3wood or driver off the tee for accuracy?

[Grazer]

I was wondering after shooting a 77 after losing two balls in the rough from driving, does teeing off with a 3 wood greatly improve your guys' accuracy if any improvement at all? just wondering, id really like to know your guys' opinions on this one.
Thx

[lamebums]

I was wondering after shooting a 77 after losing two balls in the rough from driving, does teeing off with a 3 wood greatly improve your guys' accuracy if any improvement at all? just wondering, id really like to know your guys' opinions on this one.

If you want an especially accurate drive, tee it low and swing at 3/4 power, but make a full swing. This will minimize unwanted sidespin on the ball, and thus will travel straighter. You'll lose 10 percent in distance, but you'll hit more fairways.

Although a 3 wood's loft is supposed to make straighter flight easier, it won't help if you make contact all over the clubface with your tee shots - the 3 wood's comparatively tiny sweet spot and club face will make it a much lower percentage shot. Personally, I never tee up with a 3 wood unless a special situation prevents me from hitting driver - i.e. a lake 260 yards out - because of the much smaller clubface. It makes your shot that much more prone to hitting a topper, a sky ball, or hitting off the extreme toe or heel. I'll hit driver because you can make an off-center hit and still get the ball out there, but with a 3 wood, the chances of a severe mishit are - alas! - too many.

[Fourputt]

A 3W will definitely reduce the chance of an errant tee shot, but it will also leave you with longer approaches. What you have to do is manage your game... use the shorter club when it's indicated by the course and conditions.

I don't carry a 3W because I can hit the driver off the deck as well as I hit a 3W, but I also hit the driver as accurately as I do any other club. That gives me room for something else in my bag. I still don't use the driver on every hole where it might be possible. On some holes, the penalty is too great for taking the chance of having a shorter approach. I've found that on some holes hitting my 5W or even a 4 or 5 hybrid makes better sense.

The real key isn't simply hitting the 3W instead of the driver, it's having the good judgment to recognize and use whatever club the course and the playing conditions require on a given day. The game of golf is 75% mental, and a lot of that starts with good decision making, and that means course management. One of the best ways to train yourself is to play some practice rounds, and just carry half your clubs (I play a lot of 9 hole rounds with just 8 clubs). That forces you to make decisions on club and shot selection, and that training will carry over to the course when you go back to playing with all 14 clubs.

[niblick]

I'm more consistent off the tee with my 3W. My old driver wasn't well fitted to me, which might have been a factor in that. We'll see if the new one makes a difference. I frequently play rounds where I only hit driver once or twice. If it's a short course, I'll sometimes not hit it at all. I can hit a hard draw and get 240 out of my 3W, so if the hole is 350 or less I'm not really giving anything up by not hitting driver. I'd rather hit pitching wedge from the fairway than sand wedge from the rough.

[Ogg]

I use 3 wood most of the time. The course I play is only about 6150-6200 yards long so no need for much more. I think it helps tremendously with accuracy.

[golf-instructionz]

I find my driver works better than my 3 wood, but then again I seldom practise with my 3 wood. Obviously my body slots itself to right postion each time I practise with a driver, Irons or putter. Without consistent practise with my 3wood, I reckon my body just can't figure out the proper stand & posture. I try to tee off with 3 wood couple of time (after a bad driver teeoff), thinking it will give accuracy.... I pay dearly for it, worse than my driver.

geoff
golf-instructionz.com

[$2 Nassau]

As a 2 index, I'm sure you hit your driver well enough to use it when you see fit. I guess, for a player of your caliber, you would have to ask yourself: "is the distance I'm going to lose with 3 wood worth it? Is hitting my 2nd shot from 170 yards in the fairway better than hitting it from 130 yards in the rough?" I'm also guessing losing balls isn't the norm for you so your round the other day was probably more of an exception to your normal play. (again, just guessing).

Personally, accuracy with my driver and 3 wood is about the same. The huge faces on these drivers these days make the driver a more viable option for more "mediocre" ball strikers I think.

