3 wood goes farther than driver

[BenderGloves]

I have been noticing this for a month or so now, but I hit my 3 wood farther and straighter than my driver. Yesterday I played in a tournament and wasn't very consistent with my driver but was smashing a 3 wood right down the middle. Obviously the driver I am hitting off a tee and the 3 wood off the ground, but I'm amazed at how much farther I hit the 3 wood. Any ideas or comments as to why? I feel like I should hit my driver farther. The way I explain it...I'm driving the ball with the 3 wood and hitting the ball with the driver.

[apprenti23]

Sounds like a LOFT problem haha

[RoverRick]

Most people use a driver with too little loft. In order to get the max out of your drive you need to hit it with in a certain window in regards to launch angle and spin based on swing speed. Of course face loft and head design as well as flex, torque, kick point and design of the shaft play a huge part of it. There are 1000's of different combos out there and finding the right one really requires a professional fitter.

 

However, the answer to you question is the 3 wood had more loft so you are first getting a higher launch angle. It is straighter because you are getting a more down the line spin. Often with the flatter face of the driver there is more side spin (yes, no such thing but for the sake of explanation I will use it.) The higher loft of the simply covers up the side spin better.

 

Back in the day of steel shafts and wooden heads, most people could hit a 5 wood farther than a 1,2, or 3 wood. I guess now days it is the 3 wood.

 

Now, simply changing from a 9.5 to a 10.5 driver may solve this issue, but it will also create more spin. Also, you may be able to change the shaft in the driver. Either of these are hit or miss which is where the fitter and launch monitor come in.

 

I have a 3 wood with a driver shaft in it, ala Phil's Phrankenwood, (R11 makes this very easy.) and I actually out drive my regular group with this club. I also have a driver also that I have set up for distance. I can hit the 3 wood on the tight holes, and pound the driver on the few holes that allow it at my course.

[dru_]

Bender, for a while I was in the same boat. I was consistantly longer with my 3w (and in some instance, my 2h) than my driver. The problem for me was three things. First, I was simply teeing it up too high ( this is something I still occasionally brainfart with ), secondI was using a 10.5 when a proper fitting found that I really should be using a 9 or 9.5. Finally, I was using a shaft that had too much flex. When I first started playing again, my swing speed was under 90mph, so I was playing an Adams SpeedLine with a senior flex shaft. A lot of factors changed in the intervening couple of years, and though my clubs hadn't changed, but swing sure had. I was never one to hit 'down' on a ball, and had gotten to a point where I was putting balls on the moon and returning to earth about 220 yards out. A newer fitting found that I had a launch angle of 18, and dispersion that was everywhere but where I wanted it to be. Something about playing a whippy stick designed for a

 

keeping that in mind, I have since gone to a habit of getting on a launch monitor about every 3 months to see what's changed. My last visit showed a marked improvement is side spin and dispersion. My backspin and launch angles are creeping back up while my swing speed has remained fairly stable at a 108 average. That said, though, sunday I nuked a 3w to a 268 yard gps result, shaving that tby 18 yards ( as I believe the margin for error with a phone based GPS is ~9 yards), that's still 250 from a 3w (and damn near out of play since I was playing it for a 240 yard target !). I really think some of these 3w's we are playing right now are packing more punch than drivers of just 10 years ago.

[revkev]

I'd also check to see that the shaft is the proper length - too long a shaft, too little loft and all of a sudden you aren't hitting your driver nearly as solidly as your three wood.

 

Good luck

[ZenGolfer]

Maybe your driver is too long. Try cutting it down to 43.5" and see how you hit it. Id bet its too long for your to be able to hit the sweet spot consistently, hence why you hit your 3-wood longer than your driver.

[rickkimbrell]

Maybe your driver is too long. Try cutting it down to 43.5" and see how you hit it. Id bet its too long for your to be able to hit the sweet spot consistently, hence why you hit your 3-wood longer than your driver.

 

I would try choking it down a little before I made what I would consider to be a more drastic move by cutting the shaft down.

[BenderGloves]

Thanks guys...I'll try everything. Right now my 3W and Driver are both Cobra AMP with Regular shaft. Driver is 10.5 Offset.

[RoverRick]

Thanks guys...I'll try everything. Right now my 3W and Driver are both Cobra AMP with Regular shaft. Driver is 10.5 Offset.

 

The question is did you get fitted for those? I said that you may need more loft simply because last time I did this I needed more loft, but less loft is also a possibility. Without seeing the ball flight none of us can say what is best for you.

 

I copied the below from this website. http://www.tourfitgo...0trajectory.pdf

 

There are several factors that control launch angle:

•Tee Height / Impact position on the face

• Human Factor: The ability of golfer to swing the club efficiently

•Loft

•Center of gravity

•Golf ball

•Shaft

[RookieBlue7]

Shorter shaft, easier to control. Go get fitted for a driver and they'll have the ball in the center of the face again in no time.

[BK in TEXAS]

I have a 3 wood with a driver shaft in it, ala Phil's Phrankenwood, (R11 makes this very easy.)

 

Exactly why I like adjustable drivers. If you're too stubborn to get fitted....or simply like to tinker....swapping shafts is a breeze.

[RoverRick]

Exactly why I like adjustable drivers. If you're too stubborn to get fitted....or simply like to tinker....swapping shafts is a breeze.

 

And if you are both? Like me? You are still happy.

