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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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

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!

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

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

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

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 ?

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

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!

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.