Opinion & Analysis
The Formidable 3-Wood vs. The Indomitable Driver
In more than 50 years of playing, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the driver. Being the longest club in the bag, it’s not an easy club to master. We stand farther from the ball than any other club, and though the club head is the largest, now up to 460 cubic centimeters, and the entire club the lightest, the shaft is both the longest and the whippiest in the bag. For these reasons, along with the reality of facing an often tree-lined fairway with sand or water near the edges, I’ve always been a bit intimidated by the driver. But a well-struck driver travels farther than any other arrow in our quiver, and the temptation is huge to use it time and again.
The driver is also the chief weapon/tool of the often-vulnerable golfer’s ego, a fact that club manufacturers have used to their advantage in offering up a new and improved menu of promised distance and forgiveness each year. Their advertising enters our brain like a fresh ball in a pinball machine (anybody remember them?), promising new hope for a longer hit and a better score. Out on the range or at the golf shop’s simulator, there are no trees or water hazards or bunkers to contend with, so you appear invincible as the numbers register obstacle-free distance and accuracy, convincing you that “This is it. This is the baby that’ll change my game. Yep, wrap it up. I’ll take it,” you confidently tell the smiling salesman, who continues to compliment you on how well you swing, attempting to further solidify the sale.
But then you take the behemoth out to the course for its first real spin, and the trees get in your head, along with the water to your right, and … ”Where did that slice come from? The guy in the store said this thing had a draw bias!” And soon you start feeling like Ulysses, drawn to the song of the beautiful, tantalizing Sirens (in this case, your driver), and avoiding certain death on the rocks by plugging his ears with beeswax, and having his men strap him to the mast so they could safely pass and continue on their epic journey. Then having passed the Sirens’ call without heeding their intoxicating song, they would be silenced, as legend has it, and die.
Are present-day drivers and the ad boys’ presentation of their winsome possibilities for game improvement equivalent to the song of the Sirens that tempted Ulysses? Perhaps. Which is why you might want to consider the endangered 3-wood on the tee. I say endangered, because despite Henrik Stenson’s noted proficiency with this long-time weapon, the 3-wood has been increasingly devalued as a viable substitute for the driver off the tee. Why? After all, with its shorter length, it can be more accurate in finding the short grass, which could definitely result in lower scores. Blow a driver into the trees, and one or two shots are lost right then and there. Keep a 3-wood in the fairway, and you restrict your losses to a bogey, and open the possibilities of par on a tight hole.
Of course, we all know why the 3-wood hasn’t caught on with handicappers: loss of distance when compared with the driver. And it’s true: A solidly hit three-wood could result in 20-30 yards less carry than a well-struck driver. But the keyword here is “well-struck.” How often do you strike a driver solidly when compared with a 3-wood?
Now I suggest you do some simple personal research around this issue, for looking at generalized stats from other golfers or even from Iron Byron will be mostly irrelevant to your situation. It’s not just physical factors involved, but mental. With a shorter club and swing, your confidence may increase as you face a fairway where obstacles abound. Take 20 swings on the range with each club and compare the number of solid contacts you make with each. Which club won: the 3-wood or the driver?
Of course, this exercise is only for those who, as I, have struggled with the driver more times than not. If your driver is consistent and works to your satisfaction, keep it in the bag and use it often. But if you depend on a hope and a prayer every time you step up to the tee box, then consider switching to the 3-wood (or 4- or 5-wood, or even 20-degree hybrid) as your club of choice off the tee.
In reality, a well hit 3-wood will go farther and more accurately than a poorly hit driver. Now many handicappers unfortunately are not willing to face this particular reality. Remember Einstein’s definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That’s what the fanatical among us, myself included, do with the driver. We just won’t let go of expecting beyond expectation, into the realm of delusion, different results. Again, I think the ad boys have accomplished their goal of getting into the brains of we unsuspecting, innocent golfers, and conditioning us to the possibility that we may be capable of huge, booming drives smack down the middle of tight fairways, with long hang time, clearing all obstacles, and rolling out to 290, even 300 yards. These are powerful images, honed by watching pros on TV, as well as the occasional Teamster in your foursome who hits the cover off the ball.
