3 wood dilemma

[The_ACE]

Hi all,
anyway i'm a low 20 handicap player and looking to buy a fairway wood. I don't currently have one in the bag and feel its a huge space missing.

The dilemma is how much should I spend on this thing? I have looked and tried out MD 3 woods and they are easy to hit, fairly long etc. I have also tried out ping G15s, taylormade superfast, titleist 909 (something) all also felt good and certainly had more of a punch and style to them.
So should i get the md and buy a better club when im a better player or just go straight to the top?

Reviews of clubs also welcome and personal experience welcome.

 

[robbest3offthetee]

Hi Mate,You have done the right thing,trying a few different makes/models,at the end of the day you have to go with what suits YOU best....

 

[Durango]

I was looking at all the latest fairway woods and stumbled across my old Callaway Steelhead 3 wood in the garage. Put a new grip on it and I'm hitting it brilliantly. Goes just as well as the newuns. Regret buying my mizuno clk hybrid as that's now been made redundant!

 

[RGDave]

Reviews of clubs also welcome and personal experience welcome.

I've always carried a 3 wood. Right from the word go.

There's little difference between an old one, a fairly new one and the latest range. They are what they are and discounting square or super-sized, they haven't changed much.

My favourite was a Callaway Warbird, which I broke and never liked the replacement I got from Callaway after driving all the way to London (Chessington).

I have a steelhead somewhere (on loan) which I thought was inferior to the warbird.

I have a TaylorMade R5 dual ti (185cc) which has to be the sweetest club I've ever hit. I was very wayward with it for a while and tried a square Nike one which although straighter never felt as good or went as far.

There are countless excellent clubs out there, and some great bargains on 2-3 seasons-old kit. I bet there is a cracking new (but old season) or 2nd hand TM/Ping/Callaway just waiting for you at a range somewhere.

With things like drivers and putters, I always regret not going "in at the top" or close to. With a 3 or 5 wood, an old trusty is usually just as good....unless you start dropping the driver!

 

[C_MAC]

I have a King Codra LD speed 3wood with a stiff shaft and I love it. I'm a high handicapper like yourself and I tried a good choice of 3woods before I got this and found it so easy to hit off tee and fairway. I even use it more then my driver now I hit it so easy. As said above in a few different post's try out as many 3woods as you can before you make ur decision and try out local pro shops aswell,I got mine for a steal at €80 because with was a demo model. So have a look around mate

 

[CrapHacker]

IMO it depends on how good a golfer you are aiming/expecting to be, how much money you have to spend, and how much of a brand whore you are.

Apart from my Ping driver I'm pretty much a Benross whore. Admittedly partly because of price/budget.

But...

With the added extra that Benross make clubs with me in mind - I'm a ( at present failed ) 18 handicapper, with pretentions of having the ability to get down to 14 or 15 if ever I had the time and money to commit to it.

My swingspeed is on the low side of normal, as are my iron and hybrid distances. I cannot successfully hit any stiff shafted club off the fairway.

So...

Benross use top quality components, like Aldila shafts which are as good as any major brand use, and they are specially chosen to help guys in the 10 - 24 ( ish ) handicap range, with not particularly good swingspeeds.

Now I'm NEVER going to get better than that, so in theory my clubs will be good enough for me for the foreseeable future, no matter how much I improve. They get the ball up in the air, keep it relatively straight, and send it a reasonable distance down there ( 'There' hopefully being somewhere near the fairway ).

However

Having said all that, I don't use a 3w, I use a 17* 4w. Again because I couldn't get my old 3w up in the air enough off the deck, and the slight loss of distance off the tee is irrelevant ( If I'm going for distance off the tee, then I'm mishitting my driver, rather than forcing my fairway wood ).

Them's the thoughts of a truly crap hacker. I hopes they helps.