I need to remove one of three clubs or add one....give me your 2 cents on which club to ditch/add

[Valleygolfer]

I have a dilemma right now in my bag. I need to get rid of a club. I had planned to get a 15° 3 wood to replace the 17° 4 wood and the 13.5° 3 wood in my bag. After sorting out the distance of my 4 wood which is 240-245 yards off the deck, I am considering just pulling the 3 wood and going from there. I have reached quite a few par 5's in two with that 3 wood and love it dearly but I also love the 4 wood. I am going to try to pick up a 15° just like them anyway at some point. I would like different views on why you would keep or ditch a club to help me decide. Plus it is fun to speculate the scenarios.

TIA

[Hammer 4]

I tried to vote, but I need more info. Which club do you play the least, or which one do you hate..?

[MS256]

Would have to know the yardage gaps between your 13.5*, your 17*, and whatever is the next club. Also would have to know how many clubs you carry to know whether you would drop a wedge or a fairway wood. Most people now are only carrying one fairway wood and a hybrid or two. I currently have 15* and 18* fairway woods. If I want to carry my 60* wedge I have to take the 18* out of the bag. (I usually end up leaving out the 60*). If I get a stronger 3W (which I'm considering) I will put the 18* in the closet until I'm no longer good enough to hit the stronger 3W. Edit: Disregard the gaps. When I clicked the link I didn't see the poll above that showed them. As you are isn't bad. Exchanging the 13.5* for a 15* isn't bad. Wouldn't pull the 3I. Gaps at the lower end are more important than gaps at the higher end and pulling the 3I would be a can of worms I wouldn't see a need for (unless you can't hit it).

[Valleygolfer]

I tried to vote, but I need more info. Which club do you play the least, or which one do you hate..?

I really like all of them. There is not one that I hate. I need to figure out a middle ground on a club change. One has to go or two and another added.

[jmanbooyaa]

How a player hits a clubs or clubs should be the deciding factor not necessarily 14 clubs or gaps in between. Remove the ones that always cause you grief.

[Valleygolfer]

How a player hits a clubs or clubs should be the deciding factor not necessarily 14 clubs or gaps in between. Remove the ones that always cause you grief.

So pull the driver?

[jmanbooyaa]

You may be onto something Valley. If you hit your 4 wood or 3 hybrid center cut each time but knock your driver 30 yards off the fairway each time why not leave it out of the bag. You know you will pull it every chance you can on the course. If it is out of the bag you can't.

[Valleygolfer]

As much as the driver gives me grief, I do not want to pull it. I have been hitting it decent lately so I want to keep it. I basically need to sort out the middle ground from 265 to 230 area.

[MS256]

I can't imagine losing very many (if any) strokes because of too much gap from 230 to 265. Not exactly "scoring range" for anybody.

[Valleygolfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valleygolfer

As much as the driver gives me grief, I do not want to pull it. I have been hitting it decent lately so I want to keep it. I basically need to sort out the middle ground from 265 to 230 area.

I can't imagine losing very many (if any) strokes because of too much gap from 230 to 265. Not exactly "scoring range" for anybody.

So I guess I am wondering if I should keep the 4 or go with a soft 3? Or does it really matter.

[LuciusWooding]

Ditch the strong 3 or bring it as a replacement for a driver. An 11 handicap shouldn't be worried about 220+ as much, having one extra club won't make you great from that distance. Hitting 15˚ from the tee should give you a good solid range and carry farther. Carry yardage is better for that part of the set and it's very rare to carry a 13˚ farther off the deck. The situations you'd need more than a 3 wood off the deck must be very rare.

[Valleygolfer]

Ditch the strong 3 or bring it as a replacement for a driver. An 11 handicap shouldn't be worried about 220+ as much, having one extra club won't make you great from that distance. Hitting 15˚ from the tee should give you a good solid range and carry farther. Carry yardage is better for that part of the set and it's very rare to carry a 13˚ farther off the deck. The situations you'd need more than a 3 wood off the deck must be very rare.

Usually the 3 comes in handy on par 5's with lack luster drives or really long par 5's.

[MS256]

I used to carry a 13* fairway wood. Made some eagles with that club that I wouldn't be able to make with my current 3W. Also made some double and triple bogeys with that club that I probably wouldn't make with my current 3W. If you like having the option of going for the green at 265 then keep it. If you ditch the 4W for a 15* it will help with the gap between the fairway woods but will make a bigger gap between the fairway wood and the 3 iron (which in my opinion is a much more important gap). I think you should be able to play just fine with your bag as it is. On those occasions (that surely aren't common) that you have a 250 yard shot just take something off of the strong 3. At those distances most of us are just hoping to get somewhere around the green anyway.

[LuciusWooding]

Usually the 3 comes in handy on par 5's with lack luster drives or really long par 5's.

Well IMO one can do the job of both; pick either the 13 or 15 for your longest club off the deck. That's how I'd do it though, personally I don't find the strong 3 gains many strokes unless you're hitting greens with it. If you're out to make eagles as often as possible it can help in some cases but probably lower scoring in the long run to go with the 15. And if you don't hit the 13 off the tee much then it pretty much only gets used on long par 5s. Maybe it'll give you incentive to add yards to your drives .

[Valleygolfer]

@MS256 Using the 3 wood, I would not say I have put together any eagles but some attempts and plenty of close eagle chips resulting in birdies. I am with you on the gap between 3 iron and wood component. @LuciusWooding You are right, the 3 wood is probably one of my least used clubs but I guess I have a love for it.

[Valleygolfer]

So I found a 3 wood on ebay last night for a song. I will have a choice of a 17, 15.5 or 14 fairway woods depending on the golf course so instead of taking