But please consider the lowly 3-wood if you are driver-impaired (Mine’s a trusty Ping G10, a freebee from my buddy Rob Wallace. My driver is the great G30, but those turbulators aren’t always my friend). I hesitate to guarantee success, but I almost do with respect to accuracy and enough distance to get you to 150-yard range on most holes (depending how hard the wind’s blowing). You’ll be looking at more at pars and bogeys than doubles and triples. True, you’ll often be hitting your approaches first, but they will be on short grass instead of pine needles, tree roots, and over and under hanging branches that look much nicer from a distance.
Note: In the course of my research on this subject, I’ve stumbled on an interesting side effect to 3-wood use off the tee. As you get more and more proficient with this workhorse club, skill with the driver will improve as well. Why? Confidence increases, and, truly, golf is a game of confidence. I assert that eventually you can move back to the driver for holes where it’s really necessary, such as wide-open fairways without many obstacles like traps or water or whatever else can inch its way into your head and play with your timing. But now you will have a choice: both can be viable and usable clubs under the right circumstances.
As the editor-in-chief of this website and an observer of the GolfWRX forums and other online golf equipment discourse for over a decade, I’m pretty well attuned to the grunts and grumbles of a significant portion of the golf equipment purchasing spectrum. And before you accuse me of lording above all in some digital ivory tower, I’d like to offer that I worked at golf courses (public and private) for years prior to picking up my pen, so I’m well-versed in the non-degenerate golf equipment consumers out there. I touched (green)grass (retail)!
Complaints about the ills of and related to the OEMs usually follow some version of: Product cycles are too short for real innovation, tour equipment isn’t the same as retail (which is largely not true, by the way), too much is invested in marketing and not enough in R&D, top staffer X hasn’t even put the new driver in play, so it’s obviously not superior to the previous generation, prices are too high, and on and on.
Without digging into the merits of any of these claims, which I believe are mostly red herrings, I’d like to bring into view of our rangefinder what I believe to be the two primary difficulties golf equipment companies face.
One: As Terry Koehler, back when he was the CEO of Ben Hogan, told me at the time of the Ft Worth irons launch, if you can’t regularly hit the golf ball in a coin-sized area in the middle of the face, there’s not a ton that iron technology can do for you. Now, this is less true now with respect to irons than when he said it, and is less and less true by degrees as the clubs get larger (utilities, fairways, hybrids, drivers), but there remains a great deal of golf equipment truth in that statement. Think about it — which is to say, in TL;DR fashion, get lessons from a qualified instructor who will teach you about the fundamentals of repeatable impact and how the golf swing works, not just offer band-aid fixes. If you can’t repeatably deliver the golf club to the golf ball in something resembling the manner it was designed for, how can you expect to be getting the most out of the club — put another way, the maximum value from your investment?
Similarly, game improvement equipment can only improve your game if you game it. In other words, get fit for the clubs you ought to be playing rather than filling the bag with the ones you wish you could hit or used to be able to hit. Of course, don’t do this if you don’t care about performance and just want to hit a forged blade while playing off an 18 handicap. That’s absolutely fine. There were plenty of members in clubs back in the day playing Hogan Apex or Mizuno MP-32 irons who had no business doing so from a ballstriking standpoint, but they enjoyed their look, feel, and complementary qualities to their Gatsby hats and cashmere sweaters. Do what brings you a measure of joy in this maddening game.
Now, the second issue. This is not a plea for non-conforming equipment; rather, it is a statement of fact. USGA/R&A limits on every facet of golf equipment are detrimental to golf equipment manufacturers. Sure, you know this, but do you think about it as it applies to almost every element of equipment? A 500cc driver would be inherently more forgiving than a 460cc, as one with a COR measurement in excess of 0.83. 50-inch shafts. Box grooves. And on and on.
