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Thin Fairway Woods and Hybrids

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POKeefe

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I currently have the RBZ Stage 2 3 Wood and 3 Hybrid, but have never really hit them that well. I usually hit them off the deck and not much off the tee. I think a thinner top line wood and hybrid may help me, especially when hitting out of the rough. Any recommendations?
 
I'm curious, is there a thinner topline fairway wood?

I would recommend a shallower faced wood. Like an Adams Tight Lines.
 
blugold said:
I'm curious, is there a thinner topline fairway wood?

I would recommend a shallower faced wood. Like an Adams Tight Lines.
Click to expand...

Sorry, you're right. What I mean is a shallower face. The RBZ's have a very fat face in my opinion.
 
POKeefe said:
Sorry, you're right. What I mean is a shallower face. The RBZ's have a very fat face in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I was so darned confused hahahah !

The Callaway options are pretty shallow and the Taylormade Jetspeed is pretty shallow.
 
blugold said:
I'm curious, is there a thinner topline fairway wood?

I would recommend a shallower faced wood. Like an Adams Tight Lines.
Click to expand...

Blu is a wise man. The Tight Lies are very nice clubs and have a more traditional face depth. I like my 3w from the deck but not so much from the tee.


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Yeah. I feel really good with my other clubs and am starting to consistently break 100, but wow my 3W has hurt me a lot lately. I don't feel confident with it at all unless the lie is perfect, which isn't true of the other clubs. Also this might sound silly, but the club is a real pain to keep clean.
 
Look into the Tour Edge XRail. It gets the ball up in a hurry.


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Cobra baffler t-rail is a great shallow faced choice. Also Callaway X hot!

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Now if I'm looking at 2 clubs to mix between my Driver and 4I, would a 3W and 3H make most sense considering my circumstances? I usually only put it out there about 220-240 with my driver, so I generally hit driver on anything that isn't a Par 3.
 
POKeefe said:
Now if I'm looking at 2 clubs to mix between my Driver and 4I, would a 3W and 3H make most sense considering my circumstances? I usually only put it out there about 220-240 with my driver, so I generally hit driver on anything that isn't a Par 3.
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I am in the same boat as you. I go Driver, 5W, 4h. Was thinking of pulling the 4h out of the bag and inserting a 7W in it's place.
 
POKeefe said:
Now if I'm looking at 2 clubs to mix between my Driver and 4I, would a 3W and 3H make most sense considering my circumstances? I usually only put it out there about 220-240 with my driver, so I generally hit driver on anything that isn't a Par 3.
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I went 4W (and might go to 5W soon) and then hybrid. For a shallow faced wood, the Callaway Razr Fit Xtreme is shallow (more so then the Xhots) and my 16.5 4W is a pretty solid club that you can get now for around $100 new.
 
Definitely leaning towards the Razr Xtreme Fit on Callaway Pre-Owned for price reasons on the 4W. I'm still split on whether a different Hybrid would make much of a difference. I know part of it is with my swing, but part of it is a confidence issue too. I don't have any problems hitting my G25 Irons out of any lie (even the 4I), but I really struggle with the 3W or 3H. What is your opinion on RBZ Stage 2 vs. some of the hybrids you guys have mentioned (X Hot, Baffler T-Rail+, XRail, etc) out of the rough?
 
Adams:
Tight Lies (reg or pro)
XTD
9031

Cobra:
Bio Cell (reg or +)

Tour Edge Exotics:
XCG5

All of the Adams fairway woods/hybrids have a shallow face. As a sweeper, I've found that they are all easy to hit from the fairway or the tee (set at just above ground level, YMMV). As far as hitting from the rough, anything more than the 1st cut is usually too much for my meager SS using a fairway or hybrid (exception being the DHYs that I'm currently gaming).
 
Adams make some very nice low profile woods and hybrids
 
I am a shallow face 3W guy myself, I really liked my old R9 15*. Just built a Callaway Optiforce FT 3W that has a shallow face as well.
I would also recommend the Ping G20 or G25 in the mix, they are super shallow IMO.
 
blugold said:
I was so darned confused hahahah !

The Callaway options are pretty shallow and the Taylormade Jetspeed is pretty shallow.
Click to expand...



Agreed on the above.

Titleist FWs are also usually pretty shallow, as are Adams.

Candidly, most FWs will be shallow compared to the RBZ2 FWs. It's like a mini driver.


And, I tend to prefer shallow faced FWs. Just was easy to hit off the tee, but much easier to hit off of the turf.
 
Anyone actually hit the G25 vs. XHot vs. Xtreme Fit off the deck and which did you think was best + why? I've read a lot of people raving about the G25 and XHot and bashing the Tight Lies as nothing special. Just looking for feedback before deciding.
 
