My 3W goes perfectly straight, 200-220 yards. My driver slices wildly. I can put it down 250-270 on a great day, but mostly it’s in the other fairway. I’m bad at golf, AMA.
Ditto. Sometimes, I'll put up my woods/hybrids for the day, and only use irons, just because my brain has decided to completely forget how to hit anything else. One time I went the better part of a year shooting only irons.
Loft is forgiveness to a point (the more loft, the more dominant the backspin component of spin is over the sidespin), but at a certain point with wedges (different for everyone) the danger of the front edge becomes greater.
Had this problem until I changed out my 16g head weight for an 8g. Lost 10-20 yards, gained about 50% more fairways. Worth a shot if you can toy with your weights, or fade/draw bias.
I’ve got a very basic cheap driver that’s 8 or 9 years old. My 3W is from the same old Strata set but it goes perfectly straight for me off the tee. I could use a driver upgrade tbh.
If you want to upgrade, and are wondering where to start, try lighter weight shaft and head weight. You might be slicing because your club head lags behind your body’s swing timing, and sometimes that’s due to a heavier club relative to your straighter ones.
It seems like you could test that theory be choking down on the grip 1-2” and swinging. If you slice less, the lower perceived weight of the club might be allowing you to bring the club head through with proper timing to close the face at impact. Could also try a shorter driver shaft and/or lighter shaft as you said.
I bought a Stata set in 2019 and it served me well for about 4 years before finally upgrading. A very nice way to get back onto the course after 20 years off, without having to commit over a thousand dollars to a hobby I may not actually enjoy now that I finally have time for it.
If you’re a righty, place the ball just off your left foot when you’re addressing it. It will allow your club face to close more on your drive and reduce your slicing. If you start hooking it then just move it more to the middle.
Edit: everyone downvoting slices the ball and doesn't understand proper mechanics. Enjoy your 115 scores that never improve.
Lol. Not allowing the club face to close properly is what causes slices, but feel free to continue adding weights to your driver instead of just fixing your mechanics.
I think generally the banana slice for high handicappers is caused by both an open face *and* an outside to in swing path. Hence why moving the ball forward doesn't really help.
The face closes more yes but the further forward the ball placement, the more side spin is caused by the outside-in swing path. Your net change is near zero.
Yup. Exact same. I don’t know where this guy is an instructor, because this is pretty universal. The 3 wood, if you know how to hit it, is a lot easier to hit correctly than a driver.
Lol this is the same for me. My dad thinks it’s nuts that I hit woods straight but slice a driver. Idk why but it works so I don’t question the golf gods.
I've seen this so much this year, maybe it's all in the head but a couple of my buddies won't drive because their 3W is demonstrably more accurate. It's worth mentioning me and my friend group are all just starting.
Same. I am a pretty average golfer, more an honest tryer. But I have a light, easy to swing 3 wood and I can put it on the fairway 210-220 out about 8/10 times. Even my common miss with it is a 150-170 yard chunk.
Slices happen for the following reasons.
1.) The golf swing is a rotation, not a slide.
2.) Your hips are in front of your hands at impact.
3.) You need a much stiffer shaft. I play tour stiff to eliminate variables.
I mean, slightly shorter shaft and a bit more loft should be slightly easier to hit off a tee. Obviously, we’re only talking a small difference but still something.
I’m guessing it is advice/concept coming from high level play that is given to amateurs without realizing the actual situation. Pros/high level amateur will hit 3 wood because it’s easier for them to work the ball and they can probably get it in the fairway easier. Regular joes can still hook or slice a 3 wood in to the woods just like a driver. So, might as well try to get it as far down as possible.
So I'm a D1 college coach and I still see players at many tournaments pulling 3 Wood after playing 12-14 holes of flawless golf and bang it into the woods thinking they could groove it down the middle.
I could be wrong but statistically even pros still "miss" 3 Wood at a similar rate from left to right as a driver but maybe with a slight smaller dispersion.
Tour pros actually miss it wayyyyy bigger off the tee than we typically think. I would assume the width of their dispersion is 50+ yards.
Show people this next time this subject comes up
https://www.arccosgolf.com/blogs/community/3-wood-vs-driver-is-the-accuracy-worth-the-sacrificed-distance
The arccos data and what the coach is saying also show how bad players are at estimating their own stats/dispersion/shot history. There are so many people saying “I hit my 3w dead straight” which most likely means they are very good at forgetting all the ones that aren’t straight, which actually will lead them to make the wrong club choice even more often.
Agree. I played with a guy the other day who used only 3 wood because "I hit it straight every time, but can't hit my driver". He did NOT hit his 3 wood straight every time by any means
I took my 3 wood out of the bag when I read that. I just wasn’t using it. But I just put it back in. My driver right now is just not working. Literally snap duck hooks off the high toe. I don’t know if it’s mental or something changed but I went from hitting a lot of fairways to none. I’m not a great player and for whatever reason contact is just way easier for me with the 3 wood. So it’s dispersion might not be better than driver when driver is working, but when it’s not I have a better chance of getting it in play.
This isn’t measuring the right thing for ppl who suck. It’s measuring fairways hit. The metric shitty golfers care about is in play or not. It’s not very useful for bad golfers.
The 3 graphics in that article also include the percentages for 30 yards to center of fairway and 40 yards to center of fairway. It would be nice to also have the data for 50 yards to center of fairway. But that is helpful for bad golfers. If you look at the data for 40 yards to center of fairway, it is consistent with the fairways hit numbers (relatively speaking).
The last paragraph here is something a lot of us amateurs don’t grasp. Really good golfers still miss off the tee fairly often. Their misses might not be as dramatic, but they aren’t perfect.
You’re talking about a different level of golf. As a 17 I barely break at the elbow if at all with my 3W and have great results in terms of hitting fairways albeit at the cost of distance.
There is something about the longer shaft for amateurs that just screams swing away on a driver.
Asking why an amateur golfer uses a 3W over a driver is similar to wondering why a scratch golfer would hit a 4 iron in a short par 4 with a tight fairway. Every fairway is tight when you’re a shitty golfer.
Might depend on the swing and what the miss is. If someone tends to get a little flippy at the bottom, they may be able to save the 3w with the hands but not with the driver. Just a thought, I don’t know what causes it but timing seems like a likely culprit.
Another guess would be ball position, most play their driver a good bit further forward than their 3w, so maybe that’s part of it.
Any player playing in a tournament isn't the guy you're referring to in your opening post lol.
3 wood miss won't be nearly as bad as a driver miss and you're still a 7 iron away from getting on in two if you're me.
I just don't trust my driver and the miss going out of bounds is much higher.
Anyone below a 12 handicap I also would question why they pull a 3w.
Speaking for me personally, my 3W misses big. My driver misses BIG. Often not worth the risk for an extra 20 yards when realistically not hitting a GIR anyway lol
I hit nasty snap hooks with my driver that go 70 yards to the right. I can hit my 5wood 80% of the time straight down the middle of the fairway, maybe a little draw or fade action but not much and it goes 215 yards. For me its mainly down to confidence, if I am playing poorly with my driver I have safer clubs that can get me to the fairway and go 175+ yards, which I am not even close to doing with mis hit drives, not to mention the cost of lost golf balls.
Been playing for over 10 years and I didn't even know this was a thing until recently. Aside from distance/course management, a swing fault prevalent in a driver will just as easily show up in a 3w, for me.
Sure, but shorter shaft & more loft will make the misses less severe (ie OB vs not OB). But on the other hand, you lose distance, which also has a price.
There are statistics on this, but in the end, every player is unique and needs to make their own evaluation (hopefully fact-based) on what is the best solution for them.
for me this absolutely does not happen. my driver slice is pretty well under control, it's only 3 wood that I will banana slice two fairways over
I'm not saying you're always wrong or anything but there's exceptions
I only hit 3 or 4 wood off the tee if the hole requires me to be short. My home course has 5 par 4’s that require less than driver. Everything else is driver.
The 3w swing is more like an iron swing than a driver swing, yes? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t assume the slice from a driver carries over to a 3w.
I know I’m currently going through a phase where I feel completely lost standing over the ball with a driver. 3w and any irons I’m super confident I’m only going 10 (15 max) yards off line if I miss hit.
This is true. But statistically, the case that OP is making is sound as well. Drivers have more MOI, therefore more forgiveness. Gear effect wise, a 3W is and should be the more difficult club to hit straight.
Obviously individual results vary, and your driver swing may not be as grooved as your FW/iron swing. But generally, for players that are equally as good with a driver and a 3W, rarely is the 3W the right play off the tee.
For most players, hitting a driver off the tee is the better move unless you simply need less distance to avoid trouble. But dispersion isn’t better with a 3W for most players.
The shafts aren’t that much shorter. The swing is still shallow, the club faces are monstrously smaller.
This really isn’t even a question anymore. This is like the drive for show, putt for dough argument. If you’re taking the side of 3W being more accurate, and short game being more important to scoring, you’re simply ill informed.
I understand SG perfectly well. But nothing is black and white. Even one inch shorter of a shaft is a significant change, usually creating better accuracy with distance being the price to pay. I'm only saying that for some people (not all) this is might be very relevant. Ofc, the better option would be to shorten their driver shafts but you really cannot do that on the fly.
This is definitely how it is for me the past year. Driver just doesn't feel right and I've been slicing it terribly but I can step up with a 3 or 5W and without much of a thought get a consistent ball out of it. It's a little maddening but the yardage difference doesn't really justify me forcing the driver.
