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Really need help off the tee guys, looking for a FAIRWAY FINDER

SuperStroke
drew4008

drew4008

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Huge follower of the forums and I figure I'm going to start posting a little bit and get involved as much as I can, hoping it'll take my game to the next level. With that said, here's my issue (sorry for being a little long-winded)

I've been really working on my game through this spring, particularly my ball-striking and iron play, and I feel it's paid off big-time... I'm very happy with my approach game as it stands.

But off the tee, I just can't get it done. What I'm searching for is something that will allow me to be in the fairway consistently... and if I do miss, for it not to be lost in the woods (I realize a brutal swing with any club is going to lead to that, but I want to seriously maximize forgiveness).

I normally play from the whites, as I'm playing with my dad, brother, or friends often and quite frankly, it just makes the game more fun. On the flip side, I'm a pretty strong guy and hit the ball a good distance (with my irons), averaging about 130 carry with my PW and 150-155 with my 8-iron.

When you combine shorter hole distances (due to playing the whites) and a pretty decent iron-game, I've quickly realized that I don't need to be Bubba out there and cream it with my drives to shoot low scores.

So for this reason, I've come to you guys to gain some insight on what clubs you've found to be your "fairway finders". On shorter tighter par 4's when you need to be straight, what do you CONFIDENTLY pull out of your bag?

Even if it's a deeper-faced 3-wood (or even 16.5 4-wood!), I'm all for it. I just want something 240-ish (which, given my yardages, shouldn't be asking for that much I don't think) and consistent... something I can have confidence in, as I have none right now off the tee haha
 
I don't pull 3 wood a lot but here's my short list
Cleveland Black or Mashie 3 wood
Callaway Razr 3 wood
TaylorMade RBZ 3 wood
 
I love my burner 2.0 3W, reasonably long and straight as long as I dont totally blow it.

I've found that for the driver it seems to be a matter of pace, remember, you dont have to crush it, and let the club do the work. Nice and smooth back and through, and you should be hitting fairways in no time.
 
Just from reading, it seems there's lots of positive buzz on the Mashie's, both fairway woods and hybrids... so that's def on my list. Which one is best suited for the tee?

The other one that sounds interesting is the 13* or 15* Fybrid from W/S (although there's the standard version, HS, and RS... so not sure which one to look at)
 
Given the particulars of your situation, I would look for something in the range of strong 3W, regular 3W, 4W or maybe even 2 hybrid, and leave the driver behind. Many here have said it many times - go to a facility where you can hit different clubs and find the manufacturer that works for you. That said, I'd add Ping G20's to the presumptive list (I hit my 8i about 140 and this 3W upwards of 245 off the deck, which is to say the club does a lot of the work).
 
If I really need to hit the fairway, I'll stay farther back and hit hybrid, but depending on distance needed and how the round is going I'll hit my 3w pretty frequently. However, if I still need distance, I'll just tee my driver down a bit and take an abbreviated backswing. It'll stay low and still go a good distance (it's what I do in the wind, and if I need a draw I just do this and think 'hit down on it' like with an iron).
 
Boccieire Heavy woods or hybrids. If you check out the Boccieri testing thread you will see that I just hit my 3wood 244 yards off of the tee. I'm not saying that you will, but I did.

Or an even smarter play would be just hit a mid or long iron off the tee.
 
Seems to be a thread that you are looking for a solid club less than driver. But I will throw the Razr Fit driver into the mix. This thing is so straight it is unreal. I'm hitting 67% FIR since switching to this club.
 
oiler3535 said:
If I really need to hit the fairway, I'll stay farther back and hit hybrid, but depending on distance needed and how the round is going I'll hit my 3w pretty frequently.
Click to expand...
This intrigues me, as I love the way I'm hitting my irons right now and a hybrid has the same sort of swing utilized with it... whereas a wood, quite frankly I just can't get a strong repeatable swing going, and this is with a fair amount of practice (albeit with a "Draw" driver that I'm ill-suited for now).

For whatever reason though, I don't see many people consistently using hybrid off the tee... maybe because it's smaller and thus has a lower MOI and such? I would also figure a 15-17* hybrid (the "1H") is substantially harder to hit and elevate than a 24*.
 
SW said:
I don't pull 3 wood a lot but here's my short list
Cleveland Black or Mashie 3 wood
Callaway Razr 3 wood
TaylorMade RBZ 3 wood
Click to expand...

