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Has anyone retired their driver in favor of a 3w?


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I currently have a Cobra Amp Cell driver & Cobra Baffler T Rail 3w, and I am thinking of selling both of them and playing only a 3w. Probably a Ping G25 or i25.

Do any of you play without a driver in your bag?

Ping G30 SF TEC
Ping G25 3w
Ping G Red Dot +1/4" irons - 6,7,8,9,W,U,SW, LW
Ping G30 3H
Ping G25 4H
Ping Scottdale TR B60
Callaway Supersoft

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No, I would rather have wedges and short irons into par 4's than mid or long irons. If accuracy is an issue, practice or take lessons to improve your driver swing.

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I have one (driver) but, when I use it I shoot in the high 80's.

when I use my 5 iron off the tee's I can shoot 77-83.

just can never figure out the woods or hybrids at all.

never figured it out and one day a club pro said on a par 5, Matt, hit 7 iron 7 iron PW

I did and I was on in 3, had a birdie try every time since.

I could care less about getting on in 2 on a par 5. to much work and I have a bad shoulder... and all  kinds of stuff can go wrong.

I know where my 3 to 7 iron is going to go, the Driver I have no idea if its going 40 yds or 270.

(and believe me I hit my driver 30ft sometimes and still par a hole from there, par 4 or 5 ! with my irons thank you)

I hit my 7 iron 180

PW 150

5 iron 215-220

once I figured I can control my ball by just hitting irons, well, things just got easier.

and I barely swing at the ball these days (shoulder injury), they just pop off the club.

funny cuz everyone i hang with saw that, and has slowed their swing down too and all have picked up 20 yds per club.

yeah I think because I learned with a one and two iron when I was 13,is why I can hit irons, those trashcans on a stick (drivers) kinda freak me out when I swing them...

so do what feels good, long is not necessary, play the hole not your buddies...and slow that swing down and watch it fly!

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No, I would rather have wedges and short irons into par 4's than mid or long irons. If accuracy is an issue, practice or take lessons to improve your driver swing.

Agree right here

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I had my driver out of the bag quite a bit last year.  I was actually hitting tee shots with my Taylor Made 3 Hybrid a lot.  I am planning on taking some lessons this year, I just don't have a repeatable swing with a driver.  I just get all out of whack when trying to swing the big stick.

Callaway XR 9.5 + 1, Taylormade R15 3 Wood, Burner 3 Rescue, Callaway XHot 5H, Warbird 4H, Nike Vapor Fly 6-AW Irons, Titleist Vokey 54, 60 Wedges, Taylormade Rossa Fontana Putter, Srixon Z-Star Tour Yellow.

Best Score 2017:  82 (Traditions at the Glen, Par 70)

Favorite Course - Conklin Players Club (Par 72) - Best Score 86

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No, but I did cut my driver down to 44" a few months ago. I haven't lost any distance, but I've gained some accuracy.

-- Michael | My swing! 

"You think you're Jim Furyk. That's why your phone is never charged." - message from my mother

Driver:  Titleist 915D2.  4-wood:  Titleist 917F2.  Titleist TS2 19 degree hybrid.  Another hybrid in here too.  Irons 5-U, Ping G400.  Wedges negotiable (currently 54 degree Cleveland, 58 degree Titleist) Edel putter. 

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Yes! I have a PING G10 driver and can't hit the thing. I've put 3 different shafts in it and don't want to spend the money to put a really good one in it. I use my Taylormade Rbz2 3 wood on every tee box that is 275+. I did however just order the Callaway X Hot driver, but I played with just my 3 wood for 2 years as I was never able to get that driver down. The G10 had its days, but that's about it. Tiger rarely uses his driver. Don't do something because your buddies do it; do what works for you! I can hit my 3 wood as far or farther than most hit their driver. So I will probably use my 3 wood on 75% of the tee boxes still.

Dylan

Twitter: @d_brock504

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and I barely swing at the ball these days (shoulder injury), they just pop off the club.

funny cuz everyone i hang with saw that, and has slowed their swing down too and all have picked up 20 yds per club.

so do what feels good, long is not necessary, play the hole not your buddies...and slow that swing down and watch it fly!

Another conversation in itself, but this is so true. I played baseball for 16 years so I get that "attack" swing easily. Gotta slow it down all the time and let the sucker do the rest. When I do, 3 wood will go 275.

Dylan

Twitter: @d_brock504

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I am considering cutting my driver down to 44 inches...I've been choking up on it (Titleist 909d3) and have gained distance...think I pick up clubhead speed with the more manageable (for me) shaft length...besides I grew up playing the game with the shorter steel shafts and my swing is best at this length.