Would fewer regulations be objectively bad for the game? Would this erode its soul? Fortunately, that’s beside the point of this exercise, which is merely to point out the facts. The fact, in this case, is that equipment restrictions and regulations are the slaughterbench of an abundance of innovation in the golf equipment space. Is this for the best? Well, now I’ve asked the question twice and might as well give a partial response, I guess my answer to that would be, “It depends on what type of golf you’re playing and who you’re playing it with.”
For my part, I don’t mind embarrassing myself with vintage blades and persimmons chasing after the quasi-spiritual elevation of a well-struck shot, but that’s just me. Plenty of folks don’t give a damn if their grooves are conforming. Plenty of folks think the folks in Liberty Corner ought to add a prison to the museum for such offences. And those are just a few of the considerations for the amateur game — which doesn’t get inside the gallery ropes of the pro game…
Different strokes in the game of golf, in my humble opinion.
Anyway, I believe equipment company engineers are genuinely trying to build better equipment year over year. The marketing departments are trying to find ways to make this equipment appeal to the broadest segment of the golf market possible. All of this against (1) the backdrop of — at least for now — firm product cycles. And golfers who, with their ~15 average handicap (men), for the most part, are not striping the golf ball like Tiger in his prime and seem to have less and less time year over year to practice and improve. (2) Regulations that massively restrict what they’re able to do…
That’s the landscape as I see it and the real headwinds for golf equipment companies. No doubt, there’s more I haven’t considered, but I think the previous is a better — and better faith — point of departure when formulating any serious commentary on the golf equipment world than some of the more cynical and conspiratorial takes I hear.
Agree? Disagree? Think I’m worthy of an Adam Hadwin-esque security guard tackle? Let me know in the comments.
@golfoncbs The infamous Adam Hadwin tackle ? #golf #fyp #canada #pgatour #adamhadwin ? Ghibli-style nostalgic waltz – MaSssuguMusic
Episode #16 brings us Cliff McKinney. Cliff is the founder of Old Charlie Golf Club, a new club, and concept, to be built in the Florida panhandle. The model is quite interesting and aims to make great, private golf more affordable. We hope you enjoy the show!
Last week, I came across a reel from BBC Sport on Instagram featuring Scottie Scheffler speaking to the media ahead of The Open at Royal Portrush. In it, he shared that he often wonders what the point is of wanting to win tournaments so badly — especially when he knows, deep down, that it doesn’t lead to a truly fulfilling life.
View this post on Instagram
“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport,” Scheffler said. “To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point?”
Ironically — or perhaps perfectly — he went on to win the claret jug.
That question — what’s the point of winning? — cuts straight to the heart of the human journey.
As someone who’s spent over two decades in the trenches of professional golf, and in deep study of the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the game, I see Scottie’s inner conflict as a sign of soul evolution in motion.
I came to golf late. I wasn’t a junior standout or college All-American. At 27, I left a steady corporate job to see if I could be on the PGA Tour starting as a 14-handicap, average-length hitter. Over the years, my journey has been defined less by trophies and more by the relentless effort to navigate the deeply inequitable and gated system of professional golf — an effort that ultimately turned inward and helped me evolve as both a golfer and a person.
One perspective that helped me make sense of this inner dissonance around competition and our culture’s tendency to overvalue winning is the idea of soul evolution.
The University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies has done extensive research on reincarnation, and Netflix’s Surviving Death (Episode 6) explores the topic, too. Whether you take it literally or metaphorically, the idea that we’re on a long arc of growth — from beginner to sage elder — offers a profound perspective.
If you accept the premise literally, then terms like “young soul” and “old soul” start to hold meaning. However, even if we set the word “soul” aside, it’s easy to see that different levels of life experience produce different worldviews.
Newer souls — or people in earlier stages of their development — may be curious and kind but still lack discernment or depth. There is a naivety, and they don’t yet question as deeply, tending to see things in black and white, partly because certainty feels safer than confronting the unknown.
