Explain it to me.....

[Saig55]

I hit my G2 3 wood about 215.(14 degree) I hit my G2 5 wood about 210.(17 degree) This makes no sense to me whatsoever that I hit a 5 wood that far. Or why don't I hit the 3 wood farther? My drives are normally 225 to 235 with a 10.5 loft Burner.
I just don't get it.

Disclaimers: These distances are guestimates and may be + or - 5 yds. This is also using the golf course yardage markers which may be off + or - 10 yds.

[double_j]

I hit my G2 3 wood about 215.(14 degree) I hit my G2 5 wood about 210.(17 degree) This makes no sense to me whatsoever that I hit a 5 wood that far. Or why don't I hit the 3 wood farther? My drives are normally 225 to 235 with a 10.5 loft Burner.

Could be a number of factors but they all point to the fact that you just don't make as solid contact with your 3W and driver as you do with your 5 wood. Everybody has a money club - yours could be that 5 wood. Generally the longer the club, the harder it is to consistently make good contact.

[ComebacKid]

do you make a swing that may be delofting your club head with your five wood? that would cause it to go farther. or maybe you feel more comfortable with your five wood and are just making a better swing with it or swing harder?

[Where's the Cart Girl?]

I would tend to agree with the sweet spot theory.. odds are your 5W is a little shorter, and it's easier to hit flush.

Besides that, I mean, iron lofts only change by 3-4* per club.. and most people only have 8-10 yards between their irons. (That's just an observation by me, I have no empirical data to support that.)

You could likely do the physics calculations for what you should expect from 3 degrees lower launch angle and the clubhead speed (angular velocity) of a club that's an inch longer and I would imagine it would support the fact that you shouldn't expect that much different of results than you're seeing.

My distances gaps are very similar to yours with similar clubs and I know that I flush my 5W more often than I do my 3W.

[moparman426]

I have the same issue with my irons. I can hit the 3 and 4 fairly straight, but I easily get more distance with the 5. It seems to me that the lower the loft, the harder I try to swing the club. I know it is supposed to carry further, so I believe I subconsciously tell myself to try and smack the crap out of it so it does go further.

[denver_nuggs_15]

I hit my G2 3 wood about 215.(14 degree) I hit my G2 5 wood about 210.(17 degree) This makes no sense to me whatsoever that I hit a 5 wood that far. Or why don't I hit the 3 wood farther? My drives are normally 225 to 235 with a 10.5 loft Burner.

So you could actually hit your 3W 220 and your 5W 205, right? I'd suggest trying to get more precise yardages at a range, on a monitor, or during a practice round to determine how far they actually go on good hits (not great, but acceptable hits). If you really only do have a 5 yard gap between your 3 and 5 woods, it could be a number of things. I'm not going to repeat what others have said before me, but I remember reading that golfers with slower swing speeds experience yardage dilemmas like you've described. It's most common in longer irons, but the theory is that with a slower swing speed, you're not getting optimal launch from certain lower lofted clubs. (It's the reason why most of us can't hit a 1-iron; we simply can't swing fast enough for the loft). Whatever the reason is for the lack of distance in the 3W, I'd suggest dropping it or the 5W since they cover 2 very similar distances.

P.S. - Hit both off the tee to see the yardage difference. It might have something to do with hitting it off the fairway.

[Saig55]

I do hit the 5 wood higher. And just maybe it is my best club to hit. I got a Dicks Sporting Goods gift certificate for my birthday and just might spend it on the launch simulator. It's funny the things you start to notice when you play better golf.

Thanks for the reply's.

[goblue107501]

All of the above could be factors. My initial though is that the 5-wood might travel higher thus getting a little more carry--especially off the fairway. The higher lofted clubs are just a little easier to hit square. Shaft length and the ease of hitting a shorter shaft could also contribute.

[drglew]

A lot of amateurs (myself certainly included) don't have the clubhead speed to hit a 3W high enough off the deck; so unless you're playing on a REALLY dry course it's unlikely the roll will compensate for the lower trajectory and shorter "hang-time", thus not much distance change from your 5W. That's why some magazines advocate ditching the 3W for a 4W (which i did, as the 3W was worm-burner city for me).

I'm actually considering ditching my 4W and replacing it with a 19.5* hybrid; on the range i hit them the exact same distance, and the hybrid was a lot more consistent for me.

[mrmiller8]

I do the same with my driver and 3 wood. 3 wood is 230-235 and driver is only 240-250. I make a better contact with my 3 wood, that simple. When i do make really good contact with my driver which is once every 10 shots it feels like i can put it somewhere in between 270-290.

[allin]

Before hybrids I carried a 4 wood and 7wood for this very reason to allow me to add an extra wedge. Now I have an extra 1/2 inch on my 4 hybrid, carry a 19.5 hybrid and four wedges. Whatever club combination gives you the right gaps and shot capability is all that matters. Some pros carry both a strong 13 degree 3wood and 17 4wood, some carry a five wood and a hybrid that they carry a similar distance, one club is better out of the rough or in the wind etc. Try to figure out what shots you need to hit and match your clubs chocies and gaps to your preferences.

[JWL1957]

The 5 wood probably puts you on a comfortable swing plane and you end up flushing it more often.

[jetsknicks1]

I think it's just what you like to hit & what you feel comfortable with. I love my 5W and will hit it every chance I get. Everybody has that one club that you just have confidence hitting, no matter what the situation.

[VMAN]

I agree with most of the posts regarding hitting the ball better with your 5 w. Off the fairway I rarely used my 3w because I could get better (more consistent) yardage with my 5 w. I ended up dropping them both and going with a 17* 4 wood which is great off the tee and fairway and down to 3h 4i....
Let's me carry an extra wedge, which I hit much more often than either of the 3,5,or 4wood.