Fairway wood, Tee box Vs. Fairway

[cirem22]

I know this must be a mental thing and I am trying to figure out where I go wrong. I usually tee off with a 3 wood because I am much more accurate with it over the driver and distance is not an issue.

The past few rounds I have been making horrible contact in the tee box, usually top the ball and get a joke of a shot that rolls out 100-150 yards or so. Now leaving myself a long 2nd shot I use the 3wood on the fairway or rough and hit a blast of a shot, the type that should of been my tee off shot.

This happens time and time again. How is it that I can hit amazing shots from the fairway and hit a joke of a shot from the tee box, same club.

Anyone else go through this? any fixes? anything to keep in my head?

at this point im better off taking my approach shot off the tee box and hitting my tee shot as stoke two lol.

[saltman]

have you tried hitting the 3 wood off the deck on the tee?

Sometimes, I swing too much through the ball with the shallower face and will catch the ball a little thin with my 3W off the tee. If the grass is a bit shaggy or I can us an old divot on the tee I may just hit it off the deck as if it is the fairway. I think it encourages me to hit down on the ball versus through the ball like I would a driver.

[MMouse]

I've had the same problems previously. Similar to you I used to hit my 3wood instead of my driver off the tee because I was more accurate with it and didnt really lose distance.

During my own experience, I found I was trying to swing to hard ( mentally trying to make up for the use of the 3 wood ) because my regular partner was an ace with his driver. Tee shot after tee shot he would hit to 300 or just over yards ( his short game was atrocious, but a drive like that can help bridge the gap at times )
The only way I could correct it was to slow down and not try to smash the ball. I just let my swing happen. Consequently I took this same approach with my driver and now I use it regularly ( i still slice, but i also have some great shots with it )

[Ru$ty]

I have had nearly the same problem.

The first advice will be to use a long iron off the tee. I was able to hit my 3 iron about 190-220 yards prety straight and this is better then have a terrible contact with your 3 wood. I used this strategy on some tournaments. People were a little shocked that I play without woods but that was ok when I hit my 3 iron longer than they their drivers.

But the really sollution is to make some experiements with your 3 wood. Try different tee height and even playing without a tee(some pros do so). When hitting, concentrate on your weight balance and saving the angle of inclination of your body. Don't try to hit it very long, just concentrate on hitting the ball with the sweet spot.

[cirem22]

have you tried hitting the 3 wood off the deck on the tee?

Yes. i have done both. When I do use a tee it is only up about 1/4 of an inch. I practice at range without tee. and can Rock it from fairway no tee. I should probably stick with No tee, it could be effecting me mentally.

I have had nearly the same problem.

You know I have gone down to the 3 hybrid and the dudd hits seem to happen less but they still happen out of the tee box but not on the fairway. Thats why im convinced it is in my brain. I suppose I could try a 4 iron off the box and see if the issue continues.

[GaijinGolfer]

IMO, its a mental thing. If you hit it pretty well off the deck with your 3-wood, Id suggest not teeing it up when hitting from the teebox.
David Duval doesnt tee it up when hitting with a fairway wood from the teebox. The only time he tees it up is when he is hitting driver.
I say give it a shot and see how it works for you. Its not as if you have anything to lose.

[c4m]

im the exact opposite, i blast it off the tee but usually top it or hit a worm burner off the deck

[Zeph]

It's all a mental thing. It's not uncommon to have problems with hitting a ball off the deck while nailing it off the tee. Same could happen the other way around. You can try teeing it lower. When using my fairway wood off the tee I usually tee it just above the ground, like I do with short irons. I want to sweep the ball off the tee at the bottom of the swing. If it's tee'd up too high, I'll hit under it and hit it into the skies.

[Greg]

ive been using my 3 wood a lot lately from the tee as well, for some reason, i just cant seem to find the sweet spot lately with the driver very often, last 3 par 4's i played monday I teed off with 3 wood, didnt hit it great 2 of 3, about 200 yds but the 3 was about 230, which is as far as I hit the driver if i hit it well. But I can kept them in play, the longest one being the straighest in fact. I seem to pop up the driver a lot lately and put a lot of sidespin on it trying not to slice it and dont hit it very far, dont seem to do this with the 3 wood. I dont tee it up very high, no more than maybe 1" I would guess, high enough that half of the ball is above the club when its sitting on the ground, its a pretty low profile 3 wood. Off the deck ive had mixed results though getting better, blasted one about 250 sunday on a par 5 2nd shot, 2nd longest shot ive hit all year with any club, including driver, but usually around 200 or so. I still want to try to figure out why im not hitting driver well, will take more time at the range but until i do, will prob continue to use 3 wood from the tee box as most of the courses i play around here arent long.