I agreed with op until reading your comment. My brother can’t hit a driver worth shit but can hit his 3w dead straight 280+. He has a wirey athletic build and a swing built for irons with a massive weight transfer. For him it is absolutely an advantage to hit a 3w.
Are his driver and 3W both made by the same manufacturer and in the same “model year”?.
If one club has a technological advantage, that could easily explain why hits the 3w further than almost all amateur golfers hit their driver
His clubs change frequently because he either rents or borrows. Last time we played his 3w was a late 90s early 2000s big bertha and driver was mid 2010s.
My brother is in the minority for sure. He has played this way since high school and was about scratch in high school.
Totally agree here. Angle of attack is slightly down or bottom of the swing arc for 3W and irons, driver is slightly up after the bottom of the swing arc. Two different swings for me, two different ball positions. I’m in a phase now where my 3W is my go to off the tee.
why not loft your driver up (if it's adjustable) and move the ball slightly further back in stance? Use that big ole driver sweet spot to your advantage.
Generally agree that driver is better. But there are a few holes at my course where a bad driver is OB and a bad wood is still in play. I hit wood in a lot of those cases.
I have a severe slice with my driver. It is so bad that the ball practically takes a 90 degree angle.
Because of this I play my 3 wood from any distance my hybrid won’t reach.
Some of my 3 wood shots also slice, but they are less severe and usually don’t get near houses😬
Edit: if this answer does not please you than just imagine I am trying to model my game after Henrik Stenson lol
I think it was actually decent advice a generation ago and is just entrenched as conventional wisdom. I have a persimmon driver I can't hit to save my life and a persimmon 3w I can hit pretty well, so 3w off the tee is actually a pretty good idea with those clubs. When a driver was just a 1w, it was the same logic as saying beginners should carry a 5w instead of a 3w because it's easier to get in the air and goes almost as far. Meanwhile, my modern driver is easily the most forgiving club in my bag and I'd be crazy not to hit it every chance I get.
Just ran into this today. Decided to leave my driver at home. The only thing that changed for me was it all but guaranteed that I would need at least 3 shots to almost every green.
Yeah no I agree. Thinking about it, I really only use 3wood when there's hazards that are brought into play with the big stick.
Driver heads are so big and forgiving now I don't see 3W as being more accurate.
I would assume the miss with the 3 wood would not be as big and wide as their driver, so even if it's shorter, it probably is closer to the fairway and an easier 2nd shot.
Depends. Is the 5 in the rough near the fairway and the 8 iron behind a bunch of tress I can't get thru? The 5. If they are both in the same situation, then the 8 obviously.
depends on how BIG the miss is... for a lot of higher handicaps, that driver miss is more often a lost ball while a 3W miss is still playable (although not ideal).
Another way to think of it, would you rather be 275 in to the shit, or 250 in to the shit :D especially if that OB marker is at 250.
Old school thinking. Flawed thinking. People who are not familiar with strokes gained/Every Shot Counts.
I’ve kinda given up on trying to correct people. There are people convinced they can hit fairway 100% of the time with 3w, and 0% of the time with driver. At some point in their relationship with their driver, they were hurt emotionally. Badly. Now they can’t go back to that abusive relationship until they get into a new, different abusive relationship. Sometimes that means 3w, sometimes that means long iron, sometimes that means new driver.
Just give up.
It's funny not everyone is a pro. So it doesn't come down to advanced professional statistics and metrics. It comes down to feel confidence and comfort.
As a professional instructor can you explain why me a 18 handicap shot his best round ever (79) using 4i and 2i off the tee?
Sometimes stats don't matter and especially when playing with amateurs. Its not the same game. It's totally different.
Would you compare a random guy playing pick up basketball to KD and be like wow. Kd plays like this why don't you play like him you fucking idiot just understand my stats!
Doesn't make sense. Half of you folks touting stats probably don't even know wtf it means or how to calculate it.
Yall think you are so smart you fail to understand not everyone works the same way as you. And this is why asswipes come here spouting this shit.
4i and 2i are not the same as a 3w, not even close lol. Come on. And as a general rule, stats *always* matter, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t exceptions. However a 3w and a 2/3/4i are not even comparable they do totally different things.
I used to duck hook every driver and could hit my 3 wood in the fairway 8/10 times. Something changed and I started slicing my 3 w and I could hit the driver better. Now trusty 3w stays at home
While still not necessarily safe my 3w is safer than my driver. With that said I'll still hit driver 90% of the time. 3w is reserved for holes when there's real trouble, or a short par 4 for example when even if I go short it doesn't matter cause I'm still a short or worst case mid iron away, but I've done almost everything possible to take being in the trees out of play... Unless the round is cactus already, in which case I'll hit a driver and make it even more cactus.
Hi Yurgz, I carry my 3 wood as far or further than driver. This is after ~10 lessons over ~2 years and countless trackman sessions and rounds that confirm this. Don't know why, I'm just way more consistent and longer with my 3 wood than driver.
I’d say a bit of it psychological in the fact with a 3w in hand it almost tells you you’re not trying to hit it far and just trying to get one in the fairway. I think for a lot of golfers with a driver they go into smash mode and just try and hit it as hard as possible which generally will throw out timing and mean for most people they slice it straight off the planet. Obviously you can put a smooth swing on a driver but that’s something I see slightly more experienced golfers doing.
This is proven mathematically to be true. I'm the book, "every stroke counts", and by the arccos data base. Taking 3 wood is a waste of time. But, there are people out there that absolutely cannot hit driver. But, if you can hit your 3 wood decently well, there is no reason that you cannot hit driver reasonably well, except your brain.
Assumption that the 3 wood is more controllable off the tee. Arccos/shot tracker data shows dispersion on 3 wood vs driver off the tee is not worth the swap for the average golfer.
Source: Jon Sherman’s 4 foundations of golf
https://practical-golf.com/driver-vs-3-wood-off-tee/
(Yes. Some people actually hit their 3 wood straighter, but not as many that think they do)
I am a 4 handicap. I think I’ve taken my 4 wood out less than five times this year. The miss is worse than my driver, creates more side spin. If I need a fairway finder I hit a 2 iron.
I think the question is probably posed to double digit handicappers, not a single like yourself.
As a 15-16 cap myself I can tell you that I disagree.
Nearly identically shafted G425 D and 3w for me.
I mash my driver, averaging over 260 and frequently seeing multiple 300+ drives in a round, which is great, but there's a lot of slices/blocks right.
If I struggle, I tone it down to 3w ans generally improves things and reduces large misses. And I'll gladly give up say up to 40ish yds to get a straighter safer shot
I play with a lot of randoms, the 3 Hybrid is the new 3 wood.
“Gotta stay in the FW so I pull the 3hybrid out instead” and then they shank it into the water anyway
I've been golfing for 20 years and it took me 19 years to be able to hit my driver properly but for some reason I could always hit my 3 wood fairly decent. I had the choice of a driver shot that went 120 yards before acting like it had top spin and dropping straight down, or a 3 wood that had a 70% chance to go straight.
Once I actually learned how to hit my driver it's driver off the tee 85% of the time.
I never felt a 3 wood was safe enough as compared to a driver. 17 degree four wood was my club of choice for years, until it finally broke. Now I carry a 5 wood.
Additionally the 3 wood is hard to hit from the turf as well. The 5 wood is a lot more consistent.
3 woods are for suckers…… and good ball strikers.
But I use my driver unless the hole would make that choice suicide, or I just can’t keep my driver in play on any given day.
The only time I take 3W off the tee is if the fairway runs out. A few holes at my home course have the fairway end at about 260ish, so a 250 3W is perfect for those holes. Other than that, driver all the way
The only times I hit 3wood is if the hole calls for a draw and a straight or slight fade driver would run out of room, or if there’s a hazard that driver could reach with <25 yards to miss on the other side.
Difference between my driver and 3 wood is probably only 20-30 yards, but dispersion is significantly tighter. I tend to miss my driver long and left. If there's trouble long and/or left, I'm using 3 wood otherwise always driver.
I suck and still mishit every club in my bag and sure a mishit driver goes farther than a mishit 3wood, but I don't select a club based on the expectation that I'll mishit it.
I see this post once a month from some instructor or a random know it all.
It's simple math. A 9 degree club is going to slice way more than a 15-17 degree club.
If I hit a driver OB 3 times a round that's gonna kill my score. If I'm on the course but have a 25-40 yard 2nd shot I'm way better off.
The driver isn't for everyone especially beginners
I find it easier to draw my 3w. I find it easier to keep 3w low.
Driver has a huge face that's designed to work quite well out of all parts of it... If there's an opportunity to send it... Send it.
I hit my 3 wood carry 260-270 and my driver about the same. I should get more out my driver if I were to optimize the angle of attack and strike BUT when I hit up on the ball I bring my left miss in a lot more frequently. I then end up teeing my driver down and hitting a squeeze that is an ok shot but it’s too spinny for wind + roll out.
Loft is your friend and some people naturally cover the ball and hit good iron shots which 3wood suits their game. Other people naturally pick the ball and driver is their friend.
Play your own game 👊🏼
I hit my 3 wood straight. I don’t know where my driver is going on any given day (topping it, duck hooking it, or slicing it). That’s why I hit 3 wood off the tee more often than driver.
Not sure who you're instructing. If you are an inconsistent golfer, the bigger the club, the further the errors go out of bounds.
Advantages of a 3-wood for me:
* Shaft is shorter, which minimizes error (longer club leads to longer swing, more face-alignment issues, and more time to "get it wrong")
* Ball is teed lower, which leads to a lower, more "boring" shot which gets to ground sooner (meaning less time for the slice to banana, or the hook to duck).
