More Confident with Driver than a 3 Wood

**8.5_Drive** · September 28, 2010

I see alot of posts here saying take a higher percentage shot off the tee like a 3wood ect..

I can honestly say, i am 10x more confident with my driver than any other club in the bag.

Anyone else like this?

**Stretch** · September 28, 2010

Don't know about 10x, but I feel like I hit my driver as well as anything else in my bag. Stats say I'm in the fairway 76% of the time, miss left 18% and miss right 6%.

**Zeph** · September 28, 2010

The driver is easier to hit in a lot of ways. The ball is sitting high from the ground, so the chances of hitting the ball first are better. The driverface is huge compared to all the other clubs, better forgiveness.

It depends on your swing with the different clubs. At the moment, the driver is probably my most consistent club in the bag. The last 3 years or so, it has been my worst club.

**ghalfaire** · September 28, 2010

I have been experimenting, on advice of a buddy, with choking down on the driver in spots where I would have previously hit a 3 wood. The theory is the big head on the diver is more forgiving and by choking down on the shaft you reduce the distance to 3 wood distance. Haven't tried it on the course yet but works on the range.

**TourSpoon** · September 28, 2010

I would have to agree that for the average golfer hitting a modern driver may be more accurate than hitting a three wood. For myself, that has been true until I worked my way into the 7 index range where my ballstriking really improved. The other day, I was able to take advantage of the 3 wood by hitting the correct spots on three shortish par 4s (370ish) where a driver could get you in trouble by running out of the optimum landing area.

**alf174** · September 28, 2010

My confidence with my driver is high right now (end of the season, of course) and my 3-wood off the deck is in the toilet; its been out of the bag for a while now favoring the 5 wood.

**sean_miller** · September 28, 2010

I see alot of posts here saying take a higher percentage shot off the tee like a 3wood ect..

Not me.

I've had good driver rounds where I'm seeing the ball flight before it happens - pick a spot on the right 1/2 of the fairway, start the ball there, bend it a smidge to the left, voila. Compared to a good 3-wood though, it's not even close. When that thing is "on", I have the feeling that if you painted a small circle out in the fairway (or on the green) I could hit it.

**Chris223** · September 28, 2010

I have zero confidence right now with my driver and find myself using 3 wood off of EVERY tee. I haven't taken driver out of my bag on the tee in at least 5 rounds. Just can't hit it anymore. I'll top it, hit screamers, way right, way left, pop fly's, hit the ground 6" before the ball it's just awful, I don't understand why.

**jamo** · September 28, 2010

I'm mush more confident with the driver. On short holes, people always say the "safe" play is to hit a long iron off the tee and have a full short iron to the green. I'm much more accurate with my driver than I am with my 3 iron, and the driver gives the added benefit of a shorter shot into the green.

One thing I want to note: This is not to say that I don't have confidence with my hybrid or 3 wood, because I do, especially with my new 3 wood that I love.

**WUTiger** · September 28, 2010

This spring I would have said 3W more reliable, but I've worked a bit with my driver and I'm finally getting the feel of a 460 cc. club.

So, my confidence with both is about equal.

That said, a number of holes I face get you into trouble with a driver, unless you hit the shot perfect. Several short to medium par 4s "run out of fairway' beyond about 220 - narrowing for water hazard, have trees "funnel in" to block any shots a little left or right, or leave you with a tough downhill lie unless you're a boomer who can run it all the way to the flat.

Or, a classic hole design many have used: Hole goes downhill slightly, then drops to a real valley from about 120 yds. in. Key: lay up to hill top and hit a full 8 into the green, which you can clearly see, OR, boom it into the valley, and have a blind 73-yd. uphill wedge shot.

So, I avoid the driver on holes where too much distance = PROBLEMS.

**TourSpoon** · September 28, 2010

One thing I want to note: This is not to say that I don't have confidence with my hybrid or 3 wood, because I do, especially with my new 3 wood that I love.