As we gain more experience, we begin to experiment. We test limits. We chase extreme external goals — sometimes at the expense of health, relationships, or inner peace — still operating from hunger, ambition, and the fragility of the ego.
It’s a necessary stage, but often a turbulent and unfulfilling one.
David Duval fell off the map after reaching World No. 1. Bubba Watson had his own “Is this it?” moment with his caddie, Ted Scott, after winning the Masters.
In Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, reflecting on his 2011 Super Bowl win, Rodgers said:
“Now I’ve accomplished the only thing that I really, really wanted to do in my life. Now what? I was like, ‘Did I aim at the wrong thing? Did I spend too much time thinking about stuff that ultimately doesn’t give you true happiness?’”
Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
Eventually, though, something shifts.
We begin to see in shades of gray. Winning, dominating, accumulating—these pursuits lose their shine. The rewards feel more fleeting. Living in a constant state of fight-or-flight makes us feel alive, yes, but not happy and joyful.
Compassion begins to replace ambition. Love, presence, and gratitude become more fulfilling than status, profits, or trophies. We crave balance over burnout. Collaboration over competition. Meaning over metrics.
Interestingly, if we zoom out, we can apply this same model to nations and cultures. Countries, like people, have a collective “soul stage” made up of the individuals within them.
Take the United States, for example. I’d place it as a mid-level soul: highly competitive and deeply driven, but still learning emotional maturity. Still uncomfortable with nuance. Still believing that more is always better. Despite its global wins, the U.S. currently ranks just 23rd in happiness (as of 2025). You might liken it to a gifted teenager—bold, eager, and ambitious, but angsty and still figuring out how to live well and in balance. As much as a parent wants to protect their child, sometimes the child has to make their own mistakes to truly grow.
So when Scottie Scheffler wonders what the point of winning is, I don’t see someone losing strength.
I see someone evolving.
He’s beginning to look beyond the leaderboard. Beyond metrics of success that carry a lower vibration. And yet, in a poetic twist, Scheffler did go on to win The Open. But that only reinforces the point: even at the pinnacle, the question remains. And if more of us in the golf and sports world — and in U.S. culture at large — started asking similar questions, we might discover that the more meaningful trophy isn’t about accumulating or beating others at all costs.
It’s about awakening and evolving to something more than winning could ever promise.
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Pingback: How Fast Do Golf Balls Go – PrestwickCountryClub.net
pvisser
Jul 21, 2016 at 9:43 am
You say with a shorter club and shorter swing you confidence will increase. Sure but why would you swing your 3 wood shorter when on the tee? Why not swing your driver shorter then? Problem with the driver is that the large club head tempts you to swing like a madman. The smaller 3 wood does not invite you to do that nearly as much. In my experience a wild swing with a 3 wood gives me bigger disaster hits than an equally wild hit with a driver, probably as it is easier to hit it on the toe or swing under the teed-up ball. But I don’t because the club head is much smaller and the ball closer to the ground.
The length of the shaft can be a bit of an issue – I choke down on the shaft and, as with all clubs, that gives more control. But the biggest point is to swing in control, and you will hit just as many fairways as with your 3 wood.
Dave
Jul 20, 2016 at 8:55 pm
Yo Uno do you know how far 310 yards really is better check your reader. Love these guys that hit it 300 yards and can’t brake 100.
Monts
Jul 20, 2016 at 6:57 pm
No truer words have been written.
especially in my case. I have been playing golf for 46 years and was as accurate a driver of the ball as anyone, but have lacked Club head speed to generate distances over 230yds. I wanted more distance.
Since the advent of the super drivers I have lost the straightness and have spent thousands of dollars trying to find the holy grail of Drivers, still without success, this includes many many shafts as well.
What i did purchase 2 years ago was the Galloway 3 deep pro ( skeptical again at that time) This 3 wood has saved me from the fetal position many times over an over again once the driver started misbehaving.
