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Do High Handicap Golfers Need FW

SuperStroke
Franklin51

Franklin51

On the Verge
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Ardmore AL
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Or does it open up trouble for them? I know many use it simply off the tee but does it get some of us in more trouble then do us good.

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Hard to say. I do t play one, but others feel really comfortable with one.

You could make this same case for almost every club though.
 
Interesting question. For me you could have almost any 3 wood I ever owned until I bagged a XHot 3W. Now my XR 3 hybrid is almost as long and even more reliable. Not even sure at this point. I might just pull it and see what happens.

JM
 
I don't have one in my bag right now. I went 2 hybrids and have liked that.
I will probly add one back in at some point.
I don't think it's mandatory for them to have one. Heavenwood is a game changer for me.


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I keep a 3w in the bag but find I score better when I don't even use it. I'm not long enough to attack par 5's in two shots so usually a better play is using hybrid on my 2nd shot leaving a short wedge into the green. I'm tweaking my hybrid setup and if it works out will probably end up going driver then 19* hybrid next season and skipping the fairway wood.
 
I'll find out this weekend as I am still waiting for my 3w to be delivered and I don't have a 3w currently while I'm waiting for it. I use my 3w off the tee 95% of the time I do choose to use it with an occasional par 5 from the fairway. I am not very good with a hybrid off the tee, mainly because I never practice a hybrid off the tee. That would be my biggest adaptation depending on the course layout. Last round I played I only used my 3w once from the fairway and never off the tee on that course.
 
I'm mixed, because if I hit it well, its awesome! if I don't it sucks…..
 
I need mine. I use it off the tee and rarely use it off the deck. So it gets me in less trouble than my driver.
 
For some they are better off without it, but this is not universal. When I was a beginner for some reason I was able to let the club do the work with the 3W. Don't know why I 'got it' so early with that club and took so long to get it with the others. However, as a beginner I had LOTS of opportunities to use the 3W and it helped me avoid big numbers on a lot of holes.
 
I enjoy my fairway woods. I have a 19* 5 wood and a 22* 7 wood. I cut down my 7 wood to about 41" and play it where my 4 hybrid goes. It goes high and straight and doesn't do bad out of light rough. And I am a high handicapper as well.
 
I think it depends on the individual. Everyone is not a high handicapper for the same reason.
 
RNG said:
I think it depends on the individual. Everyone is not a high handicapper for the same reason.
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This is the perfect answer!

For me, personally, I have never met a FW I could not hit. But I have met far too many hybrids that I could not hit.
 
Me too; I'm much happier with fairway woods than I am hybrids, and I've tried and owned many hybrids.

I hit my FW's off the tee as well as off the deck and couldn't imagine my bag without them.
 
I think it depends on the golfer and the club. I've always hit FW better than hybrids, so I'm far more comfortable with my Heavenwood than a 3h or 4h. I had an X2Hot 5W that the HWood replaced that I hit well off the deck also.

Really comes down to personal preference and comfort level IMHO.
 
Sox Fan said:
This is the perfect answer!

For me, personally, I have never met a FW I could not hit. But I have met far too many hybrids that I could not hit.
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And yet I'm the opposite to a degree.. I have never met a FW I could hit consistently... but yet my 3i is deadly.... which proves the point that not every person is a high handicap for the same reason. Mine is consistency, distance control/ accuracy... and I used to be REALLY bad
 
-CRW- said:
I need mine. I use it off the tee and rarely use it off the deck. So it gets me in less trouble than my driver.
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This exactly. Most high index players could shave a few strokes if they hit a fw or a shortened higher loft driver off the tee.

My index would certainly go up a couple strokes if I hit driver on every par 4 and 5.
 
tahoebum said:
This exactly. Most high index players could shave a few strokes if they hit a fw or shortened high loft driver off the tee.

My index would certainly go up a couple strokes if I hit driver on every par 4 and 5.
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One could argue the fairway side of it because modern drivers are more forgiving than fairway woods. And in some cases by a HUGE margin.
 
i'm not sure that a higher handicapper needs fw off the deck, but i think everyone needs a shorter, straighter option off the tee. if that's a hybrid, so be it.
 
I'm a "high handicapper" and I hit my FW's better than my 4I. We are all high handicappers for different reasons :)
 
JB said:
One could argue the fairway side of it because modern drivers are more forgiving than fairway woods. And in some cases by a HUGE margin.
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Drivers are hard to hit straight. Even the best in the world miss the faiway 1/3 of the time. I learned at a young age that 20 yards shorter in the short grass is better than being OB or in a hazard. I've been trying to teach one if my buddies this for 25 years and he finally took my advice a month ago and put a 13* 3 wood in his bag and is using it off the tee about 6-8 times per round instead of driver. His index dropped from 17 to 13.5, the lowest it's been in 15 years. The mini drivers or a 44" driver with an extra degree or two of loft are a good option as well.
 
I think it is. I've always carried a FW, but looking back shouldn't have. I always over swung that club when I was first learning. You've never seen such a slice! Nowadays though, a calm FW 210+ down the fairway is a common sight.
 
Also correct here. I used to hit a 9 degree stiff flex driver, and swing at it like home runs were on the line. Now I have a 12 degree regular flex that I swing calmly, and straight as all get out.
 
I went back and forth between two hybrids and a hybrid wood combo. I don't usually tee off with anything but driver (where I don't use irons/wedge obviously). I ended up sticking with the hybrid/wood combo. I just feel like the three has a better trajectory and a little more distance for those long shots when I am going for the green. I've just never been comfortable hitting a three off the tee.


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I didn't bag a 3w until this year, just could never hit it, it hurt my game. I would imagine if you comfortable swinging it, you should bag it. I have high handicap friends that carry a 3w and it helps them while others don't even carry a metal wood other than a driver.

I don't think it hurts high handicappers unless they continue to swing it and aren't confident in it.
 
I used to say to keep the FW in the bag since no matter how much I tried I couldn't get a consistent ball flight with a hybrid. All that changed the moment my Ben Hogan VKTR hybrid arrived courtesy of Ben Hogan Golf and THP. I don't know if it's because shape of the head looks more like an iron and not a squished FW but I hit it perfect from the moment I first tried it.

I basically just used my FW's when I wanted to chew up a good chunk of yardage on par 5's. The results weren't always pretty. When I would hit it correctly it was amazing. When I would chunk or top it I would say that I should have just used a 5 iron and get me to a distance I could reach the green in 3. I wouldn't have reached the green on a perfect shot anyways so i was better off taking the sure shot with an iron leaving me with a manageable distance instead of hitting a 50/50 shot with a FW wood that is either beautiful or leaving me with the same exact shot...only 15 yards closer. Since I hit the VKTR hybrid so well I am looking for a lower lofter one, say 17 degrees, that will put me closer to my FW loft and I know I will be more consistent.

What am I trying to say?? If a high handicapper uses his 3 wood off the tee instead of a driver then keep it in the bag. If it is only used trying to hit off the deck to get as much yards as possible keep it at home. It's just too inconsistent. Take it to the range and hit it off the deck there to get better at it. Find a hybrid that you are comfortable with and use that. It may not go as far as a FW but you will be much more consistent. Not comfortable with a hybrid like I was then just hit your longest iron you are comfortable with. You are better off advancing it 150-160 yards with 1 shot instead of 190 with a FW after taking 2 shots (a top then a good strike). Your scores will appreciate it!
 
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