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Driver Vs. 3 wood, having a hard time...


sp33d
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I've been racking my brain what I'm doing wrong.

So last 3 times I've went golfing I start using the driver and say screw it and go back to my 3 wood.

Tracked by GPS not yardage makers.
Driver-
230yards
222
236
288 (only good drive)
Most of these except the last one were SKY high! No slice/hook.

3wood-
242
257
248
All nice and low penetrating ball flight.

I have mess around with tee heights, thats not it. Too low I top it, to high I go under it, in the middle I still pop it up.

So why would I be hitting my 3 wood better than my driver. I swing the same, I set up the same. I dont know but it really frustrating me, and wrecking my game!

Aerolite III bag
MP600 10.5*
F-50 15*
MP57's Project X 5.5 3-PW
CG10 56* RAC 52* 60* 2 Ball putter ProV1/ProV1X Blackberry Storm GolfLogix

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I've been racking my brain what I'm doing wrong.

Woods are easier to hit, smaller head, lighter, and shorter club, so it drops easier on the ground. Driver on the otherhand, is the quite opposite.

With the driver, you have to exaggerate your swing a little bit, and a slight miscalculation will result in high pops, slice, hook etc. Its quite interesting, it seems that those that have good driver shots, have opposite problem and often have hard time using woods and hybrids to get the ball up. I need to see your swing for me to help you diagnose whats going on.
In my Warbird Hot Stand Bag:

Driver: R9 420cc 9.5° stiff
3 Wood: Burner 07 Fairway #3 Stiff
5 Wood: Burner 07 Fairway #5 Stiff3 Hybrid: Burner 08 Rescue #3 StiffIrons: MX-25 4-G Project X 5.5SW: CG12 STD bounce 56° Black PearlLW: CG12 STD bounce 60° Black PearlPutter: California...
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That's crazy... as a 7 capper you should have the swing to play driver with some level of consistency... or at least get good distance. Only things I can think of are...
-driver is way off in terms of optimal "fit"
-you completely change your swing... and I don't mean the small adjustments we all make to hit the big club.
-or maybe you have a defective club
My Clubs: Callaway FT-i Tour LCG 9.5° w/ Matrix Ozik Xcon 6 stiff; Sonartec GS Tour 14° w/ Graphite Design Red Ice 70 stiff; Adams Idea Pro 2h(18°) & 3h(20°) w/ Aldila VS Proto 80 stiff; Adams Idea Pro Forged 4-PW w/ TT Black Gold stiff; Cleveland CG12 DSG RTG 52°-10° & 58°-10°; Odyssey...
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This is just a recent thing, when i got the driver a couple months ago I could do no wrong. Now its just "why is this in my bag"

I think its something in my head, or something stupid Im doing and not noticing. My handicap reflects my rediculous short game skills not that of my driving. I'm an godly scrambler :)

It's just frustrating me, I dont know what I'm doing. the rest of my game is fine, its just my stupid driver.

Aerolite III bag
MP600 10.5*
F-50 15*
MP57's Project X 5.5 3-PW
CG10 56* RAC 52* 60* 2 Ball putter ProV1/ProV1X Blackberry Storm GolfLogix

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Have you examined the shaft flex? Perhaps you're quicker with your driver and you need less flex?

Have you tried different drivers?

If you hit everything else really well and you carry a 7HCP then I'd probably say it's the club.

Try a different driver, different shaft flexes and see how your results are.

Check your address as well. When you change tee heights, are you changing where the ball is?

Weird you're having an issue like that with a driver. I feel like the Driver is the easiest club to hit the ball with solidly but easiest to put the wrong spin on the ball.
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Woods are easier to hit, smaller head, lighter, and shorter club, so it drops easier on the ground. Driver on the other hand, is the quite opposite.

Off the tee, you feel that Woods are easier to hit than Driver?

I might agree than a well-struck wood is less likely to hook/slice than a well-struck driver. But it's easier to get the Driver to hit the ball than the Wood. Hell, the Driver's face is twice as large as the wood.

HiBore 10.5 driver
GT-500 3- and 5-woods
Bazooka JMax 4 Iron Wood
Big Bertha 2008 irons (4 and 5 i-brids, 6i-9i,PW)
Tom Watson 56 SW Two-Ball putter

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Have you examined the shaft flex? Perhaps you're quicker with your driver and you need less flex?

The driver has always been the bain of my game, Sure I can crush balls, etc etc, but I've always struggled with accuracy, give me an iron and a target 9/10 Ill hit it.