I actually hit it longer and more accurately 90% of the time so I mix and match with my driver all the time.
The issue with me is IF I use the 3 wood all the time it starts reacting the same as the driver figure that one out!!!
myron miller
Jul 20, 2016 at 5:58 pm
I am very skeptical of using 3-wood all the time to replace driver, especially for older players. Today I played and measured my good drives – avg. 168. hit 11-12 fairways. Two times I used a 3-wood. Averaged off the tee 75 yards off the tee (hit it skyward too often) and no fairways. Off the fairway if I’m lucky i’ll hit 3 wood about 150-155 measured max is 175-180. But really good drive is 200-215 with moderate roll (zero roll today, very very soft fairways.
Have tried 3-wood lots of time and never close. And losing 20-30 yards from 180 is not good and makes holes play even longer than they are.
Back when I was a typical WRXer and hit it a mile, I did use 3 wood a lot on holes less than 350 that were for one reason or another not driveable.
But nowadays, I’ve worked with the driver and hit it not very far but generally always in play. If not, it wouldn’t make much difference with 3-wood as it was super bad swing. Duck hook push slice and I can do that with any club. generally avg 10-11 out of 14 fairways with driver.
And I see a lot of senior golfers that hit it down the middle – not super far but generally always pretty much in play – if not in fairway in first cut or so and usually playable. Anybody can hit it bad with a bad swing but if its generally in the fairway why switch. And I use a 47″ length down from the 48 I used for years. Just because the 48 was too close to max length and depending upon how measured arguments could say it was too long. And 47 gives me a little more breathing room.
Extra length adds a little swing speed that adds a little distance. Just some extra practice gives enough control to keep it generally close to in play.
Besides, as others have said, once you learn how to hit 3-wood off tee consistently, you can generally hit driver pretty good as well. Stenson hits his 3 wood 305. And that’s plenty far for most holes and keeps him out of the trouble that driver could get into if it were much longer. Even for a 500 yard par 4, 305 leaves less than 200 left which is a 5-6 iron and his iron play is superb. So why does he need more length.
Personally if people have trouble with full sized driver, quite often the mini-driver will work better than the 3-wood and is much easier to hit off the tee, I’ve found.
Ocho Cinco
Jul 20, 2016 at 12:27 pm
Great article. I have seen many golfers starting to hit 3-wood off the tee and become more accurate.
But, what about the Mini Drivers? I have a golf buddy who put his driver away for a while because he couldn’t hit it straight. He switched to hit his 3-wood off the tee on every driving hole and was extremely accurate. Now he bought a mini driver and loves it. I had same issue. Every time I played with him, I would slice my driver on some holes and lose shots to him because he would hit his 3 wood on the fairway. So I decided to try it…I started using my old backup 3-wood (Nike SQ Sumo2 Squared 3-Wood) as a mini-driver and this helped me gain confidence on the tee. I was almost hitting it as far as my driver and definitely straighter. I was even out-driving some of my buddies! Now I am playing with driver, and hit more fairways, but am strongly considering a Mini-Driver! Waiting for Nike to come out with one.
Jo
Jul 20, 2016 at 1:04 pm
A mini driver is basically a modern day version of the old steel drivers. The difference is they are titanium heads now, but the CCs are still about the same (330 last time I saw). They also play with a modern 3w length shaft, which surprisingly is the same length old drivers used to be.
The benefit is it can replace a 3w and driver because the loft is usually higher, around 14* or so. The smaller 330cc head makes it easier to hit off the fairway than a driver head at say 430cc, and is why it can replace the 3w as well.
However; if for some reason you can’t hit a mini driver very well, the alternative is to build a better mini driver. Get a 430cc head and use a 43.5″ shaft and you basically also have a mini driver, without the capability of hitting it off the fairway.
Piter
Jul 20, 2016 at 4:26 pm
You are right on Jo. Had thought the same: isn’t a mini driver just a modern version of the smaller sized drivers’ from before? Had not checked the figures so thanks for that. For that matter, modern 3 woods are about the same size as drivers of even longer ago. But likewise with more loft.
