Difference between 3 wood (not teed up) and driver (tee'd up) -request for help inside

[infoe]

So I will preface this by saying, I have a lesson scheduled on Tuesday.  This Pro is part of the Jim Mclean school here in S. Florida and while I had tried a couple of pro's here in Miami, these group of coaches have significantly improved my game. I shot my FIRST birdie ever yesterday! I digress.

Since I've built my own golf net I've had the capacity to use it indoor comfortably to a 3hybrid realistically my 4hybrid.  Can't tee it up  with driver and swing inside the house and the 3 wood I'd have to swing softly (I don't want to decelerate) so those clubs get no practice. (may not be a bad thing because I have very little confidence in them and not sure if I am using a correct swing for these clubs)

I've become proficient with my irons and been recently working on impact position and having arms and weight forward...which has translated to solid contact on the ball and divots after the balls position not before.  *EDIT* I may be putting or leaning too much weight forward for driver and 3 wood*

I treat my 3hybrid and 4 hybrid essentially like long irons and I connect with them and my other irons very well. (or much improved)

I went out today to the range to practice 3 wood and driver.my 3 wood I am attempting to use the same technique and hit down on it or have arms forward but I am very inconsistent sometimes duffing hard into the ground just before contact, sometimes when I do make contact it shoots out extremely low and just rolls out  and sometimes I will make a solid clean contact that feels like a correct shot.  I think, like with my driver, my tempo may be off and my position of the ball may be too forward. All in all extremely inconsistent.

My driver oddly enough went worse today at the practice session (being tee'd up) than my 3 wood from the turf.... :(   If it wasn't for shots that would shoot out to the left (i'm a lefty) on a straight line (no slice) or i'd close my club face too much and I'd hook, to feeling the rubber tee when I'd hit it decently and only have it go 175 yards...my weight too far forward on the downswing (coming over my front knee)..to my tempo being too fast, to trying to hit up on it or hit down on it, I was just a mess.

I know, nothing I've stated will help you fix "my" shot (I should have recorded)...but if you could generalize on what I should know to be the difference from hitting a 3wood from the fairway to hitting the driver off the tee box I'd greatly appreciate it.

Lastly sorry for my long post, I had to somewhat rant and get out all the things I thought about after I came back from this practice session of just the 3 wood and driver.

[GaijinGolfer]

Sounds like you just need to spend more time at the range working with your driver and 3-wood.

[infoe]

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

Sounds like you just need to spend more time at the range working with your driver and 3-wood.

How is that going to help me improve?

[trackster]

My advice would be to not keep your weight forward or try to hit down with a 3 wood.  Honestly all you need to do is youtube a couple of videos on how to hit a driver, and try to mimmick that.  Eventually muscle memory will take over.  Swing your three wood the same way.

[mp33 man]

How is that going to help me improve?

I would tend to agree. Your swing with your woods and driver (and i've also heard your hybrids from some teachers) is a different swing. Alot of the difference can be achieved through ball position. Unless I've heard wrong from most teachers the swing with your irons should be a descending blow and you should actually hit the ball on the upswing with your woods and driver. I've heard most people say the same thing about hybrids, hybrids are designed to make it easier to get the ball up in the air therefore you shouldn't have to hit down on the ball to produce backspin. I say all that to say that forward shaft lean is still important with all clubs, be very careful not to confuse the two.

[mp33 man]

Sorry I miss-quoted, it does sound like you need to practice more with those clubs.

[infoe]

found this video online...seemed to mirror what was said above but add visual..sometimes the hitting down or up on a ball will take it to one extreme or other in my mind but in reality it's just fractionaly upwards or even neutral (sweeping) with the wood.

[Beachcomber]

I used to have a lot of issues hitting my 3W off the deck consistently...  I've always hit my driver Ok.  Never terrible, never great.

For me, I think the biggest benefit to improving the 3W off the deck was three fold.

1.) First and foremost, the biggest benefit for me was getting my swing on film, and seeing my breakdowns (swing flaws).  Then with proper instruction (via Evolvr) and assessing the damage and coming up with a better practice routine to eliminate/reduce the flaws was a huge reason why I learned how to play this club.

2.) Second thing that really helped me... Was when Pakoh (another user on here) and I went to watch the PGA Tour professionals play at Torrey Pines this past Spring.   When watching the various pros, I paid particular attention to how steady they maintained their head during the golf swing.  When they finished, they were always in balance... And had a nice strong looking finish...  They just looked like they had a very solid tempo.  Nothing was rushed.  They swung the club fast - but it wasn't rushed.  It was a steady build-up of power.  The other thing I really noticed was that many of the pros who were hitting 3W's or 5W's off the deck from the fairways on the long par 5's, were not even taking divots.  They were sweeping that club through the ball, basically zeroing out Angle of Attack (AoA)... And just smoking it.

