help hitting 3 wood off the deck

[chilly]

When you say "off the deck" you're obviously not talking about "off the deck", which is off the teebox without using a tee.

I play a tall faced 3wood (Ping Rapture) right now just to hit off the tee. I rarely need to hit a 3wood into a green, on my home course I can reach any of the "reachable" par 5s with my 5wd. I do have a couple shallow faced 3wds that I can hit off the deck, but prefer the larger 3wd to hit off the tee.

[ET-Taylor]

I was hitting about 90% of 3W shots at the range perfect for my game i mean they all had good trajectory consistent shape and distance(carry) snow was on the range so i couldn't see how far i was hitting all of the mat not the tee i need as much distance of tee as possible because im a short hitter

[sean_miller]

I play a tall faced 3wood (Ping Rapture) right now just to hit off the tee. I rarely need to hit a 3wood into a green, on my home course I can reach any of the "reachable" par 5s with my 5wd. I do have a couple shallow faced 3wds that I can hit off the deck, but prefer the larger 3wd to hit off the tee.

I'm pretty sure you could go after a ball in the fairway with a PING Rapture. You could maybe make more par 5s reachable in the process.

[allin]

Allin:

I replaced my five wood and 3iron with it and added a wedge. I hit it in between 3 iron and five wood distance. I carry a 4 iron 165-170 yards and I was only carrying my 3iron 175. I carry the Fybrid about 180 and higher than a 3I, I carry a five wood about 185. It is a very good club out of the rough or bad lies, so I guess seven wood distance with extra flexibility woudl be my call.

[drumon]

Great, thanks for explaining where the FY fits in for you, sounds a useful club.

[chilly]

I'm pretty sure you could go after a ball in the fairway with a PING Rapture. You could maybe make more par 5s reachable in the process.

I have a Ping G10, and just picked up an '07 Burner 3wd, both are better off the deck. The Rapture is 225cc, it's huge (a '09 Launcher is only 180cc by comparison). I can hit it off the fairway, but it's definitely trickier then the other shallow faced clubs. On the flipside, at 14* and with the tall face, it's easy to get a good trajectory off the tee and acts as a good accurate "mini" driver.

My home course has three Par 5s, from the whites they're 490, 585, 467. A typical good drive is 270ish, so even if I hammered a drive 290, I'd be 290 out on the long par 5. If I play other courses with par 5s in the 500+ range, I agree that a shallower faced 3wd would be appropriate. I'm a 16hc so it's usually not a smart move to try to hit many greens from 240+ if there's even a hint of trouble around the green.

[sean_miller]

I have a Ping G10, and just picked up an '07 Burner 3wd, both are better off the deck. The Rapture is 225cc, it's huge (a '09 Launcher is only 180cc by comparison). I can hit it off the fairway, but it's definitely trickier then the other shallow faced clubs. On the flipside, at 14* and with the tall face, it's easy to get a good trajectory off the tee and acts as a good accurate "mini" driver.

One one hand, I see you're really in touch with what your clubs can and can't do - personally I hit my Wilson Staff Fybrid like total garbage out of the rough - another poster recommends it out of the rough.

On the other hand, actually, I agree with you. When I was a 15ish hdcp I went for the green on every par 5. I got a lot of birdies and eagles, but I got a lot of 10s and higher too (I once started a round 4, 15, 3, 12, 3 . . . WTF?). PS. I have a 10.5* PING G10 - love it!!!!

[Kujan]

I can hit my 3-wood well off the tee but hit a 40 yard push-fade off the deck. Of course this is embarrassing and unacceptable!

Here are a few things I have tried at the range to no avail:

1. Open the stance and go with it (look like a drunken sailor)
2. Close the stance (feels like my left leg is in the way).
3. Strengthen grip (lose distance).
4. Move the ball up in my stance (harder to make good contact).

After all that and hearing myself say "I wonder if they make a draw 3-wood" I have come to my senses and removed the offending club from my bag.

[jmanbooyaa]

I had issues hitting my new 5 wood, what I did was slowed my back swing and made sure I was hitting down on the ball. So far in the limited times I have done this the results have been pretty good.