[revkev]

Oh great I didn't even think that I could swap the shaft out of my driver until you knuckle heads had to go and mention it here.

 

Seriously there's a danger in this - sometimes it is the Indian you know - That's why a good experienced fitter is helpful. He/she should be able to tell if there is something simple wrong - set up, ball position - sometimes it's just the player.

 

In this case, Bender's case, I'm thinking its the club for real - no reason that one can hit a 3 wood well but not the driver other than the driver is wrong.

 

While I have respect for everyone here I have no doubt that Phil's frackenwood is going to become the hottest rage - really? Phil hits the thing nearly 300 yards - he can afford to give away 15 or 20 yards by not using a traditional driver. I can't and I doubt that many of us can either.

[Hula Rock]

Played 9.5 degree driver for many years, just for $hits and Giggles adjusted my Nike Covert to 11.5/right...... I have not moved it from there in two months. Who would have thought......

[Sluggo42]

Forem Phenom!

 

I crushed drives all day yesterday, all of them 280-300.

Except on the GPS the best was 274' the vast majority in the 240-265 range.

And I'm longer than average... Go figure...

[dru_]

Don't think, just swing! :-)

[dru_]

You know it's funny, but I recently tweaked my swing a bit, and while initially it was longer, I think I've given up about 10 yards. Thing is, I don't care, I really like the trajectory and overall playability of this swing iteration, as it reduces the stress on my lower back which is showing signs of wear and tear from the cycling and running.

[revkev]

I don't know why this one is being jacked like this but why not somewhere with reasonable people who care about the game.

 

I think that "giving up yardage" is sometimes a misperception. The better the player the more consistent. I've noticed even in my own game that when I don't play as often or am struggling I will occasionally get into one and whallop it with a driver.

 

So a round with the driver might look something like this:

 

225, 220, 240, 215, 200, 220, 265, 210, 200, 220.

 

When I'm playing well here's what it might look like:

 

235, 240, 235, 240, 240, 230, 245, 240, 235, 245

 

 

Who's the longer golfer?

 

I play with tons of guys who will hit a drive or two past me in the course of a round but I'll out drive them on the other 12 - does that mean they're longer than me? Occasionally I'll hit it past guys who consistently outdrive me by 20 yards, am I longer than they?

 

I didn't keep my average driving distance yesterday because I played a course that I've played 100's of times - I know where the ball is going to end up based on the line, wind direction and course condition because I've played in any possible condition with any possible wind on that course.

 

My guess would be that I would have been lucky to have averaged 230 yesterday - I hit the ball great - its sea level and there is almost no roll (although we're starting to get some).

 

I shot even par 72 because I only missed 2 fairways and in both cases I was in the first cut, I hit 12 greens and took 30 putts.

 

Long, consistent and straight is a huge advantage but of those three consistent and straight are the more important assuming one is long enough. On most courses 220 or so is plenty long enough and it is average to above average off the tee regardless of what we might think. I would refer us back to an outstanding blog post on the outside from a little over a year ago. In that blog it was demonstrated that golfers over estimate their distance by 40 yards with the driver and by a wide margin even with mid-irons.

 

Okay there's a vent from a preacher but I watch guys screw their games up by overestimating their ability so often that I'm off to find a place to start a thread about it.

 

Good luck on the driver Bender - I'm guessing there's one out there that will fit and will give you an additional 15 yards over your 3 wood with all the accuracy and perhaps even more.

[Kor.A.Door]

NO, NO, & FRICKIN NOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

When someone swings and gets excellent results, regardless of the club and reagardless of whether it's you or I, the best path to take is to "go with it." Just keep swingin, keep the thinkin(left side brain) to a minimum, and let your body take over.

 

And, enjoy it. We tend to over think and over analyze, and if you're swingin the 3FM well and landin it in the FW, they're are myriad reasons why. But, who cares. Just keep swingin.

 

And find yourself a quality teacher.

 

The Best to ya this season

 

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever

 

I have to agree with RP here, play what you have going, continue to practice with your driver until it comes around, if yor play of your 3 metal good, then go with it, you're not losing that much distance anyway.

 

A few years ago I couldn't get anything off the tee, except the 3 iron, I hit it far enough that I just didn't mess with nothing else, and just kept swing the driver, and 3 woods on the range, until finally I was able to hit them consistently enough to use them on the course. Just keep playing it will come around soon enough.

[Mr_Theoo]

I have to agree with RP here, play what you have going, continue to practice with your driver until it comes around, if yor play of your 3 metal good, then go with it, you're not losing that much distance anyway.

 

A few years ago I couldn't get anything off the tee, except the 3 iron, I hit it far enough that I just didn't mess with nothing else, and just kept swing the driver, and 3 woods on the range, until finally I was able to hit them consistently enough to use them on the course. Just keep playing it will come around soon enough.

 

I am currently doing that now. I cant control my driver as well as I would like to so I just dont use it. No point in getting me into trouble when im trying to score well. But during practice rounds i will work on the trouble clubs because at some point I will need to be able to hit them just as well.

[Kor.A.Door]

I am currently doing that now. I cant control my driver as well as I would like to so I just dont use it. No point in getting me into trouble when im trying to score well. But during practice rounds i will work on the trouble clubs because at some point I will need to be able to hit them just as well.

 

 

I look at it like I used to be able to hit these clubs well, but all of a sudden I can't, it doesn't mean you have to change everything, just keep working at it, eventually your brain will catch up, and then you get it back, and lose something else.