‘Anyone else not carry any fairway woods?’ – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

6 years ago

Nov 25, 2020

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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Gianni Magliocco

Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected]

10 Comments

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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Neal Shipley, AKA, the “Big Fridge’s,” custom stamping

Published

10 hours ago

Jun 1, 2026

Alistair Cameron

Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.

That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.

On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.

“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”

On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”

“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.

Check out Shipley’s full what’s in the bag and the rest of his wedge stampings here on “Inside the Ropes” from Colonial.

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: L.A.B. Purple DF3 with Masters cover

Published

18 hours ago

Jun 1, 2026

Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who 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, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.

From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules