3-Iron or Gap Wedge?

[Danfix99]

Hello everyone.

This is my dilemma. I currently play with both a 5-wood and 3-wood, both of which I like and hit pretty well. I also have a SW for bunker shots and LW for flop shots, chipping, etc. If I get a new set of irons, is it better for me to get a 3-pw set, and only play with two wedges, or a 4-pw, gw set, and play with three wedges and no 3-iron. If I have both, I am over 14 clubs. I am basically looking to make an investment in good irons that I intend to use for a long time, so I just curious as to which will be more useful.

Thanks.

[klaymon]

I was in the same boat in March when I got my new clubs. Looking at my game, I feel I am in GW territory far more often than I am in 3I territory. So, I opted for the 4-GW set. Distance-wise, the gap was too great between the PW and the SW for me and the GW filled the slot perfectly. I ended up going back later and picking up a 3I but I only carry a driver and a 3W so I wanted that extra step and I needed a 14th club anyway. If I had to get rid of the 3I or the GW at this point, I'd ditch the 3I without hesitation.

[YogiTKE]

Hello everyone.

I also play with a 3 wood, 5 wood, and 3 iron so I only use two wedges. I have debated dropping the 5 wood to pick up another wedge, but I'll keep my 3 iron because I hit it well enough.

[SwinginCaveman]

Hello everyone.

Keep the 5 wood in your bag and forget about the 3 iron. The only time it really comes in handy is on the 2nd shot of a par 5 and that's usually a 3 or 5 wood anyways. Wedges are your scoring clubs. Those are the clubs that get you low numbers. The more you can have in your bag the better. You want to be lethal from 120 yards and in. If you are, I guarantee you will have some great scores.

[allin]

Relatively few people play with less than 3 wedges due the strong lofts on irons. You may be able to bend or order your wedges so that the gap wedge is not needed, say , 52-53 sw and 58-60 tw, Sometimes you find a hybrid that fits nicely between a 5 iron and a five wood. 5iron 175, hybrid 190, 5wd 205. I believe you can get hung up on the number on the sole. Find the clubs that give you the gaps and trajectory you want and are most likely to use.

[DJYoshi]

i say drop the 3 iron. just get a hybrid. it's easier to control & hit... I think I'll only pull out my 3 iron 2 or 3 times in the round.

[goblue107501]

I think a lot of it depends on the golf course. I have 16 clubs that I regularly use. I play a variety of courses and that determines what I put in the bag for the day. If a course has some longer par 5's I will take a 5-wood and leave out the 2 and 3 irons. Some courses are short and tight, in which case I will use the 2-iron to hit off the tee on some par 4's. I have even gone as far taking out the 2-iron and 9-iron to get what I feel is the right combination for the course.

If you play a variety of courses get both. If you play the same course all the time, just try and figure out what you will probably use the most and leave the other out. If you get both you will have a 'stand-by' if you think you might need it on a certain day. Just because you have it, it doesn't mean it has to go in the bag all the time.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I would keep them both and drop the 60. a good 56/10 SW can do anything a 60 could give you. It depends on how comfortable you are with opening a SW. I find a 52 a much more useful club than a 60. JMO.

[nykfan4life]

Gap wedge. Always good for an extra wedge.

[Dent]

I'd go for the 4-GW I find the 3 iron is rarely hit, and then when you give it a try its a pain in the ass.

A 4 iron can be hit almost as long, and if your really looking for distance, just learn to hit the 5 wood and be able to control the distances.

[iacas]

3-iron here. I have three wedges, at 48, 54, and 60 degrees. I can hit any of the shots I need with those - no need to add a fourth.

I have a 3W, hybrid, and a 3-iron on the long end. I use them all about equally. They serve different purposes, too.

[TourSpoon]

3-iron here. I have three wedges, at 48, 54, and 60 degrees. I can hit any of the shots I need with those - no need to add a fourth.

I think we have the same set-up. I made adjustments on my new 735cms to start at 48. I can also hit the shots that I need to with three wedges. When I used four I felt as though I had too many options.

The 3W, 2H, 3I combo is what I am using at the high end. I alternate between the 2H and the 3I depending on certain factors such as: desired trajectory, wind, and lie.

[shinujk1]

I use 3 wedges PW (48) - SW (54) and LW (58)...I think it is better to get comfortable with 3 wedges (ie half, 3/4 and full wedge shots)...
I would drop your 3 iron unless you can pure it consistently....3 hybrid is so much easier than the 3 iron (used to carry 3 iron until about 6 months ago)...
It's important to have your clubs checked in terms of loft/lie b/c you might be surprised how off they are before you make your decision....

[jrm1493]

I have 3 wedges, 45 (PW), 49 and 56. Someday when I'm a better player I might drop the 56 in favor of a 54 and 60 but that is probably a ways off. Since I carry both a 5-iron and 5-hybrid i'll have to leave one of those out (they are the same loft and distance but have vastly different trajectories). What my plan is at that point is to use the 5-iron when its windy and 5-hybrid when its not because the hybrid goes high and lands softly and the iron stays low and rolls out quite a bit.

[gumpy]

Hello everyone.

Get the Gap

you'll need it way more than the 3 iron considering that you already have a 5 wood.

[Craig Mac]

I would recomend the gap wedge over the 3 iron, I have a friend who is the same handicap range as you and I had to walk over and take his 3 iron out of his bag because he never hit a good shot with it, but tried to hit it all the time. He has a PW SW and is going to add the Gap Wedge, he wants a LW but I really think he has no business trying to hit that club either. If you can hit the 3 iron well and like it then keep it, but if it is a hard club for you to hit then ditch it for a club you would find more useful.

[Ben]

3 and gap wedge!

Get rid of the two wedge system for sand and flop shots by getting a 58* that you can use for both those shots.

[georgeshot]

I use a 4-wood (16 °) and 7-wood (24 °) and find that for long fairway shots, I can get everything I need out of these two fairway woods. I got rid of the 3-iron & 4-iron because they were too inconsistent for me. Then I have the TA-5s 5-iron through PW and a GW, SW, LW. I do have a 5-wood as well, but really have no need for it because I can hit the 4-wood shorter if I need to so it stays home. I have room for one more club (13 right now) but don't need anything else.