Driver vs 3 Wood

[Sclaffer]

I recently returned to golf and got a Swing Caddy SC300i. It has confirmed what I have suspected for some time - I hit my 3 wood as far as my driver. This is backed up by similar swing speeds of 93 MPH. I have had 6 months off golf and exercise, so my speed is down a bit on what it was.

Driver is 12 degrees, D1, Cobra 70g stiff shaft. 3 wood is 15 degrees, D0, Cleveland Gold 65g stiff shaft. The 3 wood feels great to me and flies straight. The driver feels dead to me and tends to slice. A local pro thinks the shafts are both a little on the soft side of stiff (which suits for me). The only difference I can see is the driver total weight is 340 grams and the 3 wood is 320 grams.

My question is what is going on? Surely 20 grams should not slow my driver down to the same swing speed as my 3 wood?

[ChetlovesMer]

  On 2/1/2025 at 3:29 PM, Sclaffer said:

I recently returned to golf and got a Swing Caddy SC300i. It has confirmed what I have suspected for some time - I hit my 3 wood as far as my driver. This is backed up by similar swing speeds of 93 MPH. I have had 6 months off golf and exercise, so my speed is down a bit on what it was.

Driver is 12 degrees, D1, Cobra 70g stiff shaft. 3 wood is 15 degrees, D0, Cleveland Gold 65g stiff shaft. The 3 wood feels great to me and flies straight. The driver feels dead to me and tends to slice. A local pro thinks the shafts are both a little on the soft side of stiff (which suits for me). The only difference I can see is the driver total weight is 340 grams and the 3 wood is 320 grams.

My question is what is going on? Surely 20 grams should not slow my driver down to the same swing speed as my 3 wood?

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As usual, this is difficult to answer without seeing your swing. So, my first suggestion is to start a My Swing Thread. 

After that, my next best guess is that you fade (slice) your driver more than your 3-wood. 

I once played with a guy who had such a glancing blow with his driver that I could out drive him with my 6 iron. 

Get with a good instructor and learn to hit your driver properly. Even with 93 mph swing speed you should be able to hit your driver 210-230. 

[flopster]

One reason the 3 wood is staying more straight could be because it creates more backspin than the driver which will help hold a more straighter shot.

[Typhoon92]

Shorter length shaft, more loft…

weight shouldn’t have anything to do with it as a fw head weighs more than a driver head.  More backspin could actually hurt because sidespin is part of that.  Something lower spinning will usually go straighter.  If you’re trying to “work the ball” then you want spin.

Edited February 2 by Typhoon92