I'll add Tour Edge Exotics XCG3 3-wood to that list. While it's not the easiest fairway wood to hit off the deck, it's definitely a forgiving fairway finder off the tee.
 
I personally almost always use my Nike VR-S 3w as a fairway finder. It has a really nice headweight, so I can swing a bit smoother and still retain good distance, and it seems to have a lower, really penetrating ball flight that doesn't seem too affected by sidespin or high winds. Definitely a go to club. On really short par 4s, though, I also use my 4i off the tee, and it puts my out there in the fairway as well.
 
drew4008 said:
Huge follower of the forums and I figure I'm going to start posting a little bit and get involved as much as I can, hoping it'll take my game to the next level. With that said, here's my issue (sorry for being a little long-winded)

I've been really working on my game through this spring, particularly my ball-striking and iron play, and I feel it's paid off big-time... I'm very happy with my approach game as it stands.

But off the tee, I just can't get it done. What I'm searching for is something that will allow me to be in the fairway consistently... and if I do miss, for it not to be lost in the woods (I realize a brutal swing with any club is going to lead to that, but I want to seriously maximize forgiveness).

I normally play from the whites, as I'm playing with my dad, brother, or friends often and quite frankly, it just makes the game more fun. On the flip side, I'm a pretty strong guy and hit the ball a good distance (with my irons), averaging about 130 carry with my PW and 150-155 with my 8-iron.

When you combine shorter hole distances (due to playing the whites) and a pretty decent iron-game, I've quickly realized that I don't need to be Bubba out there and cream it with my drives to shoot low scores.

So for this reason, I've come to you guys to gain some insight on what clubs you've found to be your "fairway finders". On shorter tighter par 4's when you need to be straight, what do you CONFIDENTLY pull out of your bag?

Even if it's a deeper-faced 3-wood (or even 16.5 4-wood!), I'm all for it. I just want something 240-ish (which, given my yardages, shouldn't be asking for that much I don't think) and consistent... something I can have confidence in, as I have none right now off the tee haha
Click to expand...

I just played golf with 72 different golfers all of which had bags full of fairway finders. All shapes and sizes, at least that what they tell you when you buy them.
May I suggest a proper fitting and maybe a lesson or two before you search for the holy grail of fairway finders. There isn't a club listed that finds the fairway any better than the next. All great clubs but without a proper fitting and knowledge or swing fix, they may all produce crocked tee shots.
 
drew4008 said:
Just from reading, it seems there's lots of positive buzz on the Mashie's, both fairway woods and hybrids... so that's def on my list. Which one is best suited for the tee?

The other one that sounds interesting is the 13* or 15* Fybrid from W/S (although there's the standard version, HS, and RS... so not sure which one to look at)
Click to expand...

The Wilson Fybrid RS 3 wood was my favorite at the outing last month, however I also hit the Adams Fast 12 really well also. I plan to head to Atlanta this week and try out both on a monitor before making my final choice and purchase. What Tadashi said in the above post is truly key to your finding the right club for you. I have just done a lot of the pre work and now need to see some numbers.
 
If I need the fairway, and it's a good iron striking day, then I pull the 4 iron. It's about 220 club. I also play a shorter course, so whether it's a 50 yard pitch shot or a 5 yard pitch shot, makes no difference to me.

If it's not a good iron striking day, I pull the 3 wood. It's a 255-260 yard club for me. Rarely am I having a bad day with both clubs.

EDIT: I should really read what thread this was in. As far as forgiving clubs, there's a lot of good reviews on Boccieri Heavy Hybrids. Cleveland Mashies get a lot of love here. If you want a forgiving driver, I'd probably look at Cleveland, Cobra, and the Taylormade R11S. The best way to find out is to simply go and get fit for a club that gives you the distance you are looking for with the consistency you are looking for.

~Rock
 
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You kind of sound like me, would like to have a good driver but just cant seem to find it. In my case, I KNOW the problem with me and a driver is directly in the middle of my ears. Years ago, I had bought a Taylor Made 2 iron and somehow I learned to LOVE that club. I rarely pull my driver out on the course, I just use that 2 iron as a long club, I hit it about 215 off the fairway and a bit further off the tee. I am pretty much just an irons player, I would rather keep the control, maybe have to hit 3 into a long par 5. But being in the short stuff makes this game SOOOOO much easier, and I find I like the control, distance is a bonus. I just recently upgraded to new players irons, and the control that I am really beginning to feel is phenomenal. The irons were designed for players with a much lower handicap than me, but they just felt the best and after one week with one round, in winds that we should have just stayed home, (20+ steady, gusts to 35+, throw away round really) and several range sessions. I am loving what I am seeing so far, my swing has all kinds of room for improvement, but I am making significant progress with that right now too. My old irons, I started to realize that I could not control them, so decided to upgrade. Long story short, hit what you feel comfortable with.
 
