Best drive of my life! Keep useing the 3 wood or start practicing with a lower lofted driver?

[xlayedoutx]

I doubt it will ever happen again but I hope that I can learn to hit the club consistently to be close but on sunday July 3rd on 17, I teed off with my 3 wood like I always do (i've never been about to hit a normal driver) and hit it 280 straight down the center of the fairway. The hole plays 375 and I was 5 yards past the 100 yard marker. Everything just felt perfect on this swing from my tempo to my grip.

This was my 3rd time out in 2 weeks since I started playing again after a 6 year break. I've always used a 3 wood to drive and when I went to my local pro shop and found a 13* Diablo driver to complete my set I had to have it. Since then though I haven't really been happy with the distance. On average I've been around 220 yards with it but hardly any roll. So my local pro told me to pick up a driver and just practice with it at the range until I feel comfotable enough to have it in my bag.

I guess my question is was this a fluke and I should get a lower lofted driver if I want more Distance, or should I just learn to hit my 3 wood more consistently to get more distance. In my defense I thought 220 was going to be the most I could get from the 3 wood until I hit this drive.

[MiniBlueDragon]

I think it depends entirely on whether you need the extra distance a driver *could* give you.

Very similar to you (although nowhere near the distance!) I hit my 3w the farthest I ever have on the weekend @ 234y and immediately thought "wow, if I can hit my 3w this far then imagine how far a driver would go! Maybe I should get one."

Having thought about it though I can't justify paying out £200 on a new club to squeeze a few extra yards out of a drive unless my handicap is low enough that it becomes a requirement.

Regarding distance off the tee with a driver I think it depends on a combination of swing speed and angle of attack on the ball; just try the Diablo in different lofts and flexes and see how you get on (or if you're intent on getting one for sure go to a proper fitting where they'll give you the perfect combination for your swing)

[tx_basser]

For years I only used a 3W as my "Driver", but then found some higher lofted (12 degree) drivers that really complimented my game.  Really helps get the ball airborn, and I don't have to swing as hard to get the distance I need.

[newtogolf]

It depends on how you hit your driver.  What is your ball flight like with the driver, does it balloon or just not go as far?  The Diablo 3W is 15* so you should see equal or better distance with your driver just based on club loft.  Were you fitted for these clubs as that kind of distance with your 3w would indicate a pretty high swing speed.

[ghalfaire]

I use my 3 wood as a driver most of the time and average about 230 yards with it (yes that is with a GPS).  I only use the driver when I think I have a chance to get to a par 5 in two or if the par 4 length is 420 yards or more.  Those are not the only criteria for driver selection but unless the hole meets one of the two criteria I don't select a driver.  The trouble with my driver is keeping it in the short grass.  Manufactures have increased the length of drivers over the years and I have had mine cut down to 44 inches and that has helped a lot with accuracy and can't see where it has cost me any distance, at least distance toward the flag.  It does change the swing weight some but that is correctable if it bothers you.  But IMO the driver isn't a good club choice for me in most instances and suspect it isn't for many other golfers.  For the record I usually play the tees that that have a course length of 6000 to 6400 yards so it it rare I hit a driver more than 4 times a round and and on many courses only once or twice.

Last, my driver is a Cobra F speed (old but I like it) 9.5* with stiff shaft (mid point flex) and I average about 245 yards with it.  I use such a low loft because I hit a high ball with all my clubs.  Never have been able to hit the "Tiger Stinger" and am not a good wind player as a result.  I doubt my handicap would change if I abandoned the driver but I like hitting it, just try to not be smart in my course management.

[xlayedoutx]

I guess its not really a 3 wood then. Mine is a 13* HT. If I was to get a driver it would probably be a 10*. I guess my best bet is to go to a demo day and demo one and see if theres a big difference. Unless I run across a killer deal. LOL.

