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Three Wood Question


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I have worked hard to hit the 3W to make it something more than a club to fill up a space in my bag.  The same is true of the 5W.  I have the Callaway X2 Hot and I hit the 5W much better than the 3W and I am sure it is due to the loft of the 5W.  My thinking was if I could find a 3W with a higher loft, I would hit it much better.  Callaway has several options but when I went to a well known franchise that sells and fits, I was told the 3W was more of an option to the driver and to not purchase one of the other Callaway options that could give me greater loft.  I am still thinking greater loft on the 3W will enable me to hit it better off the turf.  Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

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I agree that more loft on the 3w would make it easier off of the turf. You might even hit it a little farther. I have seen many people post on here about yardage gains after switching to a 16.5 3w from a 15 3w. Any chance you could demo one?

-Matt-

"does it still count as a hit fairway if it is the next one over"

DRIVER-Callaway FTiz__3 WOOD-Nike SQ Dymo 15__HYBRIDS-3,4,5 Adams__IRONS-6-PW Adams__WEDGES-50,55,60 Wilson Harmonized__PUTTER-Odyssey Dual Force Rossie II

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I agree that more loft on the 3w would make it easier off of the turf. You might even hit it a little farther. I have seen many people post on here about yardage gains after switching to a 16.5 3w from a 15 3w. Any chance you could demo one?

Yep, i know a lot of people that get on very well with a 4 wood (aka a 3W at 16.5degs) instead of a 3W and 4W. The 4W is definitely easier off the deck than a 3 but long enough off the tee so it replaces 2 woods with the 1. Might be worth a shot, see if you can get on a launch monitor with one and see how it fits your yardages?

Plus the 4W over both 3 and 5Ws will free a slot for an extra wedge :-D

Henry

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When I read about the difficulties of playing a 3W, I think back to my first couple of club sets, with actual wooden 3 woods.  They were significantly harder to hit than the modern metal 3 woods.  I rarely played one until I bought my first TM metal 3 wood in the late 80's.  What a difference!  It was like playing the ball off a tee.

Now I use a more lofty 15° Mizuno 3W.  Even easier to get up from the tighter fairways we mostly play on today.

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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Yep, i know a lot of people that get on very well with a 4 wood (aka a 3W at 16.5degs) instead of a 3W and 4W. The 4W is definitely easier off the deck than a 3 but long enough off the tee so it replaces 2 woods with the 1. Might be worth a shot, see if you can get on a launch monitor with one and see how it fits your yardages?

Plus the 4W over both 3 and 5Ws will free a slot for an extra wedge

I went from 3W and TM Raylor (5W loft) to a 4W + 7W set-up.

First time I did this I had standard RBZ. This lasted just one season, as the stock shafts were too light and I had major hook problems.

Last year I switched to Tour Edge XRail 4W (16.5* as per FooFader ) and 7W, and things work much better. And, the 7W is great for longer shots out of medium rough: gets ball out better than the 4H.

(4H still good for keeping ball low, and for shots out of light rough.)

Focus, connect and follow through!

  • Completed KBS Education Seminar (online, 2015)
  • GolfWorks Clubmaking AcademyFitting, Assembly & Repair School (2012)

Driver:  :touredge: EXS 10.5°, weights neutral   ||  FWs:  :callaway: Rogue 4W + 7W
Hybrid:  :callaway: Big Bertha OS 4H at 22°  ||  Irons:  :callaway: Mavrik MAX 5i-PW
Wedges:  :callaway: MD3: 48°, 54°... MD4: 58° ||  Putter:image.png.b6c3447dddf0df25e482bf21abf775ae.pngInertial NM SL-583F, 34"  
Ball:  image.png.f0ca9194546a61407ba38502672e5ecf.png QStar Tour - Divide  ||  Bag: :sunmountain: Three 5 stand bag

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I replaced my 3 wood with a 2h several years ago.  Thinking now going with a Ping G Series 4 wood.  Any experience or recommendations?

