"Hot" 3 Woods

[BC MIST]

To those who have experimented with various 3+ wood clubs, is there one that was obviously longer than the rest?

I recently added a Bobby Jones hybrid to my collection and the ball flies longer and straighter than a similarly lofted and significantly longer fairway wood. There is just something about the club that causes this. Perhaps there is similar technology in a low lofted fairway wood that will add some highly needed yards. Besides all the Wishon FW woods, the only others that I have used are the Tour Edge Exotics and an ancient Callaway "Plus" 3W.

Any suggestions?

[jvincent]

Have you measured the lofts on the different clubs to confirm that they are the same?

My guess is that something about the COG of the head and/or where it contacts the ball is generating the absolute best launch conditions (spin and angle) for the clubhead speed.

Changing just a few variables can make a big difference. To check this out you can change some of the variables in Trajectoware and see how much the carry will change.

[justsomeguy]

My original 3-wood was also the Callaway Steelhead Plus. The Big Bertha II and Taylor Made 200 Steel were also great 3-woods that came out just after that. The Ashton X-1 fairway woods blew them all out of the water, and I still have the Ashton 5-wood and 7-wood in my bag. My 7-wood is shafted with an SK Fibre Pure Energy and it is a very good combo. If you haven't tried Ashton fairway woods, you should because they are definately "hot" heads.

My longest and best 3-wood has been a Wishon 915HL shafted with an Aldila NVS. This club replaced my Ashton X-1 and is the longest-serving club in my bag. Not a lot of fanfare about this head, but there is something about this combo that is just magic for me - I haven't even been tempted to try anything else. As jvincent pointed out, sometimes you just luck out on the perfect head/shaft combo for your swing.

[Started2k3]

I second the Ashton X-1 ... have all three and a spare 3w just in case anything happens.

[Hacker]

What kind of shaft is in your new hybrid? Finding the right shaft can often times take a average performing head and turn it into a long bomber...

[BC MIST]

To All: Have some Ashton FW woods and found them to be comparable to others that I have tried. Also, in my years of club making and too many experiments with a huge variety of shafts, I have concluded that there is no one shaft that is appreciably longer than any other. The hybrid shaft is a Graphite Design, one that I tried previously in a driver and did like the feel of.

Perhaps it is just the way I swing but the ball just seems to spin too much regardless of the head/shaft combination. We all know what a "flyer" looks like after struck, a shot where the ball just seems to go forever, and that flight I seldom get. Could it be that at 62, I am loosing the elasticity in my muscles and have to accept that I can't hit the ball very far anymore? Nah!! The search will continue.

Thanks for the recommendations.

[Golfbum]

The hottest 3 wood I owned was a TaylorMade Supersteel with the R90 Rifle shaft. Man the ball just jumped off the face of that club. I did not bother carrying a driver as I was as long with that club as my buddies were with their drivers. I also owned the same club in the 5 wood, hot hot hot

Mind you I had a lot faster swing speed when I owned those two sticks.

[Wilster]

I haven't had a 3 wd for the longest time , but this season i got a Wishon 949 with a purple ice in it.
I'm hitting the ball as long as i can remember , i'm really impressed , i've got the same set up in a 5wd and i measured one with my range finder , and it came in around the 240 yd mark (obviously not every shot) but i'm hitting it generally between 210 and 220 with very little effort. They aren't leaving my bag for a long time.

[downhillslider]

Hey B.C, what is the hosel dia. on the Booby Jones ?

[one16th]

Nike T-60 by a long shot....ball just seems to explode off the face. I have a 15deg w. X-100 shaft & can carry it around 250-260

[golfisforfun]

Tour Edge Exotics!!! Not the new ones... the older styles... they are so long!!!

[buykrux]

cleveland quadpro woods are still the longest i have ever hit
second place is awarded to sonartec

[LobWedge]

I've got a V-Steel 4 wood that I absolutely kill. The original Tri Metal woods were some of the longest around as well (distant cousins of the Bobby Jones woods).

455 Carpenter steel (or 455 "special" steel, or alpha maraging steel, same thing) is a great face metal for fairway woods. I think the BJ woods have the same face material.

[Txxxxxxx]

Tour Edge Exotics!!! Not the new ones... the older styles... they are so long!!!

The new ones too. The CB-2 is DEEEEEEEEEEP.

Same goes for the CObra X-Speed.

[byerxa]

To All: Have some Ashton FW woods and found them to be comparable to others that I have tried.

When did you get the Ashtons? Do they have the score lines all the way across the face? I have a 3W and a 7W from the first batch they made and they are great. The first batch did not have the score lines all the way across, i.e., a circular unscored section in the middle of the face. Then they changed foundries and they were not the same. I purchased a 5W and a stronger 3W from the newer batches and did not find them near as good.

My 3W was hand picked to 16* square and I put in a TT80 stiff (a whole $25 for that shaft!) - I simply cannot beat this combo (although the latest Wishons are tempting me). I don't carry the 7W much anymore because I hit it so high that it can be tricky on windy days.

[Started2k3]

When did you get the Ashtons? Do they have the score lines all the way across the face? I have a 3W and a 7W from the first batch they made and they are great. The first batch did not have the score lines all the way across, i.e., a circular unscored section in the middle of the face. Then they changed foundries and they were not the same. I purchased a 5W and a stronger 3W from the newer batches and did not find them near as good.

My 3W was hand picked to 16* square and I put in a TT80 stiff (a whole $25 for that shaft!) - I simply cannot beat this combo (although the latest Wishons are tempting me). I don't carry the 7W much anymore because I hit it so high that it can be tricky on windy days.

Ashton X-1 have no score lines in the center circle.
Ashton X-1D have score lines all the way across.

I agree with you the X-1 are much better.

[byerxa]

Ashton X-1 have no score lines in the center circle.
Ashton X-1D have score lines all the way across.

I agree with you the X-1 are much better.

I am fairly certain my newer X-1 5W has score lines all the way across as well. However, it would not be the first time I was wrong . The club is at my parent's place in T.O. so I cannot check. All I know is the newer X-1 5W is not near as hot as the originals - the original 7W carries as far (and feels a lot more solid) as the new 5W and they are both shafted in TT80s.

[Started2k3]

If you check out the images on the Ashton website you will see what I am talking about.
http://www.ashtongolf.com/prod_x1_fw_images.htm
http://www.ashtongolf.com/prod_x1d_fw.htm

[byerxa]

If you check out the images on the Ashton website you will see what I am talking about.
http://www.ashtongolf.com/prod_x1_fw_images.htm
http://www.ashtongolf.com/prod_x1d_fw.htm

Ya, I've seen those images but I think the X1 pictures are from the originals. I wish I had my 5W here in Ottawa to verify if I am correct or on some "recreational substance" I am fairly certain my X-1 5W looks like the "Ds" except lower profile. Regardless they are not as good as the original X1s. If my X1 3W ever died or walked I would probably go to the Wishon 515s or 949s instead of the newer Ashton X1s.