Originally Posted by newtogolf

It depends on how you hit your driver.  What is your ball flight like with the driver, does it balloon or just not go as far?  The Diablo 3W is 15* so you should see equal or better distance with your driver just based on club loft.  Were you fitted for these clubs as that kind of distance with your 3w would indicate a pretty high swing speed.

[baseballfrk8998]

You're definitely going to see a significant increase in distance with a driver.. The only problem is keeping it in the fairway. If you can keep a driver in the fairway consistently with even an 85% swing then you're probably going to be longer than your 3 wood more often than not. Not to point out the obvious, but a hole is always going to play easier the further down the fairway you are. Get a driver you hit well at a demo and hit it at the range until you are comfortable enough to put it in play on the course. Just my two cents..

[xlayedoutx]

Thats pretty much exactly what my pro shop told me. I think I might see if I can pick one up.

Originally Posted by baseballfrk8998

You're definitely going to see a significant increase in distance with a driver.. The only problem is keeping it in the fairway. If you can keep a driver in the fairway consistently with even an 85% swing then you're probably going to be longer than your 3 wood more often than not. Not to point out the obvious, but a hole is always going to play easier the further down the fairway you are. Get a driver you hit well at a demo and hit it at the range until you are comfortable enough to put it in play on the course. Just my two cents..

[JoelCochran]

I have the Diablo Octane Tour 13*.  The pro at Dick's called it a Strong-3, but I really think it is more like the old Deuce which used to be my favorite club.  I've played several rounds without the driver and I've found this is a great club off the tee.  I realized yesterday I had migrated back to using Driver all the time, so I'm going to take it out of my bag for a few rounds and retrain myself :-)

Like others have said, I can get more distance with driver but it only benefits when I'm hitting well and accuracy is high which has been uncommon recently .  Most of the time I'd be better off sticking with the 13*.  My driver is 9.5* but I get a much higher ball flight with it than the 13*.  I made the mistake of buying the driver off the rack, so I'm thinking next spring of getting fitted for a new one (would do it this year but new wedges have to come first).

[stealthduffer]

Have been using a 3 wood off the tee for years and decided this year to learn to hit the driver.  Have a 9.5 degree Nike and a 10.5 degree Hiptec (freebie from a charity event I played in). What I found was that while I can (with work) hit the driver ok I'm almost as far with my 3 wood.  In fact, I'm frequently the long drive in the group.  And accuracy/consistency is much better with the 3 wood.  In fact, I built a hybrid that is the same loft as the 3 wood (15 degrees) and end up hitting that a lot of the time - accuracy is even better.  Rarely have trouble reaching greens - my big problems come from bad tee shots so managing my risk off the tee is a priority for me.

[rlambrose]

The reason people "think" they loft their driver higher is usually because the tee up with the driver farther forward in their stand.  The club head is on the way up when it contacts the ball which actually increases the true loft of the club.  I'll bet you guys hit your 3 wood closer to the center of your stance.

[Wallstreet]

If you balloon the ball and that is why you lose distance it normally has nothing to do with the loft of the club.  One reason is exactly what rlambrose said.  And the biggest reason is the flex and kick point of your shaft.  The shaft is the most important part of a driver in regards to launch degree and distance.  You can have the "greatest" driver ever and have the wrong shaft and not hit it far. First of all a stiff shaft on an off the rack driver is normally a high end regular flex if you actually test it.  This shaft will also have a a high kick point.  When you start your downswing the shaft will flex.  If the shaft has a higher kick point the head will snap forward before it gets to the ball and it will make the ball go higher in the air.  So if you like the way your driver feels just take it to a golf shop and have the pro fit you for the shaft that is right for your swing speed and the launch angle that you want.

This is what worked for me.  I have a pretty fast swing speed, bought a driver off the rack and was skying the ball way to high and getting no roll whatsoever.  I went to Dick's and had the pro fit me with a shaft better suited for my swing speed and desired launch angle and I swear I gained an average of 30 yards extra distance.