Ahhh, 3 wood love. I completely understand, hence my moniker TourSpoon, from my old TM Bubble Burner that I once had and passed on to my brother.

**Open-Faced Club Sandwedge** · September 28, 2010

I feel similar to the OP, but it's not because I'm that great with my driver; it's because I can't hit a 3-wood to save my life. To avoid skying it off the top of the club, I have to tee the ball down to where I can't fit the clubface between the center of the ball and the ground. Then I hit the shot fat at least as often as I hit the ball first. And when I do hit the ball first, I usually have the club face rotated incorrectly, hitting either a bad push-slice or a bad pull-hook.

So I never hit the 3-wood off the tee. I use it most to hit intentional low scorchers that follow the ground when I'm punching out from under trees. I can consistently hit a shot that goes about 100 yards (mostly roll) without ever getting more than 6 inches off the ground, and there are times when that's about the best outcome I can hope for after an errant tee shot.

Then again, I'm pretty new to golf, and I'm working very hard on my swing technique and my golf coordination, and I expect to figure out how to actually hit the 3-wood well at some point before next season.

-Andrew

**Fourputt** · September 28, 2010

I'm a bit of an oddball. I actually hit my driver more consistently off the deck than I do from a tee, although it always has a slight fade when I do. Back in the late 80's and early 90's I carried 2 drivers, a TM Tour Driver at 8.5° (I still have this club) and the original TM Burner at 9.5°. The Burner was my fairway wood. I've once again started teeing the ball quite low (about 3/4") like I used to and I've regained some consistency as a result. Something about having the ball teed up high just totally messes with my swing.

***iacas*** · September 28, 2010

It's a bit of a joke, but if I don't have time to warm up or take many swings I'll almost always hit driver on the first hole. I joke that "I'm less likely to miss the ball."

My 3W isn't exactly one of the larger ones, but still... there's some truth to it.

That being said, if I need the ball to go 240-250 and find the fairway, the 3W is the better play once I've gotten into the round. By far.

**chrisronline** · September 28, 2010

I'm the exact opposite. My driver is the worst club is my bag and I just don't have the time (or even a place) to really practice with it (the nearest driving range caps at 200 yards). I try to use it while playing but I usually put it back in the bag after a couple bad drives and just use my 3wood and 3hybrid off the tee since I'd rather be in the fairway with a long iron than in the woods punching out.

**StricklandPropane** · September 28, 2010

Only speaking for high handicappers like myself, but I think "put driver away and hit 3w" is one of those old false relics like "you should work on your short game".

I never top my driver, but I top my 3w 25-50% of the time. I finally neglected the age old advice of putting the driver away and instead started playing driver more than 3w and am hitting more fairways.

I'll pull a 4i though if I don't have a lot of room.

**chef35ca** · September 28, 2010

Way more confident with my 3wd than any driver i've tried. Drivers tend to screw up my tempo pretty good. I realize that's user error, but that's how it is for now.

It's not even straight up confidence as performance. My 3 is more accurate & in alot of cases longer than my driver shots. If i need high, low, fade or hook i can usually produce what i need. Usually just adjust tee height & ball placement.

I've had a long relationship with my 3wd. About 5-6 years now.

I'd rather hit driver than a hybrid, though. Those things are evil.

**golfro** · September 28, 2010

I feel similar to the OP, but it's not because I'm that great with my driver; it's because I can't hit a 3-wood to save my life. To avoid skying it off the top of the club, I have to tee the ball down to where I can't fit the clubface between the center of the ball and the ground. Then I hit the shot fat at least as often as I hit the ball first. And when I do hit the ball first, I usually have the club face rotated incorrectly, hitting either a bad push-slice or a bad pull-hook.

you should never tee the ball up any higher than a couple millimeters when teeing off with a 3 wood. You're only trying to simulate a perfect lie off the tee box. When I tee up with 3 wood, my ball is literally only like 1 or 2 millimeters off the ground.

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More Confident with Driver than a 3 Wood

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