Pereda’s clubs here.
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Whats in the Bag
Rickie Fowler WITB 2024 (April)
- Rickie Fowler what’s in the bag accurate as of the Valero Texas Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Project X Denali Black 70 TX
3-wood: Cobra Aerojet LS (14.5 degrees @13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Tour Green 75 TX
5-wood: Cobra LTDx LS (17.5 degrees @18.5)
Shaft: UST Mamiya LIN-Q White M40X 8F5
Irons: Cobra King Tour (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper 125 S+
Wedges: Cobra Snakebite (54, 56, 58 degrees)
Shafts: KBS Tour 610
Putter: Odyssey Versa Jailbird
Grip: SuperStroke Tour 3.0 17-inch
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Tack
Ball: TaylorMade TP5
Check out more in-hand photos of Rickie Fowler’s clubs here.
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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