3 woodie?!?

[Razz11]

So this is my second year of serious golf and most call me a natural I guess because I am scoring pretty well for a semi-beginner. By that I mean I am consistently around 90 on average. I can't hit my driver well for the life of me though. I hit it good for distance(probably around 240-260) but can't keep it in the fairway because of a mean slice. I honestly can consistently hit my 3H straight as an arrow with a little draw now and again and can hit it about 215-220 every 3 out of 4 swings. My question was if a 3Wood is comparable to a hybrid? I have wanted to pick one up for a while, but I was just curious if I am going to be able to control it like my hybrid or is it going to be the same troubles as the driver and I should just learn how to hit my driver better now instead of picking up the 3Wood while working on my driver? Thanks in advance!

[bubdifab]

I am curious to see, because I have a similar problem. I can hit my driver straight every once in a while, usually a fade or slice. I have a 3 wood that I hit dead straight, every single time about 230. I cant figure out what my deal is.

[flopdarock]

my 3 wood is my "go to" distance club... when my driver fails me... thats the only club in the bag that'll bail me out time and time again... its weird that some days i can hit it much farther than my driver

[ks8829]

Maybe you have the wrong driver for your golf swing. I would try the following things:

1) bring your driver and try others at the golf store and see if its the driver or your golf swing

2) try choking up on your driver to a comparable length of your 3 wood or even shorter to see how you hit your driver with the shorten length.

3) do you slice your mid to long irons? work on drawing the ball

[matt_the_splasher]

I am curious to see, because I have a similar problem. I can hit my driver straight every once in a while, usually a fade or slice. I have a 3 wood that I hit dead straight, every single time about 230. I cant figure out what my deal is.

I had the same problem a while back...it tured out that i was standing too far from the ball at address when using the driver. I was setting myself up to smash a big one instead of just addressing normally and swinging at it.

by standing too far from ball at address and not standing upright, i found i was swinging outside the 'line' swing path stretching for the ball and then on my downswing was casting the club out, 'throwing it out' and as a result swinging through the ball slightly from outside to inside and slicing the ball. a sign of this was a slight divot line coming to the inside instead of straight. also sometimes by over swinging, your shoulder turn on the downswing is ahead of your hands and you cast the club out to catch up and swing across the ball. these are just some observations on my own swing and some things that i have been working on. maybe this will give you something to have a think about. good luck

[Razz11]

I actually don't slice any club at all besides my driver. Maybe a baby fade from time to time with my hybrid, but I play a slight draw with all my mid-long irons. I could be standing too far from the ball, I will try this. The only thing that is throwing me off is that a while ago I was standing too close to the ball with irons therefore I was swinging outside-in and slicing the ball some. Our local store is having a demo-day in two weeks, so I will go and try out some different drivers and see how they feel. Thanks!

[tmf9]

my 3 wood is my "go to" distance club... when my driver fails me... thats the only club in the bag that'll bail me out time and time again... its weird that some days i can hit it much farther than my driver

I have the same 3 wood as you do and even on a good day I will only hit my Driver 15-20 yards further. That big bertha is a great 3 wood

[shortgrass lover]

You may want to try the Adams Fairway/ Hybrid Wood. I have the Insight XTD A3 model, and it's exlposive. I only hit it about 25 yards less than my driver on average. And since it's a "fairway/hybrid" it is very easy to control. You may want to check out the A3OS version if your a semi-beginner.

Hope this helps.

[flopdarock]

I have the same 3 wood as you do and even on a good day I will only hit my Driver 15-20 yards further. That big bertha is a great 3 wood

you can tell its one of my fave clubs cuz every other club looks brand new compared to my cally lol... its all beat up but i still wont replace it for anything... im gonna regrip that puppy soon

[andy]

I had the same problem and got a video analysis and turns out my swing was outside in on my drives. I flattened out my swing plane on my drives and can now hit it dead straight 240. Also on those occasions where I slice every now and then because my swing is inconsistent, I take out my 5 wood which goes about 220 but always straight. If I mis-hit my 5 wood, it goes right but not sliced. Just straight right rough.

[TN94z]

A 3 wood probably won't be as accurate as a hybrid just because the club is longer, etc...But my 3w is usually what I go to was well when my driver is giving me fits. I agree with the standing too far from it. You don't want to be cramped but you don't want to be reaching too far either. My cousin was doing the same thing and we figured him out this past weekend. You still may have an outside in swing with your driver even if you don't with your irons.

[jambalaya]

A three wood is much easier to hit than a driver for most people. Probably not as easy as your hybrid but you need the distance off the tee. If you are hitting all of your other clubs well then I would tinker first with your setup and second with your swing plane with the driver. There are a lot of things to consider but the approach to hitting a driver is different from the other clubs. Read articles or look at videos talking just about the driver to get some clues.

[Razz11]

Well here we go... Hit about 500 hundred balls on the range today and I fixed it! Thank you to everyone that gave any advice. I'm not exactly what my problem was or is, but I choked down on the driver probably an inch to an inch and a half and everything went away... Dead straight with a slight draw on a very low ocassion. I have really never felt this good about golf before! So I thought hmm... I have been hitting my mid-irons very fat for the past two weeks or so. Went to the pro-shop and got fitted. Turns out I have really long arms for my height... I'm about 6' even and my wrists were just under 30" from the floor. They concluded after a few other measurements and watching me swing that I needed shortened clubs. So for now I am just choking down on everything and in the next month I'm either going to get them shortened or get a new set of irons! Went to the range again and hit my irons while choking down and was hitting the ball cleaner than ever. I figured my distance would suffer but it is right where it should be... 9i: 150, 8i: 160, 7i: 165-170, 6i: 180 ish and the other long irons followed suit. Obviously I need to swing like this a lot more to get in the groove, but it feels great and I really think you guys fixed me or at least made me realize what was wrong. Thanks again!

[platgof]

So, did you shorten your driver an inch? A 3 wood will add a lot of distance to your game and is highly recommended as a backup driver. Pick one that works off the tee and grass, versatility.

[Razz11]

So, did you shorten your driver an inch? A 3 wood will add a lot of distance to your game and is highly recommended as a backup driver. Pick one that works off the tee and grass, versatility.

Yes I am choking down on it for now. Went and played a round tonight and to my amazement it actually added distance. Right now I really don't find a need for a 3w if I can hit my driver well. I can reach almost any par 5 with a driver - 3h combo with no problem.