Driver vs 3 Wood Off the Tee

[Royster1984]

I have always struggled of the tee with accuracy and recently bought a new cobra bio cell 3 wood with the hope of using this on the majority of tees unless I had room to open up and needed the extra yardage.

However I am finding it alot harder to hit the 3 wood of the tee than the driver. I was wondering if it was a common misconception that 3 woods are actually easier to hit than driver now a days with the massive heads and forgiving faces etc or if i am just setting the thing up wrong??

[hilmar2k]

3 wood off the tee is a different swing than driver. If you try to hit a 3 wood like you hit the driver, it's not going to go well. For a 3 wood, you need to swing slightly down on the ball.

I find hitting 3 wood quite a bit easier off the tee than driver, and tend to go to it more often than not.

[Royster1984]

3 wood off the tee is a different swing than driver. If you try to hit a 3 wood like you hit the driver, it's not going to go well. For a 3 wood, you need to swing slightly down on the ball.

I find hitting 3 wood quite a bit easier off the tee than driver, and tend to go to it more often than not.

I have been trying to hit it like this

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/using-3-wood-tee-golf-fix/

[iacas]

3 wood off the tee is a different swing than driver. If you try to hit a 3 wood like you hit the driver, it's not going to go well. For a 3 wood, you need to swing slightly down on the ball.

Not necessarily. I routinely see AoAs of 0 to +1 to +2 from good players. They're teed up only about a quarter or half of an inch.

[LuciusWooding]

It's a mentality thing, as well as the shorter shaft and more loft. The huge face area of the driver is easier to hit hands down, but at full speed the 3w will often result in better shots depending on the golfer.

Personally I carry my driver farther and it rolls more, so unless I'm aiming at a very small target or not confident that day I will usually go for the aggressive drive. I can hit my other clubs off a low tee for accuracy and comfort or cut them loose for a long carry on a higher tee, which usually carries a long way and stops near the landing spot. For me though, my carry with the driver can be enough to take a lot of trouble out of play so that makes it appealing on certain holes. Sometimes the shorter tee shot makes the hole a lot tougher in the end than the less controlled one.

[Royster1984]

We have a couple of tight holes of the tee and there distance is just a little too long for me to use an iron. The holes in question are around 420-430 and if I hit my 4 Iron of tee, leaves me around 230-240 to green which means i have to play it as a par 5.

I am hoping to get better with my 3 wood so this can be my go too club on these tricky tees. Does anyone have any tips for hitting the 3w in general or any good videos to watch to help get setup better for it??

[Golfingdad]

3 wood off the tee is a different swing than driver. If you try to hit a 3 wood like you hit the driver, it's not going to go well. For a 3 wood, you need to swing slightly down on the ball.

I disagree completely.  A 3 wood swing from a tee can be very similar to a driver swing.  You definitely do not have to hit down on it when the ball is up off the ground.

OP, it sounds like you have similar issues to the ones I've had.  A little psychological issue with the head of the 3 wood looking so tiny compared to the driver.  Up until recently, if I felt I couldn't hit driver on a certain hole, I had to be OK with hitting 4 iron, because I didn't trust my 3 wood or hybrid.

But now, I've finally gotten pretty consistent with the 3 wood (off the tee and off the ground) so I use it a lot more.  If you're hitting it even somewhat solidly, your dispersion is going to be a lot smaller than with a driver, so if you don't need the extra 15-20 yards on certain holes, then it's definitely a useful tool.

[Royster1984]

I disagree completely.  A 3 wood swing from a tee can be very similar to a driver swing.  You definitely do not have to hit down on it when the ball is up off the ground.

OP, it sounds like you have similar issues to the ones I've had.  A little psychological issue with the head of the 3 wood looking so tiny compared to the driver.  Up until recently, if I felt I couldn't hit driver on a certain hole, I had to be OK with hitting 4 iron, because I didn't trust my 3 wood or hybrid.

But now, I've finally gotten pretty consistent with the 3 wood (off the tee and off the ground) so I use it a lot more.  If you're hitting it even somewhat solidly, your dispersion is going to be a lot smaller than with a driver, so if you don't need the extra 15-20 yards on certain holes, then it's definitely a useful tool.

I dont think i need to use the driver on too many holes we have a lot of holes that play around 370-400yrds and I am hitting my 7 iron around 160 so If I can get my 3 Wood to go around 220-230 it would be great. Driver is currently going around 240-250 with no wind conditions.

I think it is mainly a confidence issue with my 3wood as I am also struggling with my 3H too, rest of the clubs are fine.