Instead a changing to a shorter shaft on your driver, why not just choke down your grip? It is what I have been doing recently and have been hitting it much straighter. Too good effect, have won 4 out the last 5 longest drives (c-grade) during Saturday comp. Playing with a 10 yr old TM Burner btw.
jo
Jul 21, 2016 at 6:49 am
I’ve tried choking down before and it just doesn’t feel right for some reason. The only club I can comfortably choke down on is my lob wedge lol. I’m not sure if it is the grip design being tapered or what.
Steve Dodds
Jul 19, 2016 at 7:54 pm
Most people hit their driver straighter than their 3 wood.
http://pluggedingolf.com/tee-shot-myth-golf-myths-unplugged/
Uno
Jul 19, 2016 at 12:27 pm
Oh, and I have NEVER hit my 3 wood farther than my Driver. I wouldn’t know how. My driver is 30 to 40 yards ahead of my 3 wood, even on mishits. And I don’t miss my driver that much. But I definitely don’t get that much out of the 3 wood.
You all should go find a driver and a driver swing that gets you out there. Tee it up high and rip it
dos
Jul 19, 2016 at 1:47 pm
It not hard to hit a 3 wood farther than a driver actually. If you hit a driver 200 off the tee on a par 5 and follow it up with a 215 yard hit with a 3 wood, guess what…You just hit a 3 wood farther than a driver….That is the whole point to the article. I’ve even done it with my own clubs.
On a par 5 I ripped a drive 235 yards right down the middle with my driver off the tee. This left me with 265 yards to the hole. I pulled my 3 wood out and smashed the ball again. I hit 246 yards thanks to a downhill roll and wind at my back. So again entirely possible.
I will say this. If you aren’t hitting your driver 20-30 yards further than your typical distance with a 3 wood, than something is off with your driver. My actual typical distance with my driver is around 235-245. With my 3 wood my actual typical distance is 215-225.
I have recorded shots with my driver over 300 yards, and also with drives well under 200 yards. I also have 3 wood shots maxed around 250 and some as low as 80 yards.
Goes to show some truth to the story. You can out hit your driver with a 3w, and on days when the driver isn’t working for you, highly recommended pulling out a 3w.
Tres
Jul 19, 2016 at 1:56 pm
Cuatro, Cinco, Seis
Uno
Jul 20, 2016 at 2:57 am
No, I don’t think I can hit my 3w longer than my driver. I’ve tried. I hit my driver around 310, and no matter how hard I try I can only hit my 3w to about 280, max, down wind with slight downhill into a par 5 with no hazards in front of green and open roll to the pin. Carry’s only about 260 though for that shot. But then I would have hit my driver about 335 with the same wind at my back. I don’t think I’ll hit my 2 hybrid in that situation.
My distance gaps with all my clubs are where I want them.
If I reversed the wind, and it’s into me, about the same speed, I would probably hit that drive about 280 max, and the 3w would only go about 250 tops if I get lucky, without to much spin on the hit, which is hard to do since I’m hitting down on it so much.
Jack
Jul 20, 2016 at 5:45 am
So clearly you’re an excellent player who averages 310 for your driver and 270 for your 3 wood. Congrats. You should really at least be playing on the smaller tours.
Merde Smizzle
Jul 20, 2016 at 9:47 am
Yeah except that he’s only an average putter. You have to be able to putt well and have an amazing short game to get on Tour. Anybody can hit it far these days. Look at all them college kids
Kevin
Jul 20, 2016 at 11:22 am
Yea, except he does not. The 3 and the 2 must be backwards on his keyboard
Dos
Jul 20, 2016 at 9:14 am
So here in lies the issue with your example. You base everything on max distance.
In a typical round how many times do you hit 310 yards? All 14 drivable holes, 1/2, 1/4, 3/4?