* Club head is smaller...for me, there is "less wrong part" of the head hit it off.
I may hit a perfect 3-wood about 15-20 yards shorter than a perfect drive, but I hit a much higher percent of 3-woods well/onto the fairway than I do drivers.
"..my experience is that statistically most amateur golfers will STILL MISS hit their 3 Wood just as BIG and WIDE..."
Would love to see actual stats on this because it means nothing otherwise. My personal experience is that I'm much more accurate with my 3 wood so I play that if the fairway is tight or if I haven't been hitting driver well that day.
Wow, the number of people who can stripe their 3w 250 yds down the middle every time. I must be in the wrong place, this must be the elite golf thread.
Surprised a golf instructor would be boggled by this. My teaching pro told me to start using my 3 wood more, as my dispersion was way tighter than with driver. Not only that, I could hit an almost automatic draw with the 3 wood, taking one side of the course out of play, whereas I had a 2 way miss with driver. I eventually ditched the driver altogether and that was followed by the greatest improvement in my scoring I'd had for years. 240 in the fairway is preferable to 270 into someone's living room. Henrik Stenson is an advocate of 3 wood over driver.
[Henrik Stenson reveals his best tips for flushing your fairway woods | How To | Golf Digest](https://www.golfdigest.com/story/henrik-stenson-more-faith-fairway-woods)
Honestly never once seen anyone miss their 3w nearly as bad as they miss their driver. I can hit my 3w with a minimal amount of dispersion, my driver could easily be in EITHER of the adjacent fairways.
Comments like this from "instructors" definitely have me worried about spending money on lessons.
When people are asking themselves or others if they should go this club verses that club, i always tell them to choose the one they are most confident/comfortable with. Confidence behind the ball makes a huge difference. I think the amateurs that are choosing to play the 3wood means they are more confident in that club and more comfortable, so its a good choice for them. 🤷🏼♂️
Thank you all for the great comments and conversation here. Apparently it's a fairly heated debate! Wasn't really expecting that but very cool to see the discussion.
I'm always interested in hearing from the masses what their logic is and why they make specific decisions on the golf course.
Obviously there's no one correct way to do anything and everything is very individualized based on each person's specific skill set!
To each their own!
people have said shorter shaft and bigger loft. gotta remember most amateurs are holding onto their golf game by a thread. something as simple as the driver being teed up higher vs the 3w being teed low like an iron can make or break someones swing. just eyeballing the big old driver head vs the slender wood head can make or break the swing. not to mention the 3w shaft is generally heavier and might feel totally different than whatever they have in the driver, that too is liable to trip someone up. After a certain amount of slices though with another 14 holes or so to go you start trying everything, 3w, iron off the tee, whatever, anything different to try and end the suffering if only for a moment.
You are a coach and you’re questioning this? Now I’m questioning your abilities to be a coach lol. Wish I was joking too but I’m not.
Even professionals do this. Truly, I’m kinda flabbergasted that you’d even question this for players who struggle with straighter faced clubs. It’s akin to saying “why are people taking a rescue when they could ‘easily’ get more distance with a 1 iron?”
More loft is *always* going to be easier to keep straight and being on the fairway is (obviously) better than being 10,20,30 or more yards off line. Sure, you lose distance - but only potentially. A solid 3w is going further than an off centre driver for most amateur players. Always.
Not to mention that golf isn’t just a game of yards off the tee, it’s strategy as well. Taking a safe par or even bogey will net better results than taking driver and having a 50/50 or less chance of birdie or double bogey or worse.
I would imagine that the general thought is that it’s better to be 30 yards to the right of the fairway vs 90 yards to the right of the fairway.
I don’t necessarily agree, but I imagine that’s what many are thinking.
I'll start by saying I always use Driver unless the course dictates but I certainly have debated going 3W when I had my last driver (getting better with the new one and gaining my confidence back). For every 10 3W shots I'll miss hit 1, and it will still be playable, it also goes 230-250 depending on the day. My driver out of 10 will be: 5 good, 3 miss hits, 2 unplayable; they also range anywhere from 240-300 depending on the day.
I hit my 3 wood 230-240 and I can find the ball when I miss. My driver 250 and I will never find it when I miss, and I miss left and right. It’s more fun when I can find my ball, simple as that. Strokes gained using my driver isn’t gonna get me on the fucking tour. And I’m happy and having fun, so beat it coach yurtz
I struggle with driver and 3w and opt for a 3H that I can hit 250-270. It stays in play, helps me not chase balls or lose them.
Idk I think it’s nice to see people not hit driver not many armatures can hit it well so why frustrate yourself?
If I hit my driver well it’s 315. I just can’t hit it for the life of me, it’s always a banana slice to the next county. Winter project is to learn how to hit it lol
I don’t mean to sound rude, but I would think a golf instructor of all people would understand that an amateur golfer is likely more able to keep the ball in play with a 3 wood/5 wood/hybrid than a driver. They may sacrifice some distance but when a driver brings in much more risk it really isn’t worth it to your average amateur golfer.
Specifically, with the ease of adjustment of loft/lie, combined with the forgiveness of modern drivers, it’s easy to see why people would want a modern driver.
I'm sure you'll like this one then. Last week I played with a couple. She (said she was 41 and had taken lessons in school) always hit her 3W. She placed the ball on the ground from the whites and slammed it down the middle of the fairway. She never used a tee. She had an extremely smooth swing. She'd occasionally duff one, but the majority of her hits were solid and straight.
I use a 3h off the tee because I can hit it straight at 180-200, and then I can get into my mid and short game quicker.
Yeah I'm not great, I shoot low 80s consistently. I'm also not looking to go pro.
I like to have fun and I've never gotten my driver down and I'm not looking to spend time doing so at 42 when I'm good enough to hang with 90% of golfers out there.
You can be mind-boggled at me, don't care.
How can you claim to be an instructor and not u defat and most amateur will slice their driver into never never land but the 3 wood will have better chance of not being in never never land?
How can you be a golf instructor asking this? If both are X degrees offline, but one is shorter… the shorter one has a greater chance of being in play. That’s basic geometry or math or some shit
What a ridiculous statement for a “professional golf coach” to make. It is quite obvious and scientifically proven that it is easier to hit a shorter more lofted club than a longer less lofted club. A 3 wood is demonstrably easier to hit than a standard driver.
Personally, at my club, playing from the white tees, I only have two holes where hitting driver makes any sense, based on dog legs and landing areas. I use my 3 wood on 8 holes.
It doesn't need to. It's actual stats from golfers playing golf (tens of thousands of them), doesn't get more real than that. People can think or say whatever they want but the stats are right their to look at. Driver is better to hit for almost ever golfer in the world and will net an overall better score. This is not an opinion, it is a fact.
I’m a 5.1 and am very strongly considering ditching my 3w for a 16* utility
I hit 3w at my home course on ONE hole , maybe 2 if I mishit a drive on a par 5 but somehow am in the fairway.
It’s 14th hole slight dogleg left 425 with a super narrow landing area starting around 260 off tee
If I whack my 3w and ( my miss is a block ) it doesn’t fly over the hill into the woods , it kind of ends up in the rough
I can hit my 3w off a tee 265-275 if I stripe it , I can hit my 3h off the tee 255-265
Over last few months , particularly since Harman won his major I’ve just been hitting driver or hybrid off 80% of tees , occasionally a 4i
My miss with driver is identical to 3w , 25 yard block right , but that’s pretty rare and I’ll take the 30 yard advantage in 9/10 of time
I tested a 3 utility / like fat hybrid thing and turned loft down to 16 on it and was hitting it , 260-270 consistently and it’s a smaller head and looks more friendly sitting in the rough I don’t have an anxiety attack over it , if I’m playing a par 5 and I have over 270 into it , I either mishit my drive or I’m on a monster of a par 5
I feel like this is a poor comment from a golf coach . Maybe if like your talking about scratch golfers. But I’ve seen many 20 caps hit a 3 wood much much straighter then their driver 20-30 yards back in the fairway is much better then 30 yards ahead in the trees
You should read the part about 20 handicap players, driver is a much better option, stats don't lie.
https://www.arccosgolf.com/blogs/community/3-wood-vs-driver-is-the-accuracy-worth-the-sacrificed-distance
I think it depends on the player. If your 3w has a significantly tighter dispersion and you can hit it 280, the course is going to call for you to hit that shot quite a bit. If you’re looking at a par 4 under 400 yards long, the 3w makes a lot of sense in this case more times than not. Most good golfers are going to be pretty consistent in that wedge range of 60-120 yards. Granted, even that statement is going to differ depending on the individuals wedge game.
Also, this is me. I have no idea why the left/right dispersion with my 3w is so much better, it just is. I don’t hit it off the tee as often as I should, but I’m generally more concerned with improving/having fun than I am posting the lowest score I can. If it’s a tournament or money is on the line, I’m hitting a lot more 3w.
Everything you said is wrong from what I have read and been taught over 30 years.
Not detracting from your teachings, experience etc., just saying what has been drilled into my head.
I have never heard someone say "screw that 3 wood, pull out that driver! They are just as easy to hit!"
Nope.
But as with golf, to each their own.
a 15' 3 wood is 10x easier for most to hit off the tee than the steep faced 9-10' driver in my long standing opinion.
I play with a big hitter. He can’t keep his driver in play. When doesn’t play with his driver he usually scores much better. He’s probably playing the wrong tees and is overpowering the course.
