3 wood off the tee. Tee it high or tee it low and why?

I hit a 3 wood pretty good off the deck and was wondering why I don't tee it up like I would an iron when I use it off the tee box. I usually tee my irons so the just barely sit up but have always teed my 3 wood higher, not as high as a driver but definitely up in the air.

What do the other trappers do when they tee up a 3 wood?

I have a 3 wood with a fairly deep face.  It's also pretty low lofted.  I tee it so that a quarter to half the ball is above my 3 wood at address.  I get a flatter trajectory and more distance that way off the tee.  Teeing it too low and smashing down on it gives me a ball that rises to much because of the backspin.  I do have a shallow face 5 wood and I tee it pretty low and smack down on it.

About an eighth inch up... maybe. I play an i3 Ping that's 12 degree. It launches at a nice angle off the deck. More often than not, if I am teeing off with my 3 it's to keep it low; a high tee setup would be counter productive. There are times when I hit my 3 off the box because driver would be too long or just be too tight to follow the dogleg. Someone once said tee the ball anytime you get the chance to, I follow with that logic; I just don't go overboard with it. Getting a perfect setup is extremely valuable, use it when you can.

I tee it low like an iron simply because a FW has such a low profile.  If you tee it high like a driver you run the risk of hitting a pop-up.

I tee the ball low for anything other than my driver.

You want to take advantage of the woods natural loft and tee it up very low.  If you were to bottom your club out hitting off a high tee (which it common), you would barely catch the top of the club and sky your ball very short.  I must admit, I have dented the top of a club before by teeing too high.

That's interesting, I would have thought the opposite; i.e., tee low for a lower trajectory.

I tee it pretty low, basically down to the point where my knuckles hit touch the ground.  I've been hitting the ball very high, which is mostly likely a fitting issue, but I will try teeing it up more and see if that works.

Teeing the ball lower promotes a steeper angle of attack. With the same swing teeing the ball higher or lower makes a big difference with a driver because the face isn't flat. A 3-wood typically is much flatter. I find a lower tee height is good for hitting a fade and conversely a slightly higher tee height is good for hitting a draw.

I tee it low like an iron, tee basically all the way in the ground, so the ball sits like I have an absolutely perfect lie on the grass, maybe in reality a mm or two higher than it would ever sit on even perfect grass.  I've teed it up maybe 1/4" before, but I'm always practicing hitting it off the deck, so I just go with what I practice most.

That, and like was said above, my 3w has a fairly low profile, so if I tee it up that brings the pop up and if not the full pop up then at least hitting it way too high on the face into play.

That's kinda my thinking here as well, why practice two 3 wood swings/set-ups. If I had more practice time I'd probably be more experimental but for now, if it ain't broke I ain't fixin' it. That's not to suggest I disagree with the wisdom of others doing it, they probably have most aspects of their game under better control than me and have more time to work on alternative set-ups with various clubs. Lucky bastards!

I tee my 3w and 5w just like I do the irons.   Consistency of the look at address is why I do it.  I started out teeing them a bit higher and was doing ok that way off the tee but when I hit them off the deck, I was topping the ball.......   A session on the range showed me that teeing them lower (like the proverbial perfect lie) didn't cost me any signifcant yardage but doing so seems to have given me the confidence I needed to hit them off the deck pretty well too...

I do this.

Keep it low like an iron. The driver is the only club that should never touch the ground, so that is why you tee it up high for the driver. With your woods and your irons, you should take divots even on the tee box. I use a tee with my woods and irons, but I have my ball tee-d so that it is basically like it is resting on the ground

If that works for you, go for it, but I don't think taking a divot with a teed up hybrid or 3-wood a universal "should". Even with 2 and 3 irons I prefer to not take a divot when hitting off a tee.

I never thought about this, but it makes perfect sense. Im gonna give this a shot. Thanks for sharing.

Yeah this thread was never meant to expose "universals", just to get some perspectives from others. I can definitely see why better players would have different set-ups and swings for different situations, ie: taking advantage of being able to tee up to any height you like, but I can certainly see why higher cappers such as myself should employ the KISS principles. I have heard that teeing it high does promote a draw but for my level of play it just makes sense to try and keep the same 3 wood swing I use on the fairway similar to what I would use on the tee box. Once I have more confidence and competence I would certainly look to expand my arsenal with varying set-ups.

It must be common though, since I often come to a long par 4 tee box and and it's covered with sand filled divots. I often wonder how or why people are taking divots with their driver. Maybe they're setting up the same way they do when hitting driver or 3-wood from the fairway. Personally I think it's a great way to hit a low fade into the bush, but different strokes, eh!?