POKeefe said:
What is your opinion on RBZ Stage 2 vs. some of the hybrids you guys have mentioned (X Hot, Baffler T-Rail+, XRail, etc) out of the rough?
Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of the Stage 2 or RBZ in general. To each his own, but those aren't clubs that give me any confidence off of the deck.

Your handicap and swing speed seem to be about like mine. I probably wouldn't go for the RFE. I would say that I absolutely love the sound of those. The RFE is aimed more at the lower handicap player.

I've played/owned the XHot, Trilogy/Xrail, Baffler T, XCG5, XCG3 (flatter sole and a little deeper), Razr X black, Diablo Octane, Ping K15, Nike Machspeed Square and the Mashies. Again and again, you'll see these show up in threads as easy to hit fairways. The only one suggested in this thread that I've not spent time with is the new Adams Tight Lies. I've hit it off of a mat, but not out on the course.

- Easiest out of the rough? Trilogy/Xrail -- and it's not even close. The Ginty sole just plows through the rough stuff. The Mashie is a modified Ginty design, but I think it is just too deep for a slower swing speed player, even with the stock shaft playing kind of weak.
- Easiest off of a really thin lie? All the shallow ones are about the same to me. They're all easier than tyring to hit a deeper faced FW off of a thin lie.
- Best off the tee? Xhot, XCG3/4. These are definitely hot.
- Right lofts? I wouldn't go for a 15 degree 3W. I'd go for a 16 or 17 degree head (regardless of whether that is stamped as a 3 or 4 wood).
- Shaft length? I think 43 inch (or longer) shafts are a massive disservice to the higher handicap player, particularly off the deck. Get something and cut it down to about 42.25.

One other thing to note is that the FW from the deck is about the toughest non-specialty shot in golf. You might be better served avoiding it and seeing what it does to your scores. I've posted two of my 3 best rounds when I didn't even hit a FW (and I love FWs).
 
ryebread said:
I'm not a fan of the Stage 2 or RBZ in general. To each his own, but those aren't clubs that give me any confidence off of the deck.

Your handicap and swing speed seem to be about like mine. I probably wouldn't go for the RFE. I would say that I absolutely love the sound of those. The RFE is aimed more at the lower handicap player.

I've played/owned the XHot, Trilogy/Xrail, Baffler T, XCG5, XCG3 (flatter sole and a little deeper), Razr X black, Diablo Octane, Ping K15, Nike Machspeed Square and the Mashies. Again and again, you'll see these show up in threads as easy to hit fairways. The only one suggested in this thread that I've not spent time with is the new Adams Tight Lies. I've hit it off of a mat, but not out on the course.

- Easiest out of the rough? Trilogy/Xrail -- and it's not even close. The Ginty sole just plows through the rough stuff. The Mashie is a modified Ginty design, but I think it is just too deep for a slower swing speed player, even with the stock shaft playing kind of weak.
- Easiest off of a really thin lie? All the shallow ones are about the same to me. They're all easier than tyring to hit a deeper faced FW off of a thin lie.
- Best off the tee? Xhot, XCG3/4. These are definitely hot.
- Right lofts? I wouldn't go for a 15 degree 3W. I'd go for a 16 or 17 degree head (regardless of whether that is stamped as a 3 or 4 wood).
- Shaft length? I think 43 inch (or longer) shafts are a massive disservice to the higher handicap player, particularly off the deck. Get something and cut it down to about 42.25.

One other thing to note is that the FW from the deck is about the toughest non-specialty shot in golf. You might be better served avoiding it and seeing what it does to your scores. I've posted two of my 3 best rounds when I didn't even hit a FW (and I love FWs).
Click to expand...

Sounds like the XRail is the one for me then. I really don't hit my 3W off the tee that often. If I do, it's usually only a par 4 that's under 350 yards and I could hit a 4I from that distance. This is amazing insight and I really appreciate it.
 
For me it hasn't been the face depth so much as the weighting. Woods with a farther back CoG I've always had trouble making consistent contact. While my current 3w (Cleveland Classic XL) is a pretty decent-sized face, I feel like the weight is farther forward, much easier to hit from the deck.

That being said, the Baffler from Cobra seems custom-made for the job.
 
The Tour Model RBZs have shallow faces. I played them last season before trading them in for SLDRs.
 
I prefer shallow faced fairway woods as well. I've not hit them yet, but I really like the profile of the JetSpeed fairways and hybrids.
 
ehamady.6 said:
The Tour Model RBZs have shallow faces. I played them last season before trading them in for SLDRs.
Click to expand...

Weighting and shaft length might be a problem for me then. 5'8" with a 90-95 SS. Only hit my 3 Wood 200-220.
 
I just cut my stage 2 3HL down 3/4", still need to put a grip on it tho. I'm also 5'8" and wrist to floor is 34". I had problems making consistent contact with it off the deck, I'll let you know what changes I see. Hopefully I can hit the range this week.
 
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