By watching the tour players up and close, I finally realized that one of the biggest issues I had in my swing was over swinging the golf club.  My tempo was all .  I would try and slow down on the takeaway, but the slower I swung on the takeaway, the faster I'd try and swing on the downswing.  My swing was , especially with the 3W.  Plus I was often times taking divots before (fat) or after the ball.  So I knew my AoA was off and I was swinging down with both my 3W and Driver when I checked my numbers on Trackman.

With these two items... It was really educating myself on how not to swing the 3W.  Then I really started to play around with my setup, and just try and take a more controlled swing.  Once I found the proper ball placement, forward of my center line (inside my left foot), and my head centered in my stance (but behind the ball) did I really start to find some nice consistentcy with the 3W from the deck... My tempo wasn't so rushed, that I was nearly falling over after the swing anymore...

3.) Lastly, practice with these clubs - consistently to gain confidence in them.  Confidence in golf is HUGE .  Hell, I went and bought a new 3W this past Spring, because I wanted to cast all of the negative vodoo I had in my head into the RBZ 3W... DEMONS BEGONE!... And I'm loving the X Hot 3W that I'm rocking now.  After all, maybe it is the club?

[infoe]

Great response. Thanks. Ive been focusing on tempo and my head as well recently

[Nutter]

Originally Posted by infoe

How is that going to help me improve?

I'm guessing here, but it seems that you're just picking up the game.  Long story short, I've been playing for almost 10 years and still don't consistently crank 3 woods off the deck, especially since I'm not playing very often.  Long OCD filled hours on the range is what it's gonna take to get you where you want to be, you're not going to take a few lessons, find a couple tips online, and start breaking 80.  Another thing is I've seen guys hit solid shots for hours on the range and then go out and shoot 90, it's a whole different ball game out there.

I wish you the best of luck on your journey but unfortunately that simple piece of advice is the best thing you could follow, beat as many balls out there as your time and wife/girlfriend will allow and your game will come together slowly but surely

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Nutter

I'm guessing here, but it seems that you're just picking up the game.  Long story short, I've been playing for almost 10 years and still don't consistently crank 3 woods off the deck, especially since I'm not playing very often.  Long OCD filled hours on the range is what it's gonna take to get you where you want to be, you're not going to take a few lessons, find a couple tips online, and start breaking 80.  Another thing is I've seen guys hit solid shots for hours on the range and then go out and shoot 90, it's a whole different ball game out there.

I wish you the best of luck on your journey but unfortunately that simple piece of advice is the best thing you could follow, beat as many balls out there as your time and wife/girlfriend will allow and your game will come together slowly but surely

But what good does practicing do if you don't know what to practice?  It doesn't just happen by accident, you have to actually know what you are practicing.  Once he's got a plan, hopefully from a qualified instructor, then by all means, just get out there and practice, practice, practice.  [You could just take a cab to 57th and 7th, but I've heard this way is better. .... Who gets that reference???]

Anyways, don't get too discouraged, because it's not easy.  I rarely even attempt a fairway wood or hybrid shot off the deck these days (or the tee for that matter) because I'm just not comfortable with them right now.  It's perfectly possible to play decent golf without those shots in the bag.

P.S.  Love your avatar ... it looks like one of those brain teaser eye tricks (if you disgard the range in the background obviously) where you try and figure out if the golfer is swinging left-handed or right-handed. ;)  Finally see it as a righty, and you'll have a hard time seeing it as a lefty again. :)

[Nutter]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

But what good does practicing do if you don't know what to practice?  It doesn't just happen by accident, you have to actually know what you are practicing.  Once he's got a plan, hopefully from a qualified instructor, then by all means, just get out there and practice, practice, practice.  [You could just take a cab to 57th and 7th, but I've heard this way is better.  .... Who gets that reference???]

Anyways, don't get too discouraged, because it's not easy.  I rarely even attempt a fairway wood or hybrid shot off the deck these days (or the tee for that matter) because I'm just not comfortable with them right now.  It's perfectly possible to play decent golf without those shots in the bag.

P.S.  Love your avatar ... it looks like one of those brain teaser eye tricks (if you disgard the range in the background obviously) where you try and figure out if the golfer is swinging left-handed or right-handed. ;)  Finally see it as a righty, and you'll have a hard time seeing it as a lefty again. :)

Yea, I wasn't saying to forget the tips and lessons and just wing it haha.  Getting lessons is crucial,  was just emphasizing that you can't expect too much too quick and that the amount of time you spend on the range is the biggest indicator of how fast you'll start seeing improvement. I know I still have to remind myself I'm not a professional and am allowed to hit bad shots ;).  It's certainly one of the longest endeavors you'll ever start.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Nutter

Yea, I wasn't saying to forget the tips and lessons and just wing it haha.  Getting lessons is crucial,  was just emphasizing that you can't expect too much too quick and that the amount of time you spend on the range is the biggest indicator of how fast you'll start seeing improvement. I know I still have to remind myself I'm not a professional and am allowed to hit bad shots ;).  It's certainly one of the longest endeavors you'll ever start.

Agreed!!