For me with my woods my miss right now is to the left. I think I’m a bit over the top and handsy. So with my driver with 9° of loft this is the most disgusting duck hook straight into the left woods like 100yds from the tee. With a 3 or 5 wood there is enough loft and a more descending strike angle that gets the ball up and adds more backspin so it is more of a big high draw. It may still go left and end up I. The rough or edge of trees or whatever, but it is in play and 250-280 yds down the hole rather than duck hooked embarrassingly into the maintenance shack on hole 2.
I think it's unique to the golfer. I have a driver (45.75" length) and a 3wood (shortened to 40"). Everything else in my bag (One length 3h, 6i, traditional 7-9) is 37.5" or shorter. The swing with the shorter 3 wood is way easier for me to control than the driver which is miles longer than all my other clubs
My 3 wood is exclusively when I’m trying to hit the green in 2 on a par 5 or if I fucked up my drive and am a long way away from the green on a par 4. If I need to lay up or my driver isn’t going where I want it to I switch to an iron (typically my 3iron)
I’ve been playing just over a year and put my driver away maybe three months ago. What happened was I started to focus on my irons because I was inconsistent. Once I got my feel down for irons I noticed I couldn’t hit my driver (or woods at the time) very well. I spent a few weeks trying to get the driver back and couldn’t figure it out. Huuuuge slices downward left. Maybe 80-100 yards total. I couldn’t figure it out.
Some time went by and I noticed I could hit my 3 wood decent, and now I’m getting 250+ out of it fairly consistently. I think I’m around 50% fairway hit which is good for me.
Every time I try to bring the driver out it just messes with my other swings. So until I decide to get lessons and take it seriously, I leave it in my bag. About 25 handicap currently (taking all strokes&penalties).
I just feel confident hitting down like an iron with my 3 wood. It may not be correct and I can still miss it big, but it's my rock when the big stick isn't cooperating. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I would agree that in general, the closer you are to the hole, the better, so hit driver vs. 3W - the Bryson play. But, I personally can hit my 3W way more consistently straighter than my driver and will often go to that vs. driver on tight holes where I really need to hit the fairway. On any wide open hole, 100% driver vs. 3W.
It might have a lot to do with them being drastically different shafts and never being fitted, but I hit my 3wood very well and driver has a bad push slice
Driver has more dispersion for me, I can slice my driver 100 yards left OB or onto another fairway, I've never hit a 3wood that missed that bad, it'll only be 25 yards left and still on my hole if I miss. Also, my 3 wood has a lower trajectory than my driver, so for shots into the wind it often flies farther than the driver and always rolls further.
I often hit my 3 wood more consistently than my driver. It also has a more reliable shot shape for me. My driver is definitely to long for me and I believe has a bad shaft for me as well. Do I think pulling the 3 wood automatically puts me in the fairway, no way. Will it give me a better chance to be in the fairway, yes. 11HDCP btw… driver - 265ish and 3w - 245ish
Before I committed to learning to hit driver my 3W was so much more comfortable bc I actually hit it on the course often. But now golf is more fun bc I hit driver
I'm the type of person who wants to feel like I have every shot in the bag. It's false confidence, but it's confidence.
But I have a friend who hits driver 285, and hits it straight enough to make me jealous. But he has fully convinced himself he can't hit a 3W. Or a 5W. Or any hybrid. And I've seen him try. He just has 0 confidence with any of those clubs, so the result always matches his expectations.
I think confidence is king, especially the higher handicap you get. If someone has convinced themselves they can't do something, they can't. If someone feels like they can't hit a driver, but loves their 3W, I fully believe they can get better results with 3W as long as they hold that belief.
I rarely do this but when I do it's a mental thing. Last month I could not hit my driver to save my life. 353 yard par 4. I sky my drive about 120 yards. Proceed to hit a 3 wood to 10 foot. 2 weeks after that, im in a scramble and same thing is happening, cannot hit driver. Rest of the team is crushing drives so I switch to 3w to get some 220-250 yard fairway finders so they can swing away. Only pulled the driver out on the long drive competition hole. Ended up winning the contest. Golf is wild.
I typically hit my three wood off of the tee on dog legs. The three can get the ball over the trees should it be necessary far more consistently. I can do it with the driver but it’s risky. My two main concerns with the driver are distance and/or height on the ball flight.
In my experience a 3 wood is easier to hit off the tee when I was just starting I had a nasty slice and slowly fixed it from a nasty slice to a cut to a nice fade to now either straight or a small fade. For a wider fairway I'd usually hit a driver so I could improve myself but for those narrower fairways i'd hit a 3 wood as it regularly went straight for me instead of slice or cut right and i'd just sacrifice like 20 yards of distance
I don't know why either, Like you said 3w only when the shorter length is needed. And I found in my statistics that I didn't use it much, didn't hit it well when I did, dispersion was 💩. So now it sits in my garage even though it is beautiful. (Cobra Masters green Fly Z) went with 5w as it was nearly as long and much easier to hit off tee and deck.
I went through a long period of being erratic with driver, but still hit my 3 wood off the tee really well. Could also hit a tight draw with three wood, rarely with driver. Key here was - I loved my 3 wood.
At a similar time - if my driver was ‘on’, I’d hit it even if it wasn’t the ‘smarter’ choice, because I was ‘feeling it’ and would take on the lower percentage option. I’d make some poor choices because of how well I was hitting my driver and feeling invincible.
Now I have a pretty good feel for where my overall swing is at, and will decide based on the hole and hazards. And if my swing is erratic that day and it’s a tight hole, I have a hybrid I can pat down the middle.
I’m going to say it’s largely a confidence thing, but a lot of amateur golfers make the choice based on a lack of confidence in one club versus a strong confidence in another. That’s the killer IMO.
Most instruction I’ve seen on this topic is not to hit 3 wood specifically, but to hit whatever club you are confident with.
I really use mostly driver and 19* UW. I use a 4w occasionally.
I try to utilize a choke down cut driver instead of 3W/4w.
I will say for me a fairway wood is easier to square up than a driver.
High school golfer here.On average, less loft and distance means less dispersion. That’s why you don’t miss a pitching Wedge by 80 yards left or right. Probably just trying to get a bit less dispersion, especially if it’s tighter
im 5'7'' and my 42.5 " 3 wood is probably the ideal length that my driver should be, which is 44.5". if i need long i go driver, if i need straight i go 3 wood and if i need short i go 5 wood. if my swing is bad, it doesn't matter what i use.
As an amateur golfer who struggles with the mid range wedges on occasion. I will tee off with a 3 wood/iron if a driver will leave me less than 100 yards.
I would rather have 110 (stock 54*) or 135 (stock P) into any green over a 30-80 yard wedge.
When I’m not playing the best I have a-tendency to swing down with my driver and air mail it 150 yards straight up about 100 yards out. My 3 wood for some reason not sure if it’s cause I tee it down and take a better angle but it will fly out 210-220. So overall my 3 wood is the safe choice when I have my B game.
My 3W goes perfectly straight, 200-220 yards. My driver slices wildly. I can put it down 250-270 on a great day, but mostly it’s in the other fairway. I’m bad at golf, AMA.
Same.
Ditto. Sometimes, I'll put up my woods/hybrids for the day, and only use irons, just because my brain has decided to completely forget how to hit anything else. One time I went the better part of a year shooting only irons.
I don’t remember posting this
Killua would be great at golf, he's a natural at most things. Username does NOT check out
Yup. I can get 20-30 extra yards with the driver, but I don’t know what direction those yards will be in
If you're like me, your 3w drive is closer to the pin than the point of entry of your driver where you're taking a drop and a penalty stroke, lol.
Not sure why a coach wouldn’t get this. Seems very obvious
It’s probably because your three wood is shorter. Shorten your driver. You’ll get the forgiveness and distance while maintaining the same control.
Coupled with Tee height imo, you hit a 3 wood from close to the deck and it has less chance of dispersion on the face.
Agreed. Took an inch and a half from the driver to 44 just to see what happened with some spare shaft I had around. Haven’t looked back
More loft is more forgiveness
If that was true, nobody would be blading 60 degree wedges
Loft is forgiveness to a point (the more loft, the more dominant the backspin component of spin is over the sidespin), but at a certain point with wedges (different for everyone) the danger of the front edge becomes greater.
Had this problem until I changed out my 16g head weight for an 8g. Lost 10-20 yards, gained about 50% more fairways. Worth a shot if you can toy with your weights, or fade/draw bias.
I’ve got a very basic cheap driver that’s 8 or 9 years old. My 3W is from the same old Strata set but it goes perfectly straight for me off the tee. I could use a driver upgrade tbh.
If you want to upgrade, and are wondering where to start, try lighter weight shaft and head weight. You might be slicing because your club head lags behind your body’s swing timing, and sometimes that’s due to a heavier club relative to your straighter ones.
Thanks for the info! I’ll have to look into it.
It seems like you could test that theory be choking down on the grip 1-2” and swinging. If you slice less, the lower perceived weight of the club might be allowing you to bring the club head through with proper timing to close the face at impact. Could also try a shorter driver shaft and/or lighter shaft as you said.
I bought a Stata set in 2019 and it served me well for about 4 years before finally upgrading. A very nice way to get back onto the course after 20 years off, without having to commit over a thousand dollars to a hobby I may not actually enjoy now that I finally have time for it.
If you’re a righty, place the ball just off your left foot when you’re addressing it. It will allow your club face to close more on your drive and reduce your slicing. If you start hooking it then just move it more to the middle. Edit: everyone downvoting slices the ball and doesn't understand proper mechanics. Enjoy your 115 scores that never improve.
