Thoughts on Tour Edge E522 3 Wood or Other New 3 Woods

[DCCarpenter]

Howdy, I've been playing a lot and steadily improving. My first post here back in September I could barely hit anything over 135 yards and today I hit a whole bunch of greens in regulation on par 4s and just missed either short or to the side on many others.

As I'm not a very good wedge player or putter yet I'm going to need to hit more greens in regulation to keep my scoring on a downward trajectory. Even a small increase , 10 or 15 yards, from my 3 wood would get me on more greens as I am using it off the tee and from the deck. I walk the course and carry my clubs so I am trying to stick to 7 clubs if I can.

So long way of saying I have a 2004 Wilson Deep Red 3 wood with a regular flex shaft,  tee shots today carried 210 to 235 with it, wet course so no rollout really. The new Tour Edge 3 woods look nice, would consider any others as well. Needs to be something I can play off the deck and tee as with so few clubs carried I need dual purpose use out of it. Extra bonus if you have something nice to say about Titleist as my mom got me a Titleist hat for Christmas and as of now I'm not playing any of their clubs. I'm ok sticking with what I have if the consensus is I won't get anything out of a new one.

I try and play 18 at least twice a week but the ranges around here only have super high driver tees and are mats so not the best venue for practicing with a fairway wood. I mostly work on contact type drills with the irons and wedges when I go (from this site's COVID training videos).

Edited December 29, 2021 by DCCarpenter

[Double Mocha Man]

@DCCarpenter - You didn't say why you don't use a driver.  And your Mom's Titleist hat is always good for a couple extra yards.

[DCCarpenter]

Reasoning for no driver is that there isn't a huge distance difference between it and the 3 wood right now, I'm slightly more accurate with the 3 wood, and since I tend to walk the course and am trying not to carry too many clubs the 3 wood does double duty vs. the driver being mostly single purpose. 

The driver is a Wilson Launchpad 13 degree driver , I might see some more distance with a 10 or 11 though perhaps at the cost of accuracy. It being 13 I have actually used it from the grass a few times and with the right lie it works but not nearly as useful at the 3 wood for that. The 3 wood is a 15 degree.

I just started playing this summer so still working on adding distance, I hit my best 3 wood shot so far this past weekend I got 260 from it with a bit of rollout so I was pretty happy about that one.

[Shorty]

1 hour ago, DCCarpenter said:

 

As I'm not a very good wedge player or putter yet I'm going to need to hit more greens in regulation to keep my scoring on a downward trajectory. Even a small increase , 10 or 15 yards, from my 3 wood would get me on more greens as I am using it off the tee and from the deck.

You might want to rethink this because it doesn't make sense.

Saying you want to avoid wedge play and minimise the effects of poor putting by hitting greens more in regulation more frequently doesn't hold up to even the most minimal amount of scrutiny.

It would be a bit like saying you want to play baseball but need to hit home runs more often because you aren't too quick between bases.

Your scores will get better because your wedge game and putting improve.

As your general game improves you'll hit more greens in regulation.

You need to learn to hit a driver. Carrying 8 clubs won't kill you.

And-----hitting greens in regulation is not a measure of anything if they're par 4s that are really par 3s or par 5s that are really par 4s.

One of the biggest things that will hold you back is thinking that you don't need a driver. You will need one when you start playing courses with decent length holes. 

Edited December 29, 2021 by Shorty

[DCCarpenter]

I'm trying to simultaneously shoot better scores while improving my short game. If I can spend a couple hundred bucks or less on a club that improves my on course performance right now it's worth it to me, my 3 wood cost me $20 I hardly have a lot tied up in it.

Working on my driver and short game as time allows as well, I enjoy playing more than going to the driving range so it'll get there when it gets there. It's not as if having a better 3 wood in 10 weeks when I'm more consistent with the driver will somehow be a disadvantage. I guess I should have phrased the question as 'Does newer 3 wood tech add distance with moderate swing speed over 15+ year old 3 wood tech' . 

