Best 3 Woods 2024
- Updated: August 1, 2024
Founder and Lead Reviewer at Independent Golf Reviews
Over 1200 Golf Products tested on the course
Our Top 3
Best Overall TaylorMade Qi10  Who Should Buy: Golfers wanting the best overall 3 wood available. | Best Budget TourEdge C524  Who Should Buy: Golfers wanting a quality, budget-friendly 3 wood. | Longest Callaway Ai Smoke MAX  Who Should buy: Golfers wanting a seriously long 3 wood. |
Our List:
Insights Into Our Best 3 Woods of 2024 List:
My name is Ryan Heiman, and I have been testing golf balls, clubs, and accessories since 2011 at Independent Golf Reviews.
Each year, the biggest brands in golf send me their newest 3 woods to test and review on the course.
I test each club for multiple rounds and practice sessions before writing a full, in-depth review of them for our readers.
This is my current list of recommendations for the Best 3 Woods 2024 has to offer based on specific categories of golfers.
Each golfer is different and will have different needs based on their game, but I try my best to accommodate every player.
You should conclude this article with a clear choice about which 3 wood to buy.
Who Should Buy
- Players wanting the best 3 wood out
- Golfers who like to tinker with their equipment
- Those who want a weapon off the tee and fairway
Who Should Not Buy
- Golfers on a strict budget
Thoughts
My pick for the best overall 3 wood is the TaylorMade Qi10, or as I like to call it, my new every-round “gamer.”
I call the Qi10 the best 3 wood on the market because you have three different fairway woods at your disposal in one tech-packed club.
Its 50-gram sliding weight, highly adjustable hosel, and driver-style Twistface clubface make it forgiving, fast, and highly customizable for a tinkerer like me.
It replaced my previous gamer for two critical reasons: It’s long as h*ll off the tee and launched higher out of the fairway, turning my long game into a bigger strength.
If you’re an experimenter with your game and want a premium 3-wood, the TaylorMade Qi10 is a great pick.
Who Should Buy
- Golfers wanting an affordable fairway wood
- Players who enjoy no adjustability
- Those unwilling to sacrifice quality for price
Who Should Not Buy
- Golf brand snobs
Thoughts
The best budget 3 wood on the market is the TourEdge C524 because it’s effortless to hit off all lies, flies ridiculously straight and is the most affordable option on our list.
Upon unboxing the C524, I was immediately surprised by its appearance. It’s not that it’s off-putting in the slightest; I’ve just never seen a 3-wood shaped like this.
It has a larger head than average, a huge clubface, and a ridge down the center of the head that helped me a ton with alignment for straighter shots.
While most fairway woods on the market are highly adjustable these days, the TourEdge isn’t—perfect for golfers who want to learn one club and all its tricks.
If you’d like a budget-friendly 3 wood that’s long, straight, and easy to hit well, the TourEdge C524 is your top pick.
Who Should Buy
- Golfers wanting a distance boost in their 3-wood
- Players needing more reliability in their fairway wood
- Golfers who like to tinker with their clubs
Who Should Not Buy
- Players on a strict budget
Thoughts
The Ai Smoke MAX is marketed toward players who crave consistency. I’m here to tell you it provided that plus the most distance of any fairway wood available in my testing.
I have to preface this by saying I am not a “busy design club head” fan, but the carbon fiber is hard to notice on its hugely oversized club head.
The Ai Smoke MAX looks massive behind the golf ball in both length and width, inspiring more confidence in me that I had a larger sweet spot to hit.
Being able to use the hosel adjustments to influence my ball flight without sacrificing any length was the best feature of all.
If you could use a seriously reliable distance boost in the fairway wood department, look no further than the Callaway Ai Smoke MAX.
Who Should Buy
- Golfers needing optimized forgiveness
- Players who’d benefit from a higher launch
- Golfers wanting consistency
Who Should Not Buy
- Anyone would benefit from this 3 wood
Thoughts
After testing the G430 MAX, I can tell you it maximized my carry distance, launch angle, and ability to hit bombs at my target from the fairway and tee.
The PING G Series has developed a “Unicorn” nickname around the equipment industry, and the G430 MAX is no different.
This 3 wood launches high immediately off the clubface without ballooning with tons of spin. I loved how the higher launch increased my carry distances without sacrificing any accuracy.
Its head is big, wide, flat, and confidence-inspiring to every friend I let hold it.
Maybe nicest of all, PING includes more premium shaft varieties than any competitor (at no upcharge), making your investment more valuable and customized.
If you want a premium, forgiving 3 wood that’s just as high launching as it is forgiving and straight, look nowhere else but the G430 MAX.
Who Should Buy
- Golfers wanting stability and effortless launch
- Players who enjoy club aesthetics
Who Should Not Buy
- Those who want an off the tee weapon
Thoughts
The Cobra DarkSpeed X is arguably the cleanest-looking fairway wood on our list, and it has some of the highest launch and forgiveness levels to boot.
The DarkSpeed lives up to its name. It’s incredibly black, and looks mean sitting behind the ball (like you’re about to pound it).
Sitting low and deep in its sole is a massive weight port that effortlessly launches the ball high (with a neutral to draw bias flight) and makes the club sit extra flat to the ground.
This flat and stable feeling made me confident I could hit it straighter from fairway lies, which I thankfully did.
If looks and higher ball flights could kill, the Cobra DarkSpeed X would be a murderer, making it a great final pick on our list.
What To Consider When Buying 3 Woods
If you are still trying to decide what to look for when finding the best 3 wood for your golf game, this section is for you.
Give Yourself The Best Chance at Success
Finding fairway woods you love using is notoriously tricky, even for PGA TOUR players (hence why you see someone like Tiger Woods with a 6+ year old fairway wood).
Here’s how we go about finding a new 3 wood for our golf bags:
Testing Fairway Woods
If you’re fortunate enough to live in an area with demo clubs for you to try, we strongly encourage you to at least hit/test multiple 3 woods before deciding.
You may not choose any of the fairway woods you test, but at least you’ll have a better grasp of what’s available, what you like to look at behind the golf ball, and what fairway wood features like and don’t like.
Adjustable or Fused Club Head
Are you the type of player that loves to experiment and tinker with your clubs? Or are you in the category of “If I can hit it well, why mess with it?”
Most golfers find themselves in one category or the other, but if you aren’t a tinkerer, you can save yourself a considerable amount of money by buying a non-adjustable fairway wood.
Looks Matter
Personally, I enjoy smaller, graphic-free club heads and strong, bright alignment lines. That inspires confidence in myself that I’m going to hit a good shot.
You may feel completely different, but you’ll never know until you try.
Your golf club inspiring a feeling of, “I’m going to hit this well.”, is a significant factor in how you perform with that club.
Ask questions, get answers from experts and other golfers.
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About The Author
Ryan Heiman – Founder and Head Author of Independent Golf Reviews
Ryan has over 10 years of experience testing and writing golf reviews of nearly every product and brand out there. Ryan has hands-on experience reviewing over 1000 unique golf products directly on the golf course.
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