Driver vs 3 wood...

[conkanen]

Just thought I would get peoples opinion on how many Drivers vs 3 woods they hit in an average round. Do you hit more 3 woods or Driver off the tee? I know it depends on a lot of things like how yer hitting it, course setup, wind etc. I thought it would be interesting to get the differing philosophies on the subject.

I am trying to hit more 3 and even 5 woods off the tee so I can keep it play. Distance is not a big issue for me and I think my scores would improve(18 hdcp) if I limited my Driver to 2-3 per round. Right now I almost hit driver exclusively.
Not sure why.

 

[dashfan87]

I used to hit driver everywhere.... that was when I was 17 to about 19 and wanting to drive every green in one... even when there wasnt a chance... haha. Now... it all depends on the layout of the individual holes, there are par 4s Ill hit a 7 to five iron off the tee, because they may have severe doglegs that i couldnt navigate with more club, there are par 5s I use a 3 or a 5 wood off the tee for the same reason. but if its wide open, i dont care if its 300 yards or 600 yards, im hitting driver. Me and my driver are all right, i barely if ever loose it so bad i hit it OB... which is nice, but i know when to and when not to pull it out.

In a typical round, at my home course, Ill pull out the driver.... about 7 to 9 times in a round. at that same course a few years ago, it would have been more around 13 times... just learning to manage the game, and stuff.

hope that helps.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

depends on course setup, sometimes i'm more accurate when i just back off a driver then swing all out with a 3 wood

 

[curtisj76]

I used to hit 3W all the time and end up with better scores. Now with SD I hook my 3W ALL the time. Hasn't come out of the bag in weeks. Not sure what's going on...

 

[d0n]

After 3 different instructors and more driver and shaft combos than I can count I've given up on the driver all together. For whatever reason I get a mental block on the tee with the driver and nobody knows where it's going to go. When it goes well it's a beautiful thing but 1 out of 10 times isn't very helpful on the course. With the 3w I get plenty of distance and more importantly I'm usually in the fairway. On the shorter dog legs I can usually cut the corner over the top of the trees by teeing up a little higher. If going over isn't an option, the 5i can usually get me into a good position.

Sadly, my scores are lower playing with a 5i off the tee than playing with the driver off the tee.

 

[bbftx]

I am trying to hit more 3 and even 5 woods off the tee so I can keep it play. Distance is not a big issue for me and I think my scores would improve(18 hdcp) if I limited my Driver to 2-3 per round. Right now I almost hit driver exclusively.
Not sure why.

If the shot is long enough to allow driver, I almost always hit driver now. The reason is that I find the big, huge, new, high MOI driver heads to be more forgiving than most any 3 wood I've tried.
If there is a need to work the ball on the tee shot, especially to the right, I'll hit my 3-wood, because I can't work the driver as well as the 3-wood.

On my home club course, it's usually driver 14 out of 14 tee shots. I might use 3-wood on 2 of the holes if the wind is helping.

 

[Brian Manzella]

The Hogan 1-iron

In college, I had a Hogan "Director" 1-iron.

I hit it about 220-230, and pretty straight. I could also "breeze" it about 180.

I used it a bunch, and on some tight courses, a whole bunch.

At the end of the day, you have to learn to "drive your ball," with a real driver.

But, for a score, do what you've got to do. A 20-capper would play better using anything they could hit 180 in play.

 

[smooth]

The reason is that I find the big, huge, new, high MOI driver heads to be more forgiving than most any 3 wood I've tried.

I think this is the thing that gets forgotten if you read a lot of historical viewpoints on 'hit a 3w instead of the driver'. Modern drivers (as long as you have enough loft on them) can be easier to hit than a 3w or long iron.

We have plenty of old guys at our club that hit 3 drivers on the par 5's no problems, just bunt it up the fairway 180 at a time.

 

[tongzilla]

I rarely use the 3 wood off the tee these days. If I want to be really accurate, I just use a 3 iron. If I want a normal 3 wood carry distance but with greater accuracy, then I use my 'secret move' with my driver.

And driver off the deck is harder to hit with modern balls and equipment, IMO.

 

[Bigwill]

It used to be that I wouldn't hit driver on any hole shorter than 400 yards. If the hole was short enough, I would even use 9 iron or wedge off the tee. Now, I hit driver better than just about anything else in my bag, so I'll hit it on any hole that I have room on. I don't like my 3 wood too much (which probably means I need a few 3 wood only sessions at the range). The downside that I found to hitting driver that litte during a round (2-3 times) is that I'm not very comfortable with it, especially if I'm not playing a lot. In cases like that, I would personally give it higher priority at the range, so that those 2 or 3 swings don't kill me out on the course.

 

[fronesis]

At my home course it depends greatly on the wind, and which tees I'm playing. My course has some short par 4s that really take the driver out of play if they are downwind. It also has some long par 4s that vary great with wind (e.g. 3 wood, sand wedge with the wind; driver, 3 iron against the wind).

I hit 3 clubs off the tee, in general: driver, 3 wood, and a 15* hybrid (1 iron).

Here are my two 'extreme cases' of course set-up, coupled with what I hit, and the number of times I hit it:

1. Front tees, wind helping on long par 4s:
hybrid - 5
3 wood - 4
driver - 5

2. Back tees, wind against:
hybrid - 3
3 wood - 2
driver - 9