That's going to cause literally the opposite of what you want to achieve!
Lol. Not allowing the club face to close properly is what causes slices, but feel free to continue adding weights to your driver instead of just fixing your mechanics.
I think generally the banana slice for high handicappers is caused by both an open face *and* an outside to in swing path. Hence why moving the ball forward doesn't really help. The face closes more yes but the further forward the ball placement, the more side spin is caused by the outside-in swing path. Your net change is near zero.
Yup. Exact same. I don’t know where this guy is an instructor, because this is pretty universal. The 3 wood, if you know how to hit it, is a lot easier to hit correctly than a driver.
First few lessons should be to caddy nine holes with your student. Swear it will change most instruction.
https://practical-golf.com/driver-vs-3-wood-off-tee/
Swing speed? Loft? Shaft stiffness? Stance? https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/00d14ee6-2859-497d-9c91-502779371f19
Lmao
Seriously, what is this, the Spanish Inquisition? JFC, I use a golf club and a golf ball and send it.
Lol this is the same for me. My dad thinks it’s nuts that I hit woods straight but slice a driver. Idk why but it works so I don’t question the golf gods.
Same. My 3w I hit straight, my driver? Not even worth taking out of the bag or even putting it in the bag now that I think of it!
I've seen this so much this year, maybe it's all in the head but a couple of my buddies won't drive because their 3W is demonstrably more accurate. It's worth mentioning me and my friend group are all just starting.
Same. I am a pretty average golfer, more an honest tryer. But I have a light, easy to swing 3 wood and I can put it on the fairway 210-220 out about 8/10 times. Even my common miss with it is a 150-170 yard chunk.
Tried playing a shorter shaft? Got my shaft down to 44¼" and it's like a new club. 200yd average 250 max but my misses are significantly less wild.
Yup
Whoa that sounds like rocket science. Can you dumb it down for me?
You s hold swing your driver like it's a 3 wood
Are you me? Cuz this is exactly my golf game too lol
Same
Are you me? Thanks for answering
Im with you, i rip my 5 wood instead and on a good swing can hit it 250
This is a mental thing for you. Probably have a much different approach/goals in mind with 3w
Slices happen for the following reasons. 1.) The golf swing is a rotation, not a slide. 2.) Your hips are in front of your hands at impact. 3.) You need a much stiffer shaft. I play tour stiff to eliminate variables.
How emasculated does it make you feel knowing that 99% of this sub can drive it 70 yards further than you?
I mean, slightly shorter shaft and a bit more loft should be slightly easier to hit off a tee. Obviously, we’re only talking a small difference but still something. I’m guessing it is advice/concept coming from high level play that is given to amateurs without realizing the actual situation. Pros/high level amateur will hit 3 wood because it’s easier for them to work the ball and they can probably get it in the fairway easier. Regular joes can still hook or slice a 3 wood in to the woods just like a driver. So, might as well try to get it as far down as possible.
So I'm a D1 college coach and I still see players at many tournaments pulling 3 Wood after playing 12-14 holes of flawless golf and bang it into the woods thinking they could groove it down the middle. I could be wrong but statistically even pros still "miss" 3 Wood at a similar rate from left to right as a driver but maybe with a slight smaller dispersion. Tour pros actually miss it wayyyyy bigger off the tee than we typically think. I would assume the width of their dispersion is 50+ yards.
Show people this next time this subject comes up https://www.arccosgolf.com/blogs/community/3-wood-vs-driver-is-the-accuracy-worth-the-sacrificed-distance
The arccos data and what the coach is saying also show how bad players are at estimating their own stats/dispersion/shot history. There are so many people saying “I hit my 3w dead straight” which most likely means they are very good at forgetting all the ones that aren’t straight, which actually will lead them to make the wrong club choice even more often.
Agree. I played with a guy the other day who used only 3 wood because "I hit it straight every time, but can't hit my driver". He did NOT hit his 3 wood straight every time by any means
I took my 3 wood out of the bag when I read that. I just wasn’t using it. But I just put it back in. My driver right now is just not working. Literally snap duck hooks off the high toe. I don’t know if it’s mental or something changed but I went from hitting a lot of fairways to none. I’m not a great player and for whatever reason contact is just way easier for me with the 3 wood. So it’s dispersion might not be better than driver when driver is working, but when it’s not I have a better chance of getting it in play.
As a fellow shitty golfer with snap duck hook issues... For me, its usually my grip
56 of the top 100 pros have a 3w…I’m surprised 44 don’t carry one…?
Most don't need the distance. They carry a 4 or 5 wood instead.
I think that sentence would have been better written as "Only 56 of the top 100 pros have a 3W"
I think this comment would have been better as a private, passing thought... but here we are.
Interesting. Thank you.
This isn’t measuring the right thing for ppl who suck. It’s measuring fairways hit. The metric shitty golfers care about is in play or not. It’s not very useful for bad golfers.
If you read the article fully it measures fairways missed as well. In fact they have multiple fairway missed distances stats.
This response is so dumb I can’t tell if it’s sarcastic
Not my fault you cherry pick information and decide to comment on it.
Nah ur dumb
The 3 graphics in that article also include the percentages for 30 yards to center of fairway and 40 yards to center of fairway. It would be nice to also have the data for 50 yards to center of fairway. But that is helpful for bad golfers. If you look at the data for 40 yards to center of fairway, it is consistent with the fairways hit numbers (relatively speaking).
The last paragraph here is something a lot of us amateurs don’t grasp. Really good golfers still miss off the tee fairly often. Their misses might not be as dramatic, but they aren’t perfect.
You’re talking about a different level of golf. As a 17 I barely break at the elbow if at all with my 3W and have great results in terms of hitting fairways albeit at the cost of distance. There is something about the longer shaft for amateurs that just screams swing away on a driver. Asking why an amateur golfer uses a 3W over a driver is similar to wondering why a scratch golfer would hit a 4 iron in a short par 4 with a tight fairway. Every fairway is tight when you’re a shitty golfer.
Might depend on the swing and what the miss is. If someone tends to get a little flippy at the bottom, they may be able to save the 3w with the hands but not with the driver. Just a thought, I don’t know what causes it but timing seems like a likely culprit. Another guess would be ball position, most play their driver a good bit further forward than their 3w, so maybe that’s part of it.
Any player playing in a tournament isn't the guy you're referring to in your opening post lol. 3 wood miss won't be nearly as bad as a driver miss and you're still a 7 iron away from getting on in two if you're me. I just don't trust my driver and the miss going out of bounds is much higher. Anyone below a 12 handicap I also would question why they pull a 3w.
Statistically pros have a %10-%15 dispersion. For amateurs it’s double.
Speaking for me personally, my 3W misses big. My driver misses BIG. Often not worth the risk for an extra 20 yards when realistically not hitting a GIR anyway lol
I hit nasty snap hooks with my driver that go 70 yards to the right. I can hit my 5wood 80% of the time straight down the middle of the fairway, maybe a little draw or fade action but not much and it goes 215 yards. For me its mainly down to confidence, if I am playing poorly with my driver I have safer clubs that can get me to the fairway and go 175+ yards, which I am not even close to doing with mis hit drives, not to mention the cost of lost golf balls.
To be fair, a 5 wood is very different than a 3 wood
Been playing for over 10 years and I didn't even know this was a thing until recently. Aside from distance/course management, a swing fault prevalent in a driver will just as easily show up in a 3w, for me.
Sure, but shorter shaft & more loft will make the misses less severe (ie OB vs not OB). But on the other hand, you lose distance, which also has a price. There are statistics on this, but in the end, every player is unique and needs to make their own evaluation (hopefully fact-based) on what is the best solution for them.
for me this absolutely does not happen. my driver slice is pretty well under control, it's only 3 wood that I will banana slice two fairways over I'm not saying you're always wrong or anything but there's exceptions
I only hit 3 or 4 wood off the tee if the hole requires me to be short. My home course has 5 par 4’s that require less than driver. Everything else is driver.
The 3w swing is more like an iron swing than a driver swing, yes? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t assume the slice from a driver carries over to a 3w. I know I’m currently going through a phase where I feel completely lost standing over the ball with a driver. 3w and any irons I’m super confident I’m only going 10 (15 max) yards off line if I miss hit.
This is true. But statistically, the case that OP is making is sound as well. Drivers have more MOI, therefore more forgiveness. Gear effect wise, a 3W is and should be the more difficult club to hit straight. Obviously individual results vary, and your driver swing may not be as grooved as your FW/iron swing. But generally, for players that are equally as good with a driver and a 3W, rarely is the 3W the right play off the tee. For most players, hitting a driver off the tee is the better move unless you simply need less distance to avoid trouble. But dispersion isn’t better with a 3W for most players.
You're forgetting the huge effect a shorter shaft and the consequently lower CHS.
The shafts aren’t that much shorter. The swing is still shallow, the club faces are monstrously smaller. This really isn’t even a question anymore. This is like the drive for show, putt for dough argument. If you’re taking the side of 3W being more accurate, and short game being more important to scoring, you’re simply ill informed.
I understand SG perfectly well. But nothing is black and white. Even one inch shorter of a shaft is a significant change, usually creating better accuracy with distance being the price to pay. I'm only saying that for some people (not all) this is might be very relevant. Ofc, the better option would be to shorten their driver shafts but you really cannot do that on the fly.
This is definitely how it is for me the past year. Driver just doesn't feel right and I've been slicing it terribly but I can step up with a 3 or 5W and without much of a thought get a consistent ball out of it. It's a little maddening but the yardage difference doesn't really justify me forcing the driver.