[cfritchie]

How do you hit the 3-wood at other times? Say on a second shot on a par 5? You didn't mention what your miss is? I use the 3-wood everyone now and then but I either don't tee it up or put it barely off the ground on a tee. I have confidence with it on par 5's with my second shot so I vision that same swing when using it on a tee box.

[Royster1984]

How do you hit the 3-wood at other times? Say on a second shot on a par 5? You didn't mention what your miss is? I use the 3-wood everyone now and then but I either don't tee it up or put it barely off the ground on a tee. I have confidence with it on par 5's with my second shot so I vision that same swing when using it on a tee box.

I tend not too use it off the deck as I often snap hook it, pretty much same with the tee shot. I've only recently purchased it and I am looking to get more use from it but at the minute confidence does not allow it.

[cfritchie]

I tend not too use it off the deck as I often snap hook it, pretty much same with the tee shot. I've only recently purchased it and I am looking to get more use from it but at the minute confidence does not allow it.

Sounds to me it isn't an issue of "hitting it bad off the tee", it is more of an issue of it may not be the right club for you. Take it to the range and learn to hit it, once you've developed the right mindset and confidence then give it a try.

[LuciusWooding]

We have a couple of tight holes of the tee and there distance is just a little too long for me to use an iron. The holes in question are around 420-430 and if I hit my 4 Iron of tee, leaves me around 230-240 to green which means i have to play it as a par 5.

I am hoping to get better with my 3 wood so this can be my go too club on these tricky tees. Does anyone have any tips for hitting the 3w in general or any good videos to watch to help get setup better for it??

Here's a wild suggestion: consider moving up a set of tees if the problem persists. If you have multiple holes of 420+ yards and can't hit the fairway on those holes with a driver then move up to where you can play an iron. If the holes are that long but still too tight, the course is too hard from that set of tees. My course has some very long par 4s even from the middle tees, but they always offer enough space to bomb it or a downhill slope to add yards to a well placed tee shot. The ones too tight to hit driver are all under 400 yards even though I'm pretty long. For me, that's a long iron and a mid iron which is a fair challenge but still presents a scoring opportunity. I don't move back and tee off from 520 yards just because I can reach it with 2 perfect shots because I'd make a lot of 6's and very few 3's.

As for playing long holes as par 5s, even I do that when I'm not driving well. You're a 20 handicap so a bogey is a typical score and a par is above average. You're not expected to hit a 430 yard hole in 2 shots and in fact it's probably one of the 2 toughest holes where you get 2 handicap strokes. If you want to improve your score, try to make less than a double bogey. I know that's not what you want to hear perhaps but adding a club to your bag won't make you play much better. Being able to hit the shot you want in this case is probably a hurdle in terms of technique more than equipment.

[boogielicious]

Not necessarily. I routinely see AoAs of 0 to +1 to +2 from good players. They're teed up only about a quarter or half of an inch.

Do they use the ball position of their driver with the 3W with relation to their front foot when they tee it up?  Or do they use the same ball position as if it were off the deck?

[cutshot878]

I feel like I can really go after my 3 wood off the tee. With the driver, unless it's a Par 5, I'm not going to go after it and really explode with the lower body for fear of blocking it right. I am much more timid off the tee on a Par 4 on these water lined or tree lined fairways we have here, with the driver. A miss left or right with the 3 wood is not going to end up in the trees. I might be in the rough, but not in the next zip code.

With the 3 wood, I tee it up so that it's only millimeters off the grass. Teeing it up higher usually results in a pop up. I don't take a divot with my 3 wood, even when it's teed up so low.....I'm not Sergio.   I like hitting my stock draw so 13 degrees is not enough loft, unless I'm hitting a fade. I recently bought the TM Rocketballz Stage 2, 13 degree (adjustable to 14.5 degree) 3 wood recently with hopes of getting driver distance off the tee, but I ended up having to adjust it back up to 14.5 degrees. The only way I could consistently get the 13 degree in the air was to set up left and hit a fade. I had the same problem when I bought a Cleveland Classic 9 degree Driver awhile back......not enough loft to hit my draw. I had to fade it. A very long fade but the fade is not really my comfort shot.  The fade is a specialty shot I only use on dogleg rights or to negotiate trees or take advantage of left-to-right wind. It is pretty amazing when you hit this new TM 3 wood on the screws and get that trampoline effect. I've never seen a ball move like that, like a scalded dog.  It's a lot of fun when you hit the sweet spot and hit a 3 wood 275 yards, where shots from your driver from 2011 used to land.