I have my old Nike SQ2 driver, Both are very basically same flex. I stopped using the nike because I was slicing it horribly. Went to the mizuno got rid of my slice completely, but about 2-3 weeks ago it stopped working for me. Prior to that I was avg 270 yards, dead nuts straight to a slight fade. I feel my 3 wood comes around faster in my swing than my driver does, but it maybe because of the sound my 3 wood makes opposed to my driver. I need to video tape my swing badly, but I dont have digital hook ups to my camcorder, and my phone doesnt take that great of video to actually analyze something from it. The other problem is when I'm at the range it seems to disapeer, and I'm back to smacking balls down the center of my target line. So, I'm not sure it would even do any good. I would say my 3 wood is roughly 2-3 times smaller than my driver (and other peoples 3 woods) But the shaft is only about an inch shorter, I choke up on it. I've tried choking up on my driver as well but has no impact where my ball goes.

Aerolite III bag
MP600 10.5*
F-50 15*
MP57's Project X 5.5 3-PW
CG10 56* RAC 52* 60* 2 Ball putter ProV1/ProV1X Blackberry Storm GolfLogix

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The driver has always been the bain of my game, Sure I can crush balls, etc etc, but I've always struggled with accuracy, give me an iron and a target 9/10 Ill hit it.

So, this only happens when on a course? You hit a pop-up drive on but only on a course and never at the range? Next time you're at the range, make a measurement of how high the tee is and use that when you play. Find different targets at the range and hit them 1 after another. A problem that isn't repeatable is hard to diagnose. Especially a weird one like this. One last thing, do you hit off a mat at the range? Even with your driver? If so, try hitting off grass tees and teeing it up and see if it repeats. There's a chance you're getting under it and the mat bounces your driver back into line.
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I never hit off mats, No i really dont do it at the range.

Aerolite III bag
MP600 10.5*
F-50 15*
MP57's Project X 5.5 3-PW
CG10 56* RAC 52* 60* 2 Ball putter ProV1/ProV1X Blackberry Storm GolfLogix

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I've been racking my brain what I'm doing wrong.

I have had this same problem for some time now. My issue was swinging too hard which gets my hands out of position at impact. Just yesterday, I started to really slow my swing (tempo) and that would allow me to get my hands in the right positions. I hit some of my longest drives of the year yesterday. The trajectory was penetrating like my 3w and it had a nice draw or slight fade but nothing crazy. Give this a try and see what happens.

That's crazy... as a 7 capper you should have the swing to play driver with some level of consistency... or at least get good distance. Only things I can think of are...

I disagree. I am a 4 handicapper and have had this same problem all year. It was basically from swinging too hard like mentioned above. Just because he is a 7 handicapper doesn't mean that he doesn't get in funks with his driver. Look at how many tour professionals have problems with consistency with a driver. It is the hardest club in the bag to hit consistently.

I never hit off mats, No i really dont do it at the range.

I didn't either. I would always hit good drives at the range but I later figured out it was because I didn't think about how far it was going to go or where it was going to go. I just thought about swinging smooth and getting my hands in the correct position. Like I said, I have been battling this issue for some time now.

Bryan A
"Your desire to change must be greater than your desire to stay the same"

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Off the tee, you feel that Woods are easier to hit than Driver?

With a head twice the size makes it harder to square it up and keep the clubhead square through impact. A wood is lighter, stiffer and more compact. The big head on the driver make it heavy and large on the front, and harder to swing.

I hardly think it's a coincidence that many players, including the worlds best, use a 3 wood on a narrow target, sacrificing a couple of yards, but making sure they stay on the short stuff. I love my 3 wood and wish I had one with 10,5 degrees to see if it could compete with my driver.

Ogio Grom | Callaway X Hot Pro | Callaway X-Utility 3i | Mizuno MX-700 23º | Titleist Vokey SM 52.08, 58.12 | Mizuno MX-700 15º | Titleist 910 D2 9,5º | Scotty Cameron Newport 2 | Titleist Pro V1x and Taylormade Penta | Leupold GX-1

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....Most of these except the last one were SKY high! No slice/hook.

Driver has

always been a hard club to hit well. Modern technology has helped somewhat but that's being offset by stupid stock shafts (i.e. 46" and ~50g!) and the fact the 460cc heads are hard to square up at impact. Beats me why everyone has to have the latest new driver when they're very hard to a) hit well and b) keep on the fairway. You have to hit the modern drivers easy as well, as someone else said. I use my 3-wood a lot; not much shorter than my driver (except into wind) and most often straighter. The OP sounds so off cf. his 3-wood I would have a look-see at the two shafts although he says he was hitting it well not so long ago. Could be in the head - terrible game for messing with your mind! The fact you say you get pop-ups from a medium tee height makes me wonder if you're hitting down on it; this'll work for a 3-wood off the deck or a low tee but not a driver (or at best will be very inconsistent). Tee it high (I know, I know!) and try and sweep it off the top; you want a definite sweeping hit. Work on feeling a good turn keeping the club low as you start back; wide arc. Some people say you should be hitting it just past the bottom of the swing i.e. slightly on the up. If you get it right you should be able to leave the tee, unbroken, still in the ground and get the ball smack in the sweet spot. Takes practice though!

Home Course: Wollaton Park GC, Nottingham, U.K.