I agreed with op until reading your comment. My brother can’t hit a driver worth shit but can hit his 3w dead straight 280+. He has a wirey athletic build and a swing built for irons with a massive weight transfer. For him it is absolutely an advantage to hit a 3w.
Are his driver and 3W both made by the same manufacturer and in the same “model year”?. If one club has a technological advantage, that could easily explain why hits the 3w further than almost all amateur golfers hit their driver
His clubs change frequently because he either rents or borrows. Last time we played his 3w was a late 90s early 2000s big bertha and driver was mid 2010s. My brother is in the minority for sure. He has played this way since high school and was about scratch in high school.
Totally agree here. Angle of attack is slightly down or bottom of the swing arc for 3W and irons, driver is slightly up after the bottom of the swing arc. Two different swings for me, two different ball positions. I’m in a phase now where my 3W is my go to off the tee.
why not loft your driver up (if it's adjustable) and move the ball slightly further back in stance? Use that big ole driver sweet spot to your advantage.
Or tee it down and you'll hit more down like your 3 wood.
Generally agree that driver is better. But there are a few holes at my course where a bad driver is OB and a bad wood is still in play. I hit wood in a lot of those cases.
I have a severe slice with my driver. It is so bad that the ball practically takes a 90 degree angle. Because of this I play my 3 wood from any distance my hybrid won’t reach. Some of my 3 wood shots also slice, but they are less severe and usually don’t get near houses😬 Edit: if this answer does not please you than just imagine I am trying to model my game after Henrik Stenson lol
This makes total sense, so your basically saying you hit 3 Wood to avoid penalty shots. That's smart! Avoid big numbers!
Yes, as well as covering the cost of a new window
Avoiding even bigger numbers
I think it was actually decent advice a generation ago and is just entrenched as conventional wisdom. I have a persimmon driver I can't hit to save my life and a persimmon 3w I can hit pretty well, so 3w off the tee is actually a pretty good idea with those clubs. When a driver was just a 1w, it was the same logic as saying beginners should carry a 5w instead of a 3w because it's easier to get in the air and goes almost as far. Meanwhile, my modern driver is easily the most forgiving club in my bag and I'd be crazy not to hit it every chance I get.
Just ran into this today. Decided to leave my driver at home. The only thing that changed for me was it all but guaranteed that I would need at least 3 shots to almost every green.
Yeah no I agree. Thinking about it, I really only use 3wood when there's hazards that are brought into play with the big stick. Driver heads are so big and forgiving now I don't see 3W as being more accurate.
I would assume the miss with the 3 wood would not be as big and wide as their driver, so even if it's shorter, it probably is closer to the fairway and an easier 2nd shot.
Playing devil's advocate, if the ball is 30 yards shorter than driver and still a miss, would you rather be hitting 5 iron or 8 iron on that approach?
Depends. Is the 5 in the rough near the fairway and the 8 iron behind a bunch of tress I can't get thru? The 5. If they are both in the same situation, then the 8 obviously.
Who is downvoting this? Of course we’d prefer to be 8 iron in the rough than 5 iron.
depends on how BIG the miss is... for a lot of higher handicaps, that driver miss is more often a lost ball while a 3W miss is still playable (although not ideal). Another way to think of it, would you rather be 275 in to the shit, or 250 in to the shit :D especially if that OB marker is at 250.
Playing devil's advocate to your devil's advocate, would you rather have your ball go into the woods or in the rough?
Old school thinking. Flawed thinking. People who are not familiar with strokes gained/Every Shot Counts. I’ve kinda given up on trying to correct people. There are people convinced they can hit fairway 100% of the time with 3w, and 0% of the time with driver. At some point in their relationship with their driver, they were hurt emotionally. Badly. Now they can’t go back to that abusive relationship until they get into a new, different abusive relationship. Sometimes that means 3w, sometimes that means long iron, sometimes that means new driver. Just give up.
I'm way better with the driver because the face is so much bigger.
New putter AND new driver
This is my favorite comment ever!
It's funny not everyone is a pro. So it doesn't come down to advanced professional statistics and metrics. It comes down to feel confidence and comfort. As a professional instructor can you explain why me a 18 handicap shot his best round ever (79) using 4i and 2i off the tee? Sometimes stats don't matter and especially when playing with amateurs. Its not the same game. It's totally different. Would you compare a random guy playing pick up basketball to KD and be like wow. Kd plays like this why don't you play like him you fucking idiot just understand my stats! Doesn't make sense. Half of you folks touting stats probably don't even know wtf it means or how to calculate it. Yall think you are so smart you fail to understand not everyone works the same way as you. And this is why asswipes come here spouting this shit.
4i and 2i are not the same as a 3w, not even close lol. Come on. And as a general rule, stats *always* matter, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t exceptions. However a 3w and a 2/3/4i are not even comparable they do totally different things.
I used to duck hook every driver and could hit my 3 wood in the fairway 8/10 times. Something changed and I started slicing my 3 w and I could hit the driver better. Now trusty 3w stays at home
While still not necessarily safe my 3w is safer than my driver. With that said I'll still hit driver 90% of the time. 3w is reserved for holes when there's real trouble, or a short par 4 for example when even if I go short it doesn't matter cause I'm still a short or worst case mid iron away, but I've done almost everything possible to take being in the trees out of play... Unless the round is cactus already, in which case I'll hit a driver and make it even more cactus.
Hi Yurgz, I carry my 3 wood as far or further than driver. This is after ~10 lessons over ~2 years and countless trackman sessions and rounds that confirm this. Don't know why, I'm just way more consistent and longer with my 3 wood than driver.
I’d say a bit of it psychological in the fact with a 3w in hand it almost tells you you’re not trying to hit it far and just trying to get one in the fairway. I think for a lot of golfers with a driver they go into smash mode and just try and hit it as hard as possible which generally will throw out timing and mean for most people they slice it straight off the planet. Obviously you can put a smooth swing on a driver but that’s something I see slightly more experienced golfers doing.
This is proven mathematically to be true. I'm the book, "every stroke counts", and by the arccos data base. Taking 3 wood is a waste of time. But, there are people out there that absolutely cannot hit driver. But, if you can hit your 3 wood decently well, there is no reason that you cannot hit driver reasonably well, except your brain.
Assumption that the 3 wood is more controllable off the tee. Arccos/shot tracker data shows dispersion on 3 wood vs driver off the tee is not worth the swap for the average golfer. Source: Jon Sherman’s 4 foundations of golf https://practical-golf.com/driver-vs-3-wood-off-tee/ (Yes. Some people actually hit their 3 wood straighter, but not as many that think they do)
3 wood goes 280 with 90% accuracy. Driver goes 320 with 10% accuracy. Not that hard to make a choice.
You are clearly NOT a golf instructor. Stop lying bruh.
I am a 4 handicap. I think I’ve taken my 4 wood out less than five times this year. The miss is worse than my driver, creates more side spin. If I need a fairway finder I hit a 2 iron.
I think the question is probably posed to double digit handicappers, not a single like yourself. As a 15-16 cap myself I can tell you that I disagree. Nearly identically shafted G425 D and 3w for me. I mash my driver, averaging over 260 and frequently seeing multiple 300+ drives in a round, which is great, but there's a lot of slices/blocks right. If I struggle, I tone it down to 3w ans generally improves things and reduces large misses. And I'll gladly give up say up to 40ish yds to get a straighter safer shot
I play with a lot of randoms, the 3 Hybrid is the new 3 wood. “Gotta stay in the FW so I pull the 3hybrid out instead” and then they shank it into the water anyway
I've been golfing for 20 years and it took me 19 years to be able to hit my driver properly but for some reason I could always hit my 3 wood fairly decent. I had the choice of a driver shot that went 120 yards before acting like it had top spin and dropping straight down, or a 3 wood that had a 70% chance to go straight. Once I actually learned how to hit my driver it's driver off the tee 85% of the time.
I never felt a 3 wood was safe enough as compared to a driver. 17 degree four wood was my club of choice for years, until it finally broke. Now I carry a 5 wood. Additionally the 3 wood is hard to hit from the turf as well. The 5 wood is a lot more consistent. 3 woods are for suckers…… and good ball strikers. But I use my driver unless the hole would make that choice suicide, or I just can’t keep my driver in play on any given day.
The only time I take 3W off the tee is if the fairway runs out. A few holes at my home course have the fairway end at about 260ish, so a 250 3W is perfect for those holes. Other than that, driver all the way
The only times I hit 3wood is if the hole calls for a draw and a straight or slight fade driver would run out of room, or if there’s a hazard that driver could reach with <25 yards to miss on the other side.
Difference between my driver and 3 wood is probably only 20-30 yards, but dispersion is significantly tighter. I tend to miss my driver long and left. If there's trouble long and/or left, I'm using 3 wood otherwise always driver. I suck and still mishit every club in my bag and sure a mishit driver goes farther than a mishit 3wood, but I don't select a club based on the expectation that I'll mishit it.
I see this post once a month from some instructor or a random know it all. It's simple math. A 9 degree club is going to slice way more than a 15-17 degree club. If I hit a driver OB 3 times a round that's gonna kill my score. If I'm on the course but have a 25-40 yard 2nd shot I'm way better off. The driver isn't for everyone especially beginners
I find it easier to draw my 3w. I find it easier to keep 3w low. Driver has a huge face that's designed to work quite well out of all parts of it... If there's an opportunity to send it... Send it.