My r11 driver
My burner rescue
My Mashie
My 3 wood and 5 wood

I usually tend to find the fairway with these depending on the hole and the risks
 
3 Wood - if the shot needs to be placed and in the middle for sure.
Driver - on better days I don't have too much shape and it works great
5 Wood - Starting to love my 5 wood again. A friend I used to golf with called my last one the magic 5 wood, and this one is starting to get there too.

I think whatever you want to hit the middle with its as much about the swing as the club. Having a "go to" swing to get the ball out there and on target is as much part of it as the club.
 
I played a Callaway Warbird Strong-3 wood for years. Found it to be super accurate off the tee and easy to hit with its moderately deep face. As it is now, I'm very comfortable with my 4-wood. Nothing at all wrong going with a FW off the tee for accuracy's sake.

Another thing I did a few years back... I picked up a really cheap higher lofted TaylorMade R5 (11* or 12*, can't remember) and had a heavier shaft laying around, Vista-Pro 80 I believe. Had it built to 43.75" and added just a little lead tape to the head. Fairway finder supreme. Very, very accurate club.

Also, I'd read long ago that a shorter shaft will lower the effective loft of a club through impact so when going with a short driver, a higher loft is desirable. No idea about the science but that club launched no higher than the typical 9.5* to 10.5* drivers I've hit.
 
drew4008 said:
This intrigues me, as I love the way I'm hitting my irons right now and a hybrid has the same sort of swing utilized with it... whereas a wood, quite frankly I just can't get a strong repeatable swing going, and this is with a fair amount of practice (albeit with a "Draw" driver that I'm ill-suited for now).

For whatever reason though, I don't see many people consistently using hybrid off the tee... maybe because it's smaller and thus has a lower MOI and such? I would also figure a 15-17* hybrid (the "1H") is substantially harder to hit and elevate than a 24*.
Click to expand...

I hit my 4 hybrid about 200 off the tee, and it has a very predictable ball flight. My 5w goes ~220, and 3w ~250, but with both clubs about 1 of 4 or 5 times instead of going straight it gets a 40 yard 'draw'. As such, if I absolutely have to hit the fairway I'll hit hybrid. Instead of having a wedge or mid iron to go to the green I might have a few extra clubs, but I'd rather have a pitch/chip onto the green possibly than risk it off the tee.
 
The Callaway Diablo Octane 4 wood is easiest club to hit straight that I have found. New to the forum and hope this helps. You can pick one up cheap at Callaway per-owned or 3balls.com.
 
WMac19 said:
Another thing I did a few years back... I picked up a really cheap higher lofted TaylorMade R5 (11* or 12*, can't remember) and had a heavier shaft laying around, Vista-Pro 80 I believe. Had it built to 43.75" and added just a little lead tape to the head. Fairway finder supreme. Very, very accurate club.
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest this as well. If you ONLY want a fairway finder to use from the tee, then a higher lofted driver with a shorter shaft is the way to go (IMHO). With the larger head, it is going to be easier to hit than a strong 3 wood will be.

If you're on a budget, you might want to look at a Nickent 4DX Evolver with a 12.5 degree head. My dad plays with one and he probably hits 12 out of 14 fairways a round. He's never been a good driver (fought a duck hook as long as I've seen him play) and honestly is driving the ball further and straighter at 65 than he did at 45. The tee has gone from his biggest weakness to his second biggest strength, and that's got absolutely nothing to do with practice (because he doesn't practice tee shots).

I've hit the club and its tall face is really confidence inspiring (much more so than a 3 wood). I personally think the face is pretty hot as well and have found reviews by others suggesting the same thing. You could get one of these, have it cut down, put your choice of grip on it and still be between 1/2 to 1/4 of the price of many of the other clubs suggested in the thread.

Hope this helps!
 
Taylormade burner super fast 2.0 3 wood. Absolutely love this and it will go straight and far and is so forgiving


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Titleist D10 FD 3 wood it is 15* and I really feel comfortable pulling this baby out when its a narrow fairway.
 
If you ignore the price tag the RBZ 3 wood is the best out there. At the range I considered getting rid of the driver. haha. Hit that thing 270+ but I have a fairly high swing speed
 
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