Ping G400, 9°, Alta CB 55S | Ping G400, 14°, Alta CB 65S | Adams Pro Dhy 18°, 21°, 24°, KBS Hybrid S | Ping S55 5-PW, TT DGS300 | Vokey 252-08, DGS200 | Vokey 256-10 (bent to 58°), DGS200 | Ping Sigma G Anser, 34" | Vice Pro Plus

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its either not hitting the sweet spot or curving the ball too much and losing distance. you hit one 288. if the short ones were straight, you just need to find the sweet spot, if they were bananas or hooks, then its obviously a mental thing that affects your driver swing or a terrible shaft, which i doubt is the cause since you used to hit it good. pretty sure i just repeated what everyone else said but whatever
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I have been having the same trouble. I wanted to start a similar thread or a poll.

I went out and got a 2004 360 Callaway BB. Best thing I bought.
Worked on my grip and swing at the range, Hitting everything down the middle with decent distance. Even had a few around 275-280. Usually in the 230-260 range.

I have a Callaway 2005 3W that I hit very well of the T and it got me thinking when the driver went south. aside from the extra loft, why do I hit it better despite being a smaller head I was hitting 3W almost as far as driver. Why not hit the 3W and keep it in the fwy.

I was wondering how many others in the forum hit a smaller driver better than a 400cc + driver ?

Driver: X460 tour- 9.5*
3-wood: 3+ - 13*
Hybrid: BB HW 20*
Hybrid: 24*
Irons: X-20 Uniflex SteelWedges: Colonial 56* & 60*Putter: XG SabertoothBall: GPS-8âIf you are caught on a golf course during a storm and are afraid of lightning, hold up a 1-iron. Not even God...

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I have been having the same trouble. I wanted to start a similar thread or a poll.

I chuckled to myself yesterday while stolling past the aisles of 460cc drivers - on my way to pick out a few 3-woods to demo. The launch monitors in the golf shop may be a bit biased, but there were two 3-woods that were consistenly 290 to 315 (probably 280 on the course) and fairly straight. I chose the Cleveland Launcher 13* (red S over the Wilson Staff because I thought the shaft would hold up better over time). I'm more likely to push the new 3-wood past the 300 yd mark (on the course) than my driver because it's a little more advanced (at least 10 years newer) and it launches the ball at a better angle. If there's even a hint of wind though, it's Callaway BB 9* Warbird time.

I've never been the longest driver, but that has as much to do with my club choice. I tried various metal drivers in the early 90s but always preferred the look, feel, and workability of persimmon. I'm not a scratch player (I play for enjoyment), so a few yards here or there don't matter, and the metal woods just didn't give me enough feedback. I actually liked the the Taylor Made Burner Bubble (I knew that fad wouldn't last) and the Callaway BB Warbird but couldn't see spending > $300 on one club. When I saw a mint condition used Warbird in 2004, I snapped it up. I love it - not the same feel, sound, or control as persimmon, but oh that distance - very pleasant. What's my point in all this? The 90s vintage Callaway Warbird is ~ 195 cc and only 10cc bigger than Cleveland 3-wood. Once drivers went over 250cc, below average golfers thought they had game. For satisfying driving, I'd suggest anyone pick up a couple older drivers. One with persimmon head and steel shaft to groove your swing at the range and one with metal head that's less than 250cc (proper graphite shaft for your swing) to put in the bag. Peace out!

Mizuno MP600 driver, Cleveland '09 Launcher 3-wood, Callaway FTiz 18 degree hybrid, Cleveland TA1 3-9, Scratch SS8620 47, 53, 58, Cleveland Classic 2 mid-mallet, Bridgestone B330S, Sun Mountain four5.

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I feel ya at times. The one thing that helps me the most with solid contact, is using a powder or tape to see impact on the face of the driver. You said that the bad ones were straight, just ballooned. You must be hitting it too high on the face. Try hitting it a little lower (more in the center) on the face. Keep your face cleaned up, and you can track your impact even without the tape or powder when on the course. Where you hit you make contact is key.

On another note, I wouldn't recommend going to the 3 wd just because of this. Obviously, you have potential with the straight balls. Just work on impact- getting the ball in the center and you're on your way.
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It must be something in the air! I have been having the same exact problem the past 2 weeks. Granted you are a way better player than I am but same problem none the less. The driver was the best part of my game until 3 weeks ago, now on the course i couldn't hit a firway if my life depended on it.

IN MY 

2014 :titleist: Lightweight Cart BAG:

DRIVER: :titleist: 913D2
3&5 Wood:  :titleist: 913F

HYBRIDS: :ping: G20 20* 
IRONS: :tmade: 09 Burners 4-PW
WEDGES: :vokey: 52 & 56*

PUTTER: :ping: 

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The last 3 rounds or so I've left my driver home on time out. I hit my 13 degree 3+ wood about 30 yards short of my driver, but I'm hitting 90 percent of the fairways, compared to 50-60 percent with the driver.

Playing my best golf all year.
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Note: This thread is 5317 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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