[pcourtney]

two key thoughts for me to hitting my 3 wood well off the fairway are:

1) focus on a divot or grass colour variation about 3 feet in front of the ball in the direction of the target

2) then swing smoothly as though I am playing my favourite 7 iron

nb  sometimes I practise swing with my eyes closed to really feel that I'm doing this with my 3 wood)

actually all my long irons benefit from the above controlled rhythm :-)

[596]

I hate hitting a 3w off the fairway.  I don't do it, period.  Off the tee is a different story.  The hardest part of my game is getting the correct launch angle from all my clubs.  I tend to hit the ball pretty darn low, hense the Ping G10's for more launch angle and being sure I hit "up" with my 10* driver.   That said, I do practice the 3w on the range so that maybe someday I can try it on the course.  While on the range really the only thing I concentrate on is turning my hips....I have no idea why this works, but it does.  I just don't have enough confidence yet to hit it on the course.  I'll either lay up or hit the short par 5's with a 3 hybrid.  If I turn my hips and imagine hitting the ball with my hips then I get the correct launch angle and hit the ball ok.

I just ordered a custom 3 wood 2 days ago.  It'll be here on Tuesday and hopefully I can get to the range this coming week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can hit this darn thing.

As an above poster mentioned......hhhmmmmm.....practice hitting with your eyes closed.  I like that.  I might just try that with a few of my clubs just for fun.

[Deryck Griffith]

To add to what everyone has already said, my 2cents would be to search for a 3wood that has a shallow face.  Usually, a shallow face 3wood looks more "hittable" at address and aside from being easier to hit, promotes a higher sense of confidence when standing over the ball.  This should also help.

[westcyderydin]

The beautiful thing about hitting a FW is that you know when your body is moving too much in your backswing....if you stand up a little on the way back or lunge on the way down it can be hard to hit.

and i wouldnt say to hit down on it...nice sweeping swing and keep your body still besides the turn back and turn through.

i used to find it very hard to hit FWs cuz i would lunge my hips forward and would hit down on it or barely hit it...hitting a FW can be a good training tool.

[596]

My new 3w just arrived.  I had it built custom.  +1" Grafalloy ProLite Fairway stiff shaft in a Sonartec LS-99 17*,  with Lampkin midsize grip.  This thing is light.  Low profile face and 2* more loft then my current 3 wood.

I'll be heading out to the range and play 18 tomorrow.  I'll let ya know how it works.  I'm keeping my figures crossed as this is more expensive then any club I own : )

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

When you say "off the deck" you're obviously not talking about "off the deck", which is off the teebox without using a tee.

Hitting a 3-wood isn't any more difficult than hitting a long iron. It's easier than flushing a 2-iron from the fairway. Similar swing though.

Why would anyone put a 3-wood in the bag that they couldn't hit off the fairway? Seriously, why?

Honestly, I find a 3 wood exponentially more difficult than hitting my longest iron (3 iron) off the fairway ...

[596]

I find the same thing...its actually easier to hit a 4 iron then my 4 hybrid or my 3 wood.  I've been laying up on some par 5's that would be reachable if I had confidence in a 3 wood from the fairway.  Hopefully this new 3 wood will allow me to reach those par 5's.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by inthehole

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

When you say "off the deck" you're obviously not talking about "off the deck", which is off the teebox without using a tee.

Hitting a 3-wood isn't any more difficult than hitting a long iron. It's easier than flushing a 2-iron from the fairway. Similar swing though.

Why would anyone put a 3-wood in the bag that they couldn't hit off the fairway? Seriously, why?

Honestly, I find a 3 wood exponentially more difficult than hitting my longest iron (3 iron) off the fairway ...

Am I more likely to hit the green with a full 3-iron than a full 3-wood? No kidding - it's a 40 yard difference. Is it harder to make good contact with the 3-wood than a 3-iron? Not as long as I've been playing, no. Was it ever harder to hit a 3-wood? Gonna still go with "no". Maybe when I started playing (1980s) the fairway woods were easier to hit than they are now.

[Leftygolfer]

I don't think hitting the 3 wood off the deck is any more difficult than a long iron.  I can hit a sharp hook with either if I don't make the move I want on it.

The only advice I have to hitting it off the fairway is don't think about it.  Pretend its on a tee.  It doesn't take a different swing.  Your going to hit it at the low point in the swing either.  I hit mine  a little thin usually from the fairway but it works out.  Contact is not my problem when I hit a bad one.  It is that violent hook that just turned a birdie hole into I'm probably making bogie.  I don't get on a ton of par 5s in two.  But I'd much rather have 65 yards than 105 for my third as this is a shot I think I can almost always get inside of 20 feet, if not kick in range.