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What loft was the 2h @keb ? I currently game a 16deg 3W and 20deg hybrid (about a 2.5 hybrid I think but not 100%) and they work well together for me. They fit my desired distance gaps and I like the versatility each give. I think in the end your decision will be made by answering these questions: Fristly, get the clubs that fit the distances you need. Secondly, choose the clubs in combinations that offer you the greatest playability. By playability I mean being able to cover all reasonable distances and lies. So I could play 5w over a 2h, they both carry 205ish for me. But if I had a scrubby lie in the semi rough at 190 out I feel much more confident worth a hybrid vs a fairway wood. Therfore I pick a 2h as it covers nearly all shots a 5w could do for me plus more.

Henry

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I always thought a 3 wood wasn't really meant to be hit off the deck in the first place.  Sure it can be done but it seems like there is very little room for error.

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I always thought a 3 wood wasn't really meant to be hit off the deck in the first place.  Sure it can be done but it seems like there is very little room for error.

Well then you have never hit a Callaway X Hot or hot 2.

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I'll definitely be following this discussion. I cannot stand to hit my 3 wood off the deck, and I've been thinking that there is really no reason for me to carry it anymore. 4 wood plus some sort of hybrid (replacing my 3-iron?) sounds like a good option.
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Well then you have never hit a Callaway X Hot or hot 2.

I don't know what this is supposed to mean.  I hit some X Hot irons last year at golfsmith when I was shopping for clubs and they were the least appealing of the clubs I tried.

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[QUOTE name="Jakester23" url="/t/74773/three-wood-question#post_994518"] Well then you have never hit a Callaway X Hot or hot 2.[/QUOTE] I don't know what this is supposed to mean.  I hit some X Hot irons last year at golfsmith when I was shopping for clubs and they were the least appealing of the clubs I tried.

I believe @Jakester23 was talking about the 3 woods, not the irons.

-Matt-

"does it still count as a hit fairway if it is the next one over"

DRIVER-Callaway FTiz__3 WOOD-Nike SQ Dymo 15__HYBRIDS-3,4,5 Adams__IRONS-6-PW Adams__WEDGES-50,55,60 Wilson Harmonized__PUTTER-Odyssey Dual Force Rossie II

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I always thought a 3 wood wasn't really meant to be hit off the deck in the first place.  Sure it can be done but it seems like there is very little room for error.

Driver is really the only club that's designed to be teed.  3 wood is called a fairway wood for a reason.

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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I always thought a 3 wood wasn't really meant to be hit off the deck in the first place.  Sure it can be done but it seems like there is very little room for error.

This varies by era, and by clubhead design.

During the early 1960s, many golfers bought the following wood club setup:

  • Driver: 11-12* loft on average
  • Brassie/2-wood: 13-14* on average
  • Spoon/3-wood: 16-17* on average
  • Cleek/4-wood: 18-19* on average (not everyone got the 4W)

The Brassie* was used as a second "safety" driver (think 3Deep), and better golfers could hit it off the fairway during the dry summer for extra yardage. The 3W was the more reliable FW.

By the 1970s, most Baby Boomers (people born after World War II) dropped the Brassie and went with a 1-3-4, or 1-3-5, or a la Jack Nicklaus, a 1 and 3. Part of this 1 + 3 was a macho thing among the male players: most would have been better to add a 4W or 5W for touchy lies. When I caddied circa 1970, most of the Brassies were in the bags of those near retirement.

Anyway,metal woods arrived in the late 1970s, and let's fast-forward to today. Some of the things which influence the "ease" with which you can hit today's 3W off the fairway: loft, vertical center of gravity (VCOG), head depth, and shaft characteristics:

  • Loft: 3Ws range anywhere from 12-16*. Several companies make pro or tour 3W heads in 14* or below; others such as Ping K15 and the Baffler, have a 3W in 16* loft.
  • Head depth: The deep faced 3Ws (such as the 3Deep) are good off the tee, but a bit bulky to hit off the deck for anything but a fine lie. On the other hand, low-profile 3W launch the ball higher, because they hit lower on the ball. Examples: The Adams Tight Lies (then and now), the Tour Edge Bazooka BetaTi 3W from circa 2000 - I used a 14* loft and got the ball up just fine - and the Ping K15.
  • Vertical center of gravity (VCOG): The lower and more rearward the VCOG lays in the clubhead, the higher the launch. The higher and more forward the VCOG, the lower - and hotter - the launch.
  • Shaft: Weight and kick point. In 2008, I bought a Callaway HyperX Tour driver with a R.flex Fuji E360 shaft: 68 gram, Low-mid torque and mid-kick. It worked great, so I bought and X Tour 3W with a matching shaft. Only trouble was, I didn't always get a good launch on the shots. Part of the problem: my practice range had a tee about 8 feet above the landing area, so I had an exaggerated idea of how high the ball was launching. (Note: kickpoint is a fine-tuning element in shaft selection)

Solution to my woes: I went from a 3W-5W to 4W-7W. Picked up about + 2* loft on each wood, and a slightly lighter, higher launching shaft - and things work out well.

Golf Digest reports that the average golfer can hit a 4W better - and sometimes longer - than a 3W. Loft is your friend.

____________________________

*TST Current Events Quiz: What recent TaylorMade long club appears to be the grand return of the Brassie?

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Focus, connect and follow through!

  • Completed KBS Education Seminar (online, 2015)
  • GolfWorks Clubmaking AcademyFitting, Assembly & Repair School (2012)

Driver:  :touredge: EXS 10.5°, weights neutral   ||  FWs:  :callaway: Rogue 4W + 7W
Hybrid:  :callaway: Big Bertha OS 4H at 22°  ||  Irons:  :callaway: Mavrik MAX 5i-PW
Wedges:  :callaway: MD3: 48°, 54°... MD4: 58° ||  Putter:image.png.b6c3447dddf0df25e482bf21abf775ae.pngInertial NM SL-583F, 34"  
Ball:  image.png.f0ca9194546a61407ba38502672e5ecf.png QStar Tour - Divide  ||  Bag: :sunmountain: Three 5 stand bag

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*TST Current Events Quiz: What recent TaylorMade long club appears to be the grand return of the Brassie?

Well that would be the SLDR mini driver :-D

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Henry

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Originally Posted by WUTiger

*TST Current Events Quiz: What recent TaylorMade long club appears to be the grand return of the Brassie?

Originally Posted by FooFader

Well that would be the SLDR mini driver

You are correct, FooFader! :dance:

Focus, connect and follow through!

  • Completed KBS Education Seminar (online, 2015)
  • GolfWorks Clubmaking AcademyFitting, Assembly & Repair School (2012)

Driver:  :touredge: EXS 10.5°, weights neutral   ||  FWs:  :callaway: Rogue 4W + 7W
Hybrid:  :callaway: Big Bertha OS 4H at 22°  ||  Irons:  :callaway: Mavrik MAX 5i-PW
Wedges:  :callaway: MD3: 48°, 54°... MD4: 58° ||  Putter:image.png.b6c3447dddf0df25e482bf21abf775ae.pngInertial NM SL-583F, 34"  
Ball:  image.png.f0ca9194546a61407ba38502672e5ecf.png QStar Tour - Divide  ||  Bag: :sunmountain: Three 5 stand bag

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Lets face it, other than a 120 yard fairway bunker shot, hitting a 3 wood off the deck is probably the toughest shot in golf to do on a consistent basis.

Now that most of us are using higher lofted drivers, 11,12 and even 14, the reason to even carry a 3 wood is impractical. BTW at 16.5 or 17 degree is a 4 wood,(regardless of what is written on the head)  which is getting more popular in the bag. If you can hit a controlled shot with one of these you, that is probably your answer, I don't I go straight to 5 wood 18 degrees.

I also believe a well struck, 2 or 3 hybrid, will go almost as far as an OK struck 5 wood. The 5W is longer shaft length is 2-3 inches longer than the hybrid- which is easier to control and hit on the screws easier.

If you are looking for a 3 wood off the tee and possibly off the deck, look at the new taylormade mini driver in a 16 degree, great solid feel, easy to hit.

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Note: This thread is 3580 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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