[i-Guy]

I was wondering after shooting a 77 after losing two balls in the rough from driving, does teeing off with a 3 wood greatly improve your guys' accuracy if any improvement at all? just wondering, id really like to know your guys' opinions on this one.Thx

This is not an easy decision as I think it comes down to which club you are more confident with. I have seen people that hit their driver great and cannot keep their 3 wood in play and I have seen the complete opposite. Actually I will throw a little twist into the discussion because if I struggle with the Driver I apply the following rule for scoring (if a practice round I ignore this):

1) Hit the driver on the next two holes that require a driver and if I hit it bad 2) Put the driver away and for the next two holes hit my 3 wood and if I hit it bad 3) Hit my 20 degree Hybrid (see signature) the rest of the round regardless. You see right now in my game my hybrid is the club that I have the most confidence with off the tee. I rather hit my Driver or 3 wood if I am swinging well but if not I put them away and hit the hybrid. Again this would be a round I am trying to post a score. I admit that I need to spend more time on the range with my Driver and 3 wood but it has been a progression thing as I am working myself back into the game. 3 months ago the answer would have been my 4 iron. So slowly but surely I will gain the confidence I need to hit my driver more

[Grazer]

thx for the posts guys, ill have to see how the 3 wood works out next weekend

[phicar2]

Personally I don't seem to have better accuracy with my 3 wood - I choose based on distance. If longer brings more trouble into play then I go with 3 wood. That said, i haven't counted fairways hit so maybe I am more accurate with one or the other...

[Cincigolfer]

Here lately I have been teeing off with the 3 wood. I can crush the driver but I have no control where it lands. I know I'm alot shorter with the three wood but I'm happier to hit 170 off the fairway rather than 135 from the rough, sand, wherever.

[powerhitter]

As my name indicates I favor the power shot over the accuracy shot, but if it can not be helped I will shorten my driver swing and drop one in the middle of the fairway. There are only 2 instances in which I will use the 3 wood ever, I want to reach the green and im 260+ yards away, or there is some hazard in front of me that my shortened driver swing can not clear. That is assuming that we are still trying to maintain accuracy.

[Free Ballin]

i use to always hit my three wood off the tee it was like money in the bank. I got a new driver three months ago, and since then i haven't been hitting my 3 very little. I did pull it out yesterday for one shot and hit a super slice into the woods. oh well, I will have to take the good with the bad.

I guess it just depends what you become comfortable with.

[Robiola the Monster]

This is not an easy decision as I think it comes down to which club you are more confident with. I have seen people that hit their driver great and cannot keep their 3 wood in play and I have seen the complete opposite. Actually I will throw a little twist into the discussion because if I struggle with the Driver I apply the following rule for scoring (if a practice round I ignore this):

Yer, it does come down to what you feel confident with. I dont hit my 3-wood i have no need, on a couple of short, tight par fours i hit 3 iron and some of my mates will bring out the driver and try to go over the trees. Every now and then they hit the green but its risky, but if you can hit your driver good keep hitting it and if you cant just go to the range & practice until you can hit it. Look at tiger woods he cant hit his driver and he's the best player in the world at the moment. In the end it comes down to consistency, preference & what gets the best result i reckon.

As a 2 index, I'm sure you hit your driver well enough to use it when you see fit. I guess, for a player of your caliber, you would have to ask yourself: "is the distance I'm going to lose with 3 wood worth it? Is hitting my 2nd shot from 170 yards in the fairway better than hitting it from 130 yards in the rough?" I'm also guessing losing balls isn't the norm for you so your round the other day was probably more of an exception to your normal play. (again, just guessing).

True the big heads do help alot of people & if they only have a small 3-wood they might not feel comfortable with there 3-wood. To the statement about the distance 130 or 170 youve also got to think about the lie you could get in the rough. Say you are 170 out in the rough hitting whatever you hit from 170 & then from 130 with a bad lie in the rough you might just have to get a wedge out a "chop it out".

So theres heaps of things to be considered