Yardage gap between 3 & 5 woods?

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by GaryH

Both ideas strike me as good ones, Mr Desmond.  On similar lines, Mickelson carries two drivers at times, and perhaps the amateur could benefit from doing the same, in the amateur's case carrying one which is a lot more forgiving like the one you describe.  For tight fairways and/or for when you're struggling with the longer-but-less-forgiving one.  I guess people might say 'but isn't that just a strong 3W?', but the difference would be the increased head size that drivers have.

I did just that last summer - Owned 2 TM Superfast 2.0 Drivers - one was 10.5, the other was 13 degrees. I was accurate with both, but used the 13 degree about twice as much. I did not care for a 46.5 inch length shaft and gripped down on every shot. But they were accurate.

But then, my club guy put an Adams 9088UL 12.5 in my hand. He had installed a Fuji Blur 55 at 45 inches and added some melt into the head for swing weight. I swung the Adams and TM - and added 5 mph swinging the Adams with the shorter shaft! I guess Adams aerodynamics do work.

But the shaft did make a difference. That's not the point of the story - the point is carrying two drivers can work.

[Lost-Ball]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

I did just that last summer - Owned 2 TM Superfast 2.0 Drivers - one was 10.5, the other was 13 degrees. I was accurate with both, but used the 13 degree about twice as much. I did not care for a 46.5 inch length shaft and gripped down on every shot. But they were accurate.

But then, my club guy put an Adams 9088UL 12.5 in my hand. He had installed a Fuji Blur 55 at 45 inches and added some melt into the head for swing weight. I swung the Adams and TM - and added 5 mph swinging the Adams with the shorter shaft! I guess Adams aerodynamics do work.

But the shaft did make a difference. That's not the point of the story - the point is carrying two drivers can work.

until i traded for a RBZ driver i had an 07 Burner draw driver (10.5) and a 09 Burner driver (9.5). the 07 was very high and always used when a draw was needed. very easy to hit too. the 09 was a slice club for me at first but once i got use to it i loved it. was boring flight, long, and dead straight 80% of the time. i always could play a nice cut on command with it. the RBZ is longer for sure and easy to hit straight but im still trying to get used to working the ball on command without adjusting the head every other hole.

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by GaryH

From my vantage point at the range i find it difficult to see the exact differences between the longer clubs.

G,

this is something for all of us to think about. One problem can be tee box elevation. My regular course has a practice range that goes downhill, and the nearby driving range has the tee area on a berm about 7 feet above the "fairway."

So, how high I was hitting my old 3W was a bit deceiving - it wasn't going as high as I thought.  On one short uphill par 5, I've had good drives in the past and then hit a solid 3W that didn't get up enough and clipped the top of the hill. One time the 3W ricocheted 45* left into a fairway bunker and my birdie bid quickly spiraled into a bogie.

Recent demo day: The driving range had the teeing area about a foot above the "fairway" - just enough for drainage, and gave a more realistic view of how high I hit things. Very useful in selecting the loft for the new driver I got that day.

My new 4W gets the ball up better than the 3W.

Old info: Golf Digest had a brief a couple years ago which said the average golfer hits a 4W much better than a 3W.

[GreenFlag]

15s and 19 respectively. FWIW, I am getting rid of my 5W for a 3h. The shaft on the 5W is too whippy. I hit my 3w far more consistently.