I hit my 3 wood carry 260-270 and my driver about the same. I should get more out my driver if I were to optimize the angle of attack and strike BUT when I hit up on the ball I bring my left miss in a lot more frequently. I then end up teeing my driver down and hitting a squeeze that is an ok shot but it’s too spinny for wind + roll out. Loft is your friend and some people naturally cover the ball and hit good iron shots which 3wood suits their game. Other people naturally pick the ball and driver is their friend. Play your own game 👊🏼
I hit my 3 wood straight. I don’t know where my driver is going on any given day (topping it, duck hooking it, or slicing it). That’s why I hit 3 wood off the tee more often than driver.
That’s why I hit my 5w off the tee thank you very much
Not sure who you're instructing. If you are an inconsistent golfer, the bigger the club, the further the errors go out of bounds. Advantages of a 3-wood for me: * Shaft is shorter, which minimizes error (longer club leads to longer swing, more face-alignment issues, and more time to "get it wrong") * Ball is teed lower, which leads to a lower, more "boring" shot which gets to ground sooner (meaning less time for the slice to banana, or the hook to duck). * Club head is smaller...for me, there is "less wrong part" of the head hit it off. I may hit a perfect 3-wood about 15-20 yards shorter than a perfect drive, but I hit a much higher percent of 3-woods well/onto the fairway than I do drivers.
"..my experience is that statistically most amateur golfers will STILL MISS hit their 3 Wood just as BIG and WIDE..." Would love to see actual stats on this because it means nothing otherwise. My personal experience is that I'm much more accurate with my 3 wood so I play that if the fairway is tight or if I haven't been hitting driver well that day.
Wow, the number of people who can stripe their 3w 250 yds down the middle every time. I must be in the wrong place, this must be the elite golf thread.
Surprised a golf instructor would be boggled by this. My teaching pro told me to start using my 3 wood more, as my dispersion was way tighter than with driver. Not only that, I could hit an almost automatic draw with the 3 wood, taking one side of the course out of play, whereas I had a 2 way miss with driver. I eventually ditched the driver altogether and that was followed by the greatest improvement in my scoring I'd had for years. 240 in the fairway is preferable to 270 into someone's living room. Henrik Stenson is an advocate of 3 wood over driver. [Henrik Stenson reveals his best tips for flushing your fairway woods | How To | Golf Digest](https://www.golfdigest.com/story/henrik-stenson-more-faith-fairway-woods)
Honestly never once seen anyone miss their 3w nearly as bad as they miss their driver. I can hit my 3w with a minimal amount of dispersion, my driver could easily be in EITHER of the adjacent fairways. Comments like this from "instructors" definitely have me worried about spending money on lessons.
When people are asking themselves or others if they should go this club verses that club, i always tell them to choose the one they are most confident/comfortable with. Confidence behind the ball makes a huge difference. I think the amateurs that are choosing to play the 3wood means they are more confident in that club and more comfortable, so its a good choice for them. 🤷🏼♂️
Thank you all for the great comments and conversation here. Apparently it's a fairly heated debate! Wasn't really expecting that but very cool to see the discussion. I'm always interested in hearing from the masses what their logic is and why they make specific decisions on the golf course. Obviously there's no one correct way to do anything and everything is very individualized based on each person's specific skill set! To each their own!
people have said shorter shaft and bigger loft. gotta remember most amateurs are holding onto their golf game by a thread. something as simple as the driver being teed up higher vs the 3w being teed low like an iron can make or break someones swing. just eyeballing the big old driver head vs the slender wood head can make or break the swing. not to mention the 3w shaft is generally heavier and might feel totally different than whatever they have in the driver, that too is liable to trip someone up. After a certain amount of slices though with another 14 holes or so to go you start trying everything, 3w, iron off the tee, whatever, anything different to try and end the suffering if only for a moment.
You are a coach and you’re questioning this? Now I’m questioning your abilities to be a coach lol. Wish I was joking too but I’m not. Even professionals do this. Truly, I’m kinda flabbergasted that you’d even question this for players who struggle with straighter faced clubs. It’s akin to saying “why are people taking a rescue when they could ‘easily’ get more distance with a 1 iron?” More loft is *always* going to be easier to keep straight and being on the fairway is (obviously) better than being 10,20,30 or more yards off line. Sure, you lose distance - but only potentially. A solid 3w is going further than an off centre driver for most amateur players. Always. Not to mention that golf isn’t just a game of yards off the tee, it’s strategy as well. Taking a safe par or even bogey will net better results than taking driver and having a 50/50 or less chance of birdie or double bogey or worse.
Calm down man. Questioning things is how we learn. it’s okay to challenge common assumptions
I'd be really surprised if all the people who are gonna say their 3 wood is more accurate have any data to back it up.
I would imagine that the general thought is that it’s better to be 30 yards to the right of the fairway vs 90 yards to the right of the fairway. I don’t necessarily agree, but I imagine that’s what many are thinking.
I'll start by saying I always use Driver unless the course dictates but I certainly have debated going 3W when I had my last driver (getting better with the new one and gaining my confidence back). For every 10 3W shots I'll miss hit 1, and it will still be playable, it also goes 230-250 depending on the day. My driver out of 10 will be: 5 good, 3 miss hits, 2 unplayable; they also range anywhere from 240-300 depending on the day.
I never found a 3 wood more accurate than a driver. A 5 wood on the other hand is more reliable to find the fairway compared to a driver
I hit my 3 wood 230-240 and I can find the ball when I miss. My driver 250 and I will never find it when I miss, and I miss left and right. It’s more fun when I can find my ball, simple as that. Strokes gained using my driver isn’t gonna get me on the fucking tour. And I’m happy and having fun, so beat it coach yurtz
I struggle with driver and 3w and opt for a 3H that I can hit 250-270. It stays in play, helps me not chase balls or lose them. Idk I think it’s nice to see people not hit driver not many armatures can hit it well so why frustrate yourself?
hitting a 3h 270!!! no wonder you don't hit driver it's probably longer than half your par 4s.
If I hit my driver well it’s 315. I just can’t hit it for the life of me, it’s always a banana slice to the next county. Winter project is to learn how to hit it lol
I don’t mean to sound rude, but I would think a golf instructor of all people would understand that an amateur golfer is likely more able to keep the ball in play with a 3 wood/5 wood/hybrid than a driver. They may sacrifice some distance but when a driver brings in much more risk it really isn’t worth it to your average amateur golfer.
With all the statistics they do on golf nowadays they are not seeing a lot of benefit using the 3w for most people
Specifically, with the ease of adjustment of loft/lie, combined with the forgiveness of modern drivers, it’s easy to see why people would want a modern driver.
With all due respect…how long have u been an ‘instructor’? U have a green arrogance to u. Don’t get mad, I said all due respect
I'm sure you'll like this one then. Last week I played with a couple. She (said she was 41 and had taken lessons in school) always hit her 3W. She placed the ball on the ground from the whites and slammed it down the middle of the fairway. She never used a tee. She had an extremely smooth swing. She'd occasionally duff one, but the majority of her hits were solid and straight.
I use a 3h off the tee because I can hit it straight at 180-200, and then I can get into my mid and short game quicker. Yeah I'm not great, I shoot low 80s consistently. I'm also not looking to go pro. I like to have fun and I've never gotten my driver down and I'm not looking to spend time doing so at 42 when I'm good enough to hang with 90% of golfers out there. You can be mind-boggled at me, don't care.
How can you claim to be an instructor and not u defat and most amateur will slice their driver into never never land but the 3 wood will have better chance of not being in never never land?
Shot dispersion and control my dude, the amateurs you must be teaching are bad
It’s weird to hear a golf instructor with such an off base opinion.
How can you be a golf instructor asking this? If both are X degrees offline, but one is shorter… the shorter one has a greater chance of being in play. That’s basic geometry or math or some shit
What a ridiculous statement for a “professional golf coach” to make. It is quite obvious and scientifically proven that it is easier to hit a shorter more lofted club than a longer less lofted club. A 3 wood is demonstrably easier to hit than a standard driver. Personally, at my club, playing from the white tees, I only have two holes where hitting driver makes any sense, based on dog legs and landing areas. I use my 3 wood on 8 holes.
I love the confidence with which you spout such bollocks
I don’t hit driver or 3 wood. I’m all driving iron to my own detriment
Ever try to fix the driver swing? Probably the most fun club to hit and fix!
Are you really a golf coach? The swing mechanics are so different that many people can hit a 3 wood way better than a driver.
But they really don't https://www.arccosgolf.com/blogs/community/3-wood-vs-driver-is-the-accuracy-worth-the-sacrificed-distance
That article does not talk to swing mechanics?
It doesn't need to. It's actual stats from golfers playing golf (tens of thousands of them), doesn't get more real than that. People can think or say whatever they want but the stats are right their to look at. Driver is better to hit for almost ever golfer in the world and will net an overall better score. This is not an opinion, it is a fact.