What's in my bag

Cobra Speed LD-F 10.5* Driver

Callaway XHot 15* 3-wood

Tour Edge Bazooka 5-wood

Tour Edge Bazooka 7-wood

Wilson Staff Ci9 Irons 4-GW

Mizuno T-Zoid Sand Wedge 56*

Odyssey White Hot #2

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I am considering cutting my driver down to 44 inches...I've been choking up on it (Titleist 909d3) and have gained distance...think I pick up clubhead speed with the more manageable (for me) shaft length...besides I grew up playing the game with the shorter steel shafts and my swing is best at this length.

I'm not arguing by any means, but the longer the shaft, the more increased swing speed you are able to develop. Shortening the shaft or choking up on it will give you a better control and feel for the head on impact thus making cleaner contact. Maybe you are just hitting the sweet spot of the club now. But increasing your swing speed by shortening your club 2" is almost a guaranteed false comment. Then again, I haven't seen your numbers, I'm simply relying on Physics.

Dylan

Twitter: @d_brock504

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I own 3 drivers, between 44.25 & 44.5, and use them all, sometimes 2 in the same round I keep retiring my 3 wood! It's a temperamental son of a bitch at best, on a good it's a rocket launcher, most days it can't get the ball of the ground, I know I'm the problem, but I just feel much more comfortable looking at my driver heads addressing the ball!

Gaz Lee

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I'm not arguing by any means, but the longer the shaft, the more increased swing speed you are able to develop. Shortening the shaft or choking up on it will give you a better control and feel for the head on impact thus making cleaner contact. Maybe you are just hitting the sweet spot of the club now. But increasing your swing speed by shortening your club 2" is almost a guaranteed false comment. Then again, I haven't seen your numbers, I'm simply relying on Physics.

It's a bit of a trade off though, by shortening 2" your likely to lose club head speed but make better contact, you good shots won't be much better, but you'll make more of them!

Gaz Lee

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No, I would rather have wedges and short irons into par 4's than mid or long irons. If accuracy is an issue, practice or take lessons to improve your driver swing.


I would say most players are no more than 20 yards longer with a driver so to say you would be hitting mid irons with a 3wood tee shot versus wedges from a driver sounds a bit inaccurate to me. Last time on a launch monitor I think my driver carried on average 235 and my 3 wood about 225. I think tomorrow though I am going to use 3 wood exclusively since I'll be playing the forward tees with my neighbor and using driver will really not be to any advantage IMO.

Rich C.

Driver Titleist 915 D3  9.5*
3 Wood TM RBZ stage 2 tour  14.5*
2 Hybrid Cobra baffler 17*
4Hybrid Adams 23*
Irons Adams CB2's 5-GW
Wedges 54* and 58* Titleist vokey
Putter Scotty Cameron square back 2014
Ball Srixon Zstar optic yellow
bushnell V2 slope edition

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Back about 1985, I sent out my driver to have a damaged grip replaced. In a supply chain mishap, my regripped driver got misrouted to an out-of-town course and was missing for about two months.

Using a 3W off the tee, I found that I actually did better on the long par 4s. I hit FWs pretty well back then, and back-to-back FWs worked better than a driver / 3i going into the greens. Also, I think I got practice benefit from hitting the 3W some 20 times a round rather than only 5 or 6. I had several scores in the low 80s during that stretch.

I got my driver back and started using it sparingly at year's end. The next year, I had amnesia about the 3W benefits and used mainly driver. I didn't get the low scores from the 3W stretch.

These days, with the high driver MOI, I find it is just as accurate as the FWs off the tee. And, I get more good run from my driver than most playing partners. On occasion, I will use a FW to lay up short of trouble, or a hybrid to get a low launch it there's a high headwind or crosswind.

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 will only speak for myself on this one...i have no driver in my bag. I use a callaway steelhead III 5w, with a stiff steel shaft. Get 225 off the tee(no tee off the deck) and fairway. Love it and will never get a driver. Just my opinion.
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It might be worth taking a look at the new SLDR Mini Driver.

Tristan Hilton

My Equipment: 
PXG 0211 Driver (Diamana S+ 60; 10.5°) · PXG 0211 FWs (Diamana S+ 60; 15° and 21°) · PXG 0211 Hybrids (MMT 80; 22°, 25°, and 28°) · PXG 0311P Gen 2 Irons (SteelFiber i95; 7-PW) · Edel Wedges (KBS Hi-Rev; 50°, 55°, 60°) · Edel Classic Blade Putter (32") · Vice Pro or Maxfli Tour · Pinned Prism Rangefinder · Star Grips · Flightscope Mevo · TRUE Linkswear Shoes · Sun Mountain C130S Bag

On my MacBook Pro:
Analyzr Pro

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That's right. I was just told today as I was regripping my driver at Dick's that the mini will drop May 2nd. Isn''t it unbelievable how often they release clubs?

Dylan

Twitter: @d_brock504

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