One of the clubs I don’t switch very often in my bag is my 3-wood. It’s difficult to find 3-woods which work well with my “granny over the top jerky off plane epileptic seizure on crack makes Jim Furyk’s swing look on plane and makes Charles Barkley look like a scratch golfer” swing. So I don’t switch unless I find a club which really performs well for me. I switched.
Technology
MacGregor Golf has come out with new technology this season, just about across their entire line. The MacGregor “MacTec” is no longer around and the new “MT” line is the latest and greatest. Many of the MT offerings, the MT 3-wood included, employ the MacGregor “cup face” technology.
The MT Fairway is made of 17-4 stainless steel and the cup shaped front portion of the head is plasma welded to the body. Unlike many fairways, there isn’t a flat insert welded to the front of the head. The whole front of the face is one piece, shaped like a cup or bowl which wraps around the edges of the head on all sides. Using this technology, along with varying material content in different areas of the face, provides greater rebound as you go farther away from the sweet spot. Pure shots in the center of the club will always go well, but with the higher rebound moving outward, off-center shots will be closer to the same response and distance.
The face of the MT 3-wood is fairly deep, which will help prevent players from hitting the dreaded sky ball or “sky king” as I like to call it. The sole plate of the MT 3-wood doesn’t employ any insane and complex designs, no weights. No funky ports. It is classy looking and functional. Two rails on the sole help with irregular lies or longer grass.
Options
The MT Fairway is available in 13°, 15°, 16.5° and 18° and comes with a proprietary MT graphite shaft. Men’s Golf Pride DD2 grips come in black or red while the women’s and senior DD2 grips are available in Eggplant or Black.
For those who fight the slice/fade or want to hit a draw easier, there’s an offset version of the MT Fairway in 3, 5 and 7.
Looks
Standing over this club is a pleasure. The classic pear shape and deeper face gives me confidence in the club and my forthcoming shot. The club has a neutral look at address, which I like. I really don’t like those closed looking fairway woods because they make me think I’m going to hook the hell out of them.
The black proprietary MacGregor graphite shaft and black head go well with the color scheme I prefer, black. Black on black is great. They don’t call me “the Johnny Cash of golf” for nothin’.
Head cover
Not many golf club reviews address head covers but I always do. This head cover doesn’t use any fancy magnets or open like a clamshell, but it still works very well. It slides on and off easily, yet fits snug enough that it doesn’t accidentally fall off. It protects the club fine and looks sharp.
On the course
The first time I teed up the MT 3-wood I’d had a several month layoff from golfing, due to the 5th largest Winter snow season in history here in my area. Despite my being nervous, betting against 19 other players and being very rusty, that first shot flew long and straight with a nice little draw. I found if I teed the thing up a little higher than I’d usually tee up a 3-wood, it would fly very nice and high with a slight draw. The lower I teed it the easier to hit a fade.
Since that day I’ve really enjoyed my MT 3-wood. At my local country club there are several holes I can blow a driver through the dogleg. Now with my MT I can swing away and place that shot right in the sweet spot, center of the fairway.
MacGregor Equipment Photos
I have many MT 3-wood photos, along with many other great MacGregor Golf equipment photos in the Hooked On Golf Blog MacGregor Gallery.
Conclusion
The MT 3-wood is another great offering from the new line of wonderful golf clubs MacGregor has out for 2008. My MT is longer than many other 3-woods I’ve tried. It is straight, good looking and fairly easy to hit.
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