It is very easy to say, yeah I don’t hit my 3w longer than my driver, when you only look at max distance every time. My max distance with a 3 wood is 256 and had a lot of help from a fast green. My max distance with a driver is 311. So clearly I can’t hit my 3w longer than my driver either. But…
On the hole where I snap hook a driver and it goes 189 yards into the trees, yes I can hit my 3w farther. Or the hole where I sky high a ball and hit the turf behind the ball with my driver and get maybe 210 yards. Yes I can hit my 3w farther then too.
Point is, if all you do is look at max distance, yes you should not be able to hit a 3w farther. You have to look at the holes where you miss hit, hook, slice, sky one, top one, hit a tree, etc. That is the point of the article. When your driver is playing like crap, chances are you can hit your 3w farther. Especially if you are not getting pro distance.
Mr. Wedge
Jul 20, 2016 at 12:26 pm
In my experience people drastically overestimate how far they hit their driver. Everyone who says they can hit it out to 300 if they rip it, usually averages about 250-260. That one time you hit it 300 with a perfect swing, downhill roll, with wind at your back, doesn’t mean you are a 300 yard hitter. My guess is this guy hits it 265-270.
Jo
Jul 20, 2016 at 1:11 pm
This is very true. I know so many people who play off the theory of max distance as their average distance.
I use a shot tracking device and my longest recorded drive is 311. It had assistance from a cart path and downhill. My average is around 225. My typical, which is a completely different stat, which factors out miss hits is 245. So 3 completely different numbers. My range of distance is 200-311 according to my shot tracking. That accounts for every drive I’ve hit.
Anything under 200 and it considers it a miss hit because it has calculated what distances I hit the most often. I’ll usually have 1 to 2 shots below 200 per round.
Anyways, it goes to show that actual distance can vary greatly. Mine is a 100 yard slide. I know I can expect to get 225-245 with my driver. It is well above my miss hit range, and well below what I’ve maxed out at.
cody
Jul 19, 2016 at 12:10 pm
a lot of negativity here. i actually thought it was a good article. yes there is a bit of captain obvious to it, but it was good. lighten up everyone. I dont think anyone gets paid to right these articles they do it for the enjoyment of golf.
Smitty
Jul 19, 2016 at 10:02 am
Probably the least insightful article I’ve read on WRX.
Jake Anderson
Jul 19, 2016 at 3:22 am
this article was completely pointless.
Uno
Jul 19, 2016 at 3:12 am
I enjoy hitting up on the driver. I don’t understand what’s so difficult about hitting these giant heads. I hit my giant driver nice. It’s such an easy club to use nowadays, compared to the tiny headed persimmons or the original metals. You don’t have to hit down and all you have to do is take it off the tee. So forgiving.
Hitting down with the 3 wood is too scary, the shaft’s too long to hit down, it’s so far away from my body I can’t control hitting down on it so good, I’m also one to hit a 3 iron type club than a 3 wood
Mat
Jul 18, 2016 at 11:41 pm
This is all garbage. All that’s being done here is a more controllable shaft length. This whole post could be summed up with “get a 43.5″ driver shaft”.
bingo
Jul 19, 2016 at 1:51 pm
As my name implies…bingo! I recently switched to a 43.5″ shaft that I took directly from my 3w. To make it fair I even took a 5w shaft at 42.5″ and put it in my 3w. Never looked back.
The results will surprise you though. I don’t hit it any farther, but I do hit it a lot more accurate. I have not seen any loss of distance though. I have a ton of shots logged through game golf to back it up. If I just put up my typical distance with my old driver it is 220, with my shorter driver, my typical is 231. However; it has gone up only because I hit less balls short, not because I hit more balls farther. So same distance, but not nearly as many miss hits…
3w has the same results.
no3w4me
Jul 18, 2016 at 10:22 pm
I hit my driver so perfectly that no 3 wood ever matches it and I get scared about even pulling it out of the bag, I prefer to hit a 3 iron than a 3 wood
that guy
Jul 19, 2016 at 3:26 pm
Yeah I feel ya. I don’t even use a driver. I smash a 1 iron further than I do a driver. Don’t even game a wood now. just 1 iron down….Beast Mode!!!
other paul
Jul 18, 2016 at 8:59 pm
Golf balls go so far these days that I don’t even use a 3 wood off the tee anymore. 4i at the most. The farther a ball goes the more offline. I play my best rounds aiming for 100 yards markers.