As far as distances , the 3 courses I play most are ranging from 5900 to 6200 yards from the white (men's tees). Par 4 distances today on the back 9 were 388/309/325/363/366. Not  long but not a par 3, at least not for a newer player.  It's also a very narrow course, no parallel fairways. I took my game 'on the road' to Charleston National on vacation and played a round with a few members, longer course but wider fairways. Shot a lot of doubles but hit a few pars as well, kept up just fine and had fun. 

[Shorty]

32 minutes ago, DCCarpenter said:

I guess I should have phrased the question as 'Does newer 3 wood tech add distance with moderate swing speed over 15+ year old 3 wood tech' . 

 

There is probably less technology in 3 (and other fairway) woods than any other club. If you find one that feels right for you, hang on to it. The only thing that I could suggest is that some, like some of the Tour Edge Exotics ones have sole shapes that can help you in the rough and help stop you hitting them too fat.

Clubs like the TaylorMade RBZ 3 wood and even the Callaway Steelhead from a VERY long time ago are popular amongst a lot of players. Even things like TaylorMade R7 from 15 years ago are great performers.

But it's different for everyone. Just be mindful that a lot of newer fairway woods might have the same colours and names as their latest driver counterparts, but the technology might be identical to that company's 10 year old offerings because there isn't a lot you can do with a 3, 4 or 5 wood technology wise. It comes down to what you like the look of and quite probably a shaft that matches your needs.

[DCCarpenter]

Thanks for the info I appreciate it, I just got this 3 wood a few weeks ago and I've improved with it each time I've taken it out so sounds like I'm best off playing it a bit more and see what else I can get out of it. 

 

 

[ChetlovesMer]

7 hours ago, DCCarpenter said:

'Does newer 3 wood tech add distance with moderate swing speed over 15+ year old 3 wood tech' . 

The answer to this question is probably not. 

Although, if you are averaging 235 with the 3 wood and have hit it over 270, that's pretty good swing speed. A fitting may actually help you. At least its something you should consider when funding allows. 

12 hours ago, DCCarpenter said:

Even a small increase , 10 or 15 yards, from my 3 wood would get me on more greens as I am using it off the tee and from the deck. I walk the course and carry my clubs so I am trying to stick to 7 clubs if I can.

10 to 15 yards off the tee can be accomplished by switching to a driver that fits your swing. As I mentioned above, 235 with a 3 wood is very respectable. A properly fit driver should very easily get you the extra yardage you crave and probably even more. 

You mentioned you want to stick to 7 clubs. If you are carrying more than one wedge drop one of those in place of the driver. You mentioned you aren't a very good wedge player anyway. Practice with one wedge. Get really good at it. Then think about carrying 8 clubs by adding back in the other wedge. 

 

Lastly, to the point made by @Shorty. The average modern driver weighs around 3/4 of a pound. My experience is what makes my bag heavy is all the extra crap I end up collecting in there. 

[DCCarpenter]

Thanks for the feedback, you are right about the weight of the driver being insignificant. Right now I'm carrying 3 wood/9 wood/11 wood/7 iron/wedge/putter and a rotating cast of 3iron/chipper/5wood/7wood/extra wedge in the other slot. I can definitely drop a wedge and the chipper as I improve with whichever wedge becomes my go to. 

The 3 iron (or my utility driving iron) only get called out on really windy days or when I play a course right on the water so I could probably lose driver or 3 wood those days.

I think a fitting is a great idea when I am ready to buy a driver and 3 wood, I have no idea what shaft I should be in and it is an opportunity to try a bunch of different brands. I'll keep working with what I have for awhile and then see about upgrading driver and/or 3 wood in one shot.

Going to play at least 18 this afternoon so another opportunity to work on that short game, I am taking multiple wedge shots and putts each time in order to practice since the course is pretty slow once it gets to the end of the day.