fairway woods from the deck

[kiwi g]

Hi all,new member here wondering if anyone can help me out with the best type of woods to hit from the deck. Been playing golf about 6 months now,and normally shoot around a 100.hoping to drop 5 shots off my handicap in the next year,as ive definitely got the golf bug   Ive got a taylormade rbz 3 wood,that i hit quite nice off the tee. at around 200 yards,but can't hit it to save my life off the deck! does head volume make a difference,i was reading somewhere that a smaller size is easier to hit off the ground than a bigger one. also how much easier is a 19 degree to hit from the turf than a 15 degree. im looking at buying the cobra fly-z adjustable 5-7 wood,i believe you can adjust it from 17 to 20 degrees.and starting out at 19,and then lowering down to 17 as i improve.im also hoping the slightly shorter shaft might help me too.any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated

[iacas]

Virtually all fairway woods are meant to be hit off the fairway.

You may not want to hear this, but your technique is what needs to improve.

[saevel25]

I would recommend hybrids over fairway woods if you want something that is easier to hit off the ground. If you are looking for a fairway wood then look for something that doesn't have back end too far stretched away from the club face. This helps with ground contact. 

I agree with @iacas, most all problems hitting clubs comes down to the golfer now the club.

[kiwi g]

thanks,yeah my technique does need a lot of work. got a 20 degree hybrid that i hit quite nice.Just trying to find something that will do "less damage" than the 3 wood while i improve it

[dennyjones]

52 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

 

I would recommend hybrids over fairway woods if you want something that is easier to hit off the ground.

 

this!

[Piz]

I use a shallow-faced, 18 degree, 5 wood for most all par 5 seconds.

[DeadMan]

Pretty much agree with what everybody else has said so far. A higher lofted club will help you for sure, but it won't be a magic fix. Hybrids tend to be easier to hit in general, but I don't have much problems hitting my 5 wood off the fairway and decent lies in the rough.

3 woods can be pretty difficult to hit off the fairway. I struggle with it at times. 

[JonMA1]

32 minutes ago, kiwi g said:

thanks,yeah my technique does need a lot of work. got a 20 degree hybrid that i hit quite nice.Just trying to find something that will do "less damage" than the 3 wood while i improve it

From the perspective of another high capper, I like the distance I get even from a less than stellar 3w shot from off the deck compared to a well-struck 4iron from the same lie.

In my opinion, learning to hit these clubs and gaining confidence in them will help your game by leaving a much shorter approach on par 5's. 

Take the following advice with a grain of salt because as I've said, I'm not very good (and I've duffed plenty of 3w shots). A smooth, controlled swing with a 3w is a must for me. Try swinging yours at 3/4 speed to get used to hitting off the turf.

Hybrids offer you the ability to hit from the rough which is almost impossible for me with a wood, but the extra yardage the 3w provides from the fairway is worth the effort needed to learn to hit it, IMO.

[WUTiger]

3 hours ago, kiwi g said:

 Ive got a taylormade rbz 3 wood,that i hit quite nice off the tee. at around 200 yards,but can't hit it to save my life off the deck!

I had trouble with RBZ 3W off the deck. If it's the stock model, it only has a 45-gram shaft. Several user reviews suggested it was great for smooth swingers, but too light for others.

Plus, studies show that the average golfer can hit the 4W better than a 3W. If you can hit the FlyZ 5-7 at 17*, you'll basically have a 4W.

The FlyZ FWs and hybrids have slightly heavier shafts than most, without being overly stiff. I play the FlyZ 4H hybrid, and really like it.

A piece of advice on hitting FWs off the deck: consider choking down about 1/2" - this helps with control. Also, since you're a beginner, you might take a lesson and make sure your set-up is proper for a FW. 

[alleztom]

 

18 minutes ago, WUTiger said:

 

Plus, studies show that the average golfer can hit the 4W better than a 3W. If you can hit the FlyZ 5-7 at 17*, you'll basically have a 4W.

 

When being fitted for a fairway I hit 4Ws higher and further than equivalent 3Ws

[Hacker James]

I went from RBZ 3W, to Laminated Ben Hogan 5W, to Ben Hogan 4W, but also carry a couple of hybrids 21 and 22 deg.  The jury is still out on which is best, but usually the 4W wins out as I can just take a leisurely, straight, swing with good outcome leaving short pitch or long putt.