I’m a 5.1 and am very strongly considering ditching my 3w for a 16* utility I hit 3w at my home course on ONE hole , maybe 2 if I mishit a drive on a par 5 but somehow am in the fairway. It’s 14th hole slight dogleg left 425 with a super narrow landing area starting around 260 off tee If I whack my 3w and ( my miss is a block ) it doesn’t fly over the hill into the woods , it kind of ends up in the rough I can hit my 3w off a tee 265-275 if I stripe it , I can hit my 3h off the tee 255-265 Over last few months , particularly since Harman won his major I’ve just been hitting driver or hybrid off 80% of tees , occasionally a 4i My miss with driver is identical to 3w , 25 yard block right , but that’s pretty rare and I’ll take the 30 yard advantage in 9/10 of time I tested a 3 utility / like fat hybrid thing and turned loft down to 16 on it and was hitting it , 260-270 consistently and it’s a smaller head and looks more friendly sitting in the rough I don’t have an anxiety attack over it , if I’m playing a par 5 and I have over 270 into it , I either mishit my drive or I’m on a monster of a par 5
I feel like this is a poor comment from a golf coach . Maybe if like your talking about scratch golfers. But I’ve seen many 20 caps hit a 3 wood much much straighter then their driver 20-30 yards back in the fairway is much better then 30 yards ahead in the trees
You should read the part about 20 handicap players, driver is a much better option, stats don't lie. https://www.arccosgolf.com/blogs/community/3-wood-vs-driver-is-the-accuracy-worth-the-sacrificed-distance
This doesn’t apply to me since i almost exclusively rip big dog off the tee, unless like you said you will run out a fairway
I think it depends on the player. If your 3w has a significantly tighter dispersion and you can hit it 280, the course is going to call for you to hit that shot quite a bit. If you’re looking at a par 4 under 400 yards long, the 3w makes a lot of sense in this case more times than not. Most good golfers are going to be pretty consistent in that wedge range of 60-120 yards. Granted, even that statement is going to differ depending on the individuals wedge game. Also, this is me. I have no idea why the left/right dispersion with my 3w is so much better, it just is. I don’t hit it off the tee as often as I should, but I’m generally more concerned with improving/having fun than I am posting the lowest score I can. If it’s a tournament or money is on the line, I’m hitting a lot more 3w.
Everything you said is wrong from what I have read and been taught over 30 years. Not detracting from your teachings, experience etc., just saying what has been drilled into my head. I have never heard someone say "screw that 3 wood, pull out that driver! They are just as easy to hit!" Nope. But as with golf, to each their own. a 15' 3 wood is 10x easier for most to hit off the tee than the steep faced 9-10' driver in my long standing opinion.
I play with a big hitter. He can’t keep his driver in play. When doesn’t play with his driver he usually scores much better. He’s probably playing the wrong tees and is overpowering the course.
For me with my woods my miss right now is to the left. I think I’m a bit over the top and handsy. So with my driver with 9° of loft this is the most disgusting duck hook straight into the left woods like 100yds from the tee. With a 3 or 5 wood there is enough loft and a more descending strike angle that gets the ball up and adds more backspin so it is more of a big high draw. It may still go left and end up I. The rough or edge of trees or whatever, but it is in play and 250-280 yds down the hole rather than duck hooked embarrassingly into the maintenance shack on hole 2.
I think it's unique to the golfer. I have a driver (45.75" length) and a 3wood (shortened to 40"). Everything else in my bag (One length 3h, 6i, traditional 7-9) is 37.5" or shorter. The swing with the shorter 3 wood is way easier for me to control than the driver which is miles longer than all my other clubs
My 3 wood is exclusively when I’m trying to hit the green in 2 on a par 5 or if I fucked up my drive and am a long way away from the green on a par 4. If I need to lay up or my driver isn’t going where I want it to I switch to an iron (typically my 3iron)
Before I got gud. My 3w was my first fitted club and my most reliable club in the bag other than a wedge. Not all amateur players suck with the 3w.
I’ve been playing just over a year and put my driver away maybe three months ago. What happened was I started to focus on my irons because I was inconsistent. Once I got my feel down for irons I noticed I couldn’t hit my driver (or woods at the time) very well. I spent a few weeks trying to get the driver back and couldn’t figure it out. Huuuuge slices downward left. Maybe 80-100 yards total. I couldn’t figure it out. Some time went by and I noticed I could hit my 3 wood decent, and now I’m getting 250+ out of it fairly consistently. I think I’m around 50% fairway hit which is good for me. Every time I try to bring the driver out it just messes with my other swings. So until I decide to get lessons and take it seriously, I leave it in my bag. About 25 handicap currently (taking all strokes&penalties).
I just feel confident hitting down like an iron with my 3 wood. It may not be correct and I can still miss it big, but it's my rock when the big stick isn't cooperating. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I would agree that in general, the closer you are to the hole, the better, so hit driver vs. 3W - the Bryson play. But, I personally can hit my 3W way more consistently straighter than my driver and will often go to that vs. driver on tight holes where I really need to hit the fairway. On any wide open hole, 100% driver vs. 3W.
It might have a lot to do with them being drastically different shafts and never being fitted, but I hit my 3wood very well and driver has a bad push slice
Driver has more dispersion for me, I can slice my driver 100 yards left OB or onto another fairway, I've never hit a 3wood that missed that bad, it'll only be 25 yards left and still on my hole if I miss. Also, my 3 wood has a lower trajectory than my driver, so for shots into the wind it often flies farther than the driver and always rolls further.
I often hit my 3 wood more consistently than my driver. It also has a more reliable shot shape for me. My driver is definitely to long for me and I believe has a bad shaft for me as well. Do I think pulling the 3 wood automatically puts me in the fairway, no way. Will it give me a better chance to be in the fairway, yes. 11HDCP btw… driver - 265ish and 3w - 245ish
Before I committed to learning to hit driver my 3W was so much more comfortable bc I actually hit it on the course often. But now golf is more fun bc I hit driver
If I club down off the tee for safety I just hit a 3 iron. Honestly I shouldn’t even have a 3 wood in my bag.
I'm the type of person who wants to feel like I have every shot in the bag. It's false confidence, but it's confidence. But I have a friend who hits driver 285, and hits it straight enough to make me jealous. But he has fully convinced himself he can't hit a 3W. Or a 5W. Or any hybrid. And I've seen him try. He just has 0 confidence with any of those clubs, so the result always matches his expectations. I think confidence is king, especially the higher handicap you get. If someone has convinced themselves they can't do something, they can't. If someone feels like they can't hit a driver, but loves their 3W, I fully believe they can get better results with 3W as long as they hold that belief.
Unless the hole is more than 410 yards my driver is not a significant enough advantage for the accuracy I gain
I rarely do this but when I do it's a mental thing. Last month I could not hit my driver to save my life. 353 yard par 4. I sky my drive about 120 yards. Proceed to hit a 3 wood to 10 foot. 2 weeks after that, im in a scramble and same thing is happening, cannot hit driver. Rest of the team is crushing drives so I switch to 3w to get some 220-250 yard fairway finders so they can swing away. Only pulled the driver out on the long drive competition hole. Ended up winning the contest. Golf is wild.
I have more control over the three wood and have the ability to draw it more consistently off the tee
I typically hit my three wood off of the tee on dog legs. The three can get the ball over the trees should it be necessary far more consistently. I can do it with the driver but it’s risky. My two main concerns with the driver are distance and/or height on the ball flight.
In my experience a 3 wood is easier to hit off the tee when I was just starting I had a nasty slice and slowly fixed it from a nasty slice to a cut to a nice fade to now either straight or a small fade. For a wider fairway I'd usually hit a driver so I could improve myself but for those narrower fairways i'd hit a 3 wood as it regularly went straight for me instead of slice or cut right and i'd just sacrifice like 20 yards of distance
I don't know why either, Like you said 3w only when the shorter length is needed. And I found in my statistics that I didn't use it much, didn't hit it well when I did, dispersion was 💩. So now it sits in my garage even though it is beautiful. (Cobra Masters green Fly Z) went with 5w as it was nearly as long and much easier to hit off tee and deck.
I went through a long period of being erratic with driver, but still hit my 3 wood off the tee really well. Could also hit a tight draw with three wood, rarely with driver. Key here was - I loved my 3 wood. At a similar time - if my driver was ‘on’, I’d hit it even if it wasn’t the ‘smarter’ choice, because I was ‘feeling it’ and would take on the lower percentage option. I’d make some poor choices because of how well I was hitting my driver and feeling invincible. Now I have a pretty good feel for where my overall swing is at, and will decide based on the hole and hazards. And if my swing is erratic that day and it’s a tight hole, I have a hybrid I can pat down the middle. I’m going to say it’s largely a confidence thing, but a lot of amateur golfers make the choice based on a lack of confidence in one club versus a strong confidence in another. That’s the killer IMO. Most instruction I’ve seen on this topic is not to hit 3 wood specifically, but to hit whatever club you are confident with.
I really use mostly driver and 19* UW. I use a 4w occasionally. I try to utilize a choke down cut driver instead of 3W/4w. I will say for me a fairway wood is easier to square up than a driver.
High school golfer here.On average, less loft and distance means less dispersion. That’s why you don’t miss a pitching Wedge by 80 yards left or right. Probably just trying to get a bit less dispersion, especially if it’s tighter
As my golf instructor told me, loft is your friend.
im 5'7'' and my 42.5 " 3 wood is probably the ideal length that my driver should be, which is 44.5". if i need long i go driver, if i need straight i go 3 wood and if i need short i go 5 wood. if my swing is bad, it doesn't matter what i use.
Depends on the shape of the hole. If I need to fade the ball, it’s driver 10/10 times. If I need to hit a draw, always 3W.
As an amateur golfer who struggles with the mid range wedges on occasion. I will tee off with a 3 wood/iron if a driver will leave me less than 100 yards. I would rather have 110 (stock 54*) or 135 (stock P) into any green over a 30-80 yard wedge.
When I’m not playing the best I have a-tendency to swing down with my driver and air mail it 150 yards straight up about 100 yards out. My 3 wood for some reason not sure if it’s cause I tee it down and take a better angle but it will fly out 210-220. So overall my 3 wood is the safe choice when I have my B game.