well, 3* plus one inch of length is going to be around 10 yards, for people with a sufficient swing speed. Not every company does 3*, some do 4*. Also, with the loft strengthening of the irons, there is less room at the top lofts to spread out anymore. Way back when, it was typical for the 3 wood to be 16*, the 4 wood to be 19* and the 5 wood to be 22* -- or, since most people go from 3 wood to 5 wood or hybrid, that used to be a 6 degree gap! Each progressively more lofted wood would also be 1 inch shorter -- something the manufacturers don't necessarily do anymore either.

Again, this really comes down to each individual swing, and how they perform for each individual person. Each person's home course and personal strategies enter into the decisions, too. If you play a lot of long courses leaving you lots of long approaches, you may want that top of the bag to be more precise so you might want smaller gaps. You might need to carry a 13* fairway wood, too. On the other hand, if you know you are going to lay up a lot, and/or prefer to carry a lot of wedges, you probably will have the top of the bag more spread out. There is no one correct way to choose your bag, or one correct way to choose your lofts.