Charles
Jul 18, 2016 at 3:02 pm
You can find an “old” driver like SLDR for less than $80. Go by one with 12° loft, cut the shaft to make 43 in total club length. Go play a casual round and discover how is funny to hit every fairway. It worked well for me. With this setup (mine is a SLDR 12, 43 in) I rarely miss a fairway, and my few misses are very playable.
snowman
Jul 18, 2016 at 2:29 pm
good thought IF you hit 3 wood far enough. I hit my driver about 30 yards farther than my 3 wood, so playing the proper tees for me that’s a lot of ground to give up and on many courses could make several par 4’s barely or unreachable. As you say, if you just cannot hit driver, then great pull the 3 wood, but spend some time finding and practicing with a Driver. It is Very important for your potential as a golfer.
Hawks
Jul 19, 2016 at 3:29 pm
This is a great point. I think what the article is trying to point out is that for the average player the driver is really no longer than a 3w. When you consider the average driving distance of a 95s golfer is 200 yards, it really puts things into perspective that yes, you can in fact hit a 3w farther than a driver.
I do agree that everyone needs practice with a driver to get it dialed in. You should be hitting a driver 20+ yards more than a 3w on a typical drive.
LISTEN TO ME
Jul 18, 2016 at 2:27 pm
Go get an M2 3 wood! It is incredibly hot! I don’t use driver anymore. Don’t need it!
Bofhus
Jul 19, 2016 at 7:24 am
Agreed – the M2 three wood is a game changer. If only it came in the 13* then my (M2) driver might be left behind to collect dust!
Steve Barnhurst
Jul 18, 2016 at 2:23 pm
I’ve carried a strong 3 wood for years – 13′ loft, 1.5″ longer than standard and it is my go to club. Great for tight par 4’s when you want a ‘good safe shot’ plus I can get it off the deck when I need to and let’s not forget about first tee nerves with the driver. It’s more forgiving and well hit, is up there with most drivers and not far behind others. Just about to upgrade to the Ping Stretch I think as nothing else out there on the market that appears to come close! right now.
Scott
Jul 18, 2016 at 12:46 pm
Didn’t this website just have at least one article indicting that you might as well just hit driver, because the average player can’t hit a 3 wood either?
http://www.golfwrx.com/336404/is-your-3-wood-really-more-accurate-than-your-driver-off-the-tee/
Ian
Jul 18, 2016 at 3:21 pm
Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
ng
Jul 19, 2016 at 3:07 am
You’re too clever for this website, Scott
SV
Jul 18, 2016 at 12:16 pm
Until about 10 years ago I used a 2 wood (13*) off of the tee instead of a driver. With the larger heads I was finally able to hit a driver. While I am fairly accurate off of the tee, I am not as accurate as with the 2 wood. Also, with the 2 wood I wasn’t trying to outdrive anyone, thus I made better contact and usually was not that far behind others or even up with them.
The conclusion (mine) is that most people playing the correct tees would be better using either a 12*-13* driver or a strong 3 wood (13*-14*). The smoother swing will result in better contact, getting better distance combined with accuracy.
Rancho
Jul 18, 2016 at 11:44 am
Not that the message is wrong, but there’s much debate that the quote about insanity was actually from Einstein and the phrasing of your relation of the tale of Ulysses and the Sirens isn’t accurate. Ulysses’ crew plugged their ears with beeswax, but Ulysses was tied to the mast so he could hear their song.
Pedantry aside, there a lot to be said for a shorter club off the tee. I learned that following the Nationwide tour players around Empire Lakes and learning that they rarely took out the driver before the fifth hole.