Recommend a 3-wood

[Norm66]

I currently hit my POS Ram 3-wood between 170 & 180 yards off the tee. I'm not accurate enough yet to even bother with a driver. Now I'm looking to upgrade to a decent name-brand 3-wood to replace my cheapy one. I will very soon be fitted for a new set of irons so I'll have a grasp on my club head speed and know what kind of shaft to get. But I'm open to suggestions as to what clubs to consider.

I'll be trying to buy used, possibly from eBay so obviously the latest & greatest are right out. I don't have a problem buying a club that's got a few seasons on it. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Norm

[aquacooled]

Really all the different companys make good products.. what I would advise is to try as many as possible to see what works best for you and your swing..

However as you can see I really like TM..

[Johnnyallthetime]

i tried a bunch of gold digest recommendations and the callaway x was the best for me. it's my money club when i'm not finding fairways with my driver and for narrow fairways. i'm thinking about getting a softer tipped shaft to improve hitting it off the deck, but off the tee, it feels like butter. the other club i was considering was the sasquatch. ball flight was a little too high for me so i went with the x fairway.

[ipark1303]

I would use the same brand of your driver, but most important the same shaft

[seppo]

Do you have to pay money for the "Iron custom fit" you soon will get? If yes save it I got a custom fit when i had Hcp. 30 and it was a waste of money and time!

I was charged 50€ just to get told:

Take the Srixon i506, + 1 inch and 4° upright and the nippon shaft. Sounded good at first but i didnt buy these irons i just took some lessons and got fitted 3 months later again. This time from my pro who didnt want anything for it.

Now i am playing Mizunos MP60 a harder shaft + 1 inch and only 2° upright because my shaft plane got much better. As you can see a big diffrence between both recommendations!

The same is true for a 3 wood, just get fitted for one when you have improved. Especially for woods you need a consistent swing because they are so long and rotate easy in and out of their optimal position.

But if you want to buy one right now i would just go to a shop with a driving range near by, take a lot of their woods and hit about 10-20 balls with each, it gives you a good feeling and you will probably find one that you like.

And to give you a brand you could look for, i like the Cobras and the Titleist PT, but they are to expensive for me right now and i am not good enough

[gas_can]

I would use the same brand of your driver, but most important the same shaft

ipark1303,

This is not at all true, many players, even the best in the world often need a softer tipped shaft in their fairway woods to help get the ball in the air and gain some stopping power on the greens. Not only that, many players prefer a heavier weight in their fairway woods for greater accuracy and control. Next tour event you watch, take a look at the shaft differences between driver shafts and fairway wood shafts in most players bags.

Do you have to pay money for the "Iron custom fit" you soon will get? If yes save it

Seppo, Everyone these days wants something for free, and often times you only get what you pay for. Sounds like the fitter got pretty close the first time, length is the biggest issue since that is the most expensive to change. A 2 degree change in lie angle is not much at all, lie angle only affects about 1/3 of the clubs in your bag, putter - seven iron. PGA pros get education in rudimentary clubfitting, but they are by no means experts, just the same way I have a grounding in most of the swing theories, but I am no way a true instructor. A fitters job is to get your equipment to fit you at the moment of visit. We are not clairvoyant, nor are we here to donate our learned experience and costly equipment to every other guy who comes into the shop. Since it is your money, it is also your onus to explain to a fitter what your intentions are and what you want out of a fitting, caveat emptor as always! Were someone to come to me and say I plan on changing my swing tomorrow, fit me today, I'd have the good conscience to say come back and see me when you're comfortable with your swing changes. However, there are less ethical clubfitters out there just like there are in other professions. If you care about golf, you should get your irons and wedges checked for loft and lie at least once a year. Everyone's swing changes from day to day, whether your name is Tiger Woods or Joe 36 Handicap. Think about how many shafts Tiger has been through in his driver in 2006. Again, everyone has room for improvement whether your name is Tiger or Joe 36 handicap. What a good clubfitter will be able to do is get your equipment to fit you today so you play better today. If you plan on changing your swing, wait till you are comfortable with your swing changes, but don't blame a clubfitter because you decided to change things right after seeing them.

[seppo]

You are totally right gas_can. It was my fault i wanted some new irons for my birthday so i went to the fitter first and to the pro afterwards which is the wrong way around i suppose The Pro fitted me correct i hope... He must have because i love my new irons (especially the look and feel of a well hit 3 iron )
My swing speed got measured both times: first fitting 78mph second 93mph, so i think the Dynamic Gold R200 is not that bad, a little heavier than the nippon but that is very nice with the short irons.

[Norm66]

Thanks for the replies guys. Seppo kind of nailed it about being fitted for irons. I talked to the local pro/clubfitter-builder and after watching me swing a few times he basically told me I'd be wasting my money having irons custom fitted right now. I'm still too inconsistent to make it worthwhile in his opinion. He says I just needed a better set of clubs, some lessons and more practice at this point. I thought that was cool since it was obviously going to be less money in his pocket than what I had planned to spend.

So what I wound up with was a set of Hippo clubs for an incredible deal that are light-years ahead of what I was using up to this point. They're probably low-middle of the road quality wise but a huge step up for me. I hit my average score on 9 holes yesterday using them for the first time despite some really horendous fat shots. The 3-wood seems to average about 15 yards longer than what I'm used to getting and the irons perform better even on mishits.

We also got my wife her own set of game improvement clubs, her first. Funny looking things, but her first time at the range she was getting balls up in the air with a lot more regularity than she has in the past. Hopefully having clubs that fit her will help to keep her interest up.