[kiwi g]

2 hours ago, WUTiger said:

studies show that the average golfer can hit the 4W better than a 3W. If you can hit the FlyZ 5-7 at 17*, you'll basically have a 4W.

yeah,thinking i'd put the 3 wood away till i improve quite a lot(or use it instead of my driver,give up about 30 yards with it,but find a lot more fairways.but thats another topic).and ild start off with the fly-z set as a 5 wood,and then lowering it into a 4 wood once i'm hitting it consistently.im going to go into the shop this week,and have a few swings with it.

this may be really simple for every one else too,so sorry in advance but still learning about this game. but do you know why they say an average golfer can hit a 4w better than a 3w.is it purely just the loft,or is there other factors too?

[OrangeHog]

15 hours ago, iacas said:

Virtually all fairway woods are meant to be hit off the fairway.

You may not want to hear this, but your technique is what needs to improve.

This is a great point.  I've played with a number of high handicap amateurs who carry a FW but really didn't know how to appropriately hit it off the deck.  I've gamed several different fairway woods and they are all very similar off the deck.  I will say that my current Cobra F6 Baffler is my favorite because the rails make it easier to get through the turf and on odd lies, but the club doesn't necessarily make it easier to hit.

I'd almost suggest maybe starting with a 4 or 5 wood or even go with some hybrids, develop the technique then progressively add in fairway woods if you still need it.

[Hatchman]

Like some I have the TM Stage 2, 3 and 5 wood in the bag now.  Prior to woods, for about one continuous year, I hit exclusively the Adams Hybrid Pro with Alidila stock shafts I picked up.  Got to where I became more comfortable hitting that small peanut head then intergrated the woods into the bag.  It takes time.

[WUTiger]

10 hours ago, kiwi g said:

but do you know why they say an average golfer can hit a 4w better than a 3w.is it purely just the loft,or is there other factors too?

Two factors: clubhead speed and loft. Better players normally have higher clubhead speed, which means they don't need as much loft to get the ball airborne. The higher loft in the 4W helps the average golfer get better launch - too little height hurts your distance. (Also, a 4W is often a half-inch shorter in shaft, which can help with control).

Note: it's not just average golfers who hit the 4W better. A couple of years ago at a demo day, the Tour Edge rep was showing us the new Exotics fairway wood models. He had everyone  hit both the 3W and 4W, with the same shaft in each. 

Most of us average guys did better with the 4W. And, a few of the big hitters - they ran out their drives 270 or so - also hit the 4W longer then the 3W. So, along with clubhead speed and loft, there's the factor of how one comes into the ball at impact.

One local teaching pro/clubfitter has been tweaking his FW for about a year. He went from a 3W to a 5W - lost about 20 yards but had big increase in accuracy. Then, he put a 4W length shaft into the 5W head, and picked up a bit more yardage. Also, Ryder Cup hero Patrick Reed carries an 18* XR16 Pro (5W) as his fairway wood. Similar idea to what my local guy is doing.

@kiwi g, sounds like your Cobra 5-7W fits right in!

[Piz]

9 hours ago, kiwi g said:

yeah,thinking i'd put the 3 wood away till i improve quite a lot(or use it instead of my driver,give up about 30 yards with it,but find a lot more fairways.but thats another topic).and ild start off with the fly-z set as a 5 wood,and then lowering it into a 4 wood once i'm hitting it consistently.im going to go into the shop this week,and have a few swings with it.

this may be really simple for every one else too,so sorry in advance but still learning about this game. but do you know why they say an average golfer can hit a 4w better than a 3w.is it purely just the loft,or is there other factors too?

Generally speaking; newer golfers have greater success with the shorter clubs.  It is all down to the mechanics/efficiency of their swings.  A 3 iron does not require any more "effort" to swing than a 7 iron; but the intuition, when taking up the game, is usually just the opposite: that the farther the ball needs to go the harder one must swing.  That results in progressively worse contact as the shaft length increases...the swing faults manifesting in direct proportion to the length of the shaft.

[WUTiger]

22 minutes ago, Hatchman said:

Like some I have the TM Stage 2, 3 and 5 wood in the bag now.

The TM RBZ (Rocketballz) Stage 2 FWs flew a lot better for me than the originals. Part of the reason, Stage 2 had a 60-gram stock shaft rather than the feathery 45 gram. And, shots came off the deck better. But, the TM guys offered little in trade-in for original RBZ, so I switched to Tour Edge.

Hatchman has company. I regularly saw RBZ Stage 2 FWs in play this summer.

[Patch]

All my metal woods are of the low profile type. By that I mean square and thinner. I purchased them that way just because I was told they would be easier to hit off the turf than their more rounded counterparts. I don't know how true that is, but it sounded good at the time. I have even used my driver off the turf in some circumstances. Just a little aim adjustment helps when using the driver.

 

Except for my 5, the other 3 all work well off the turf. Not sure why the 5 gives me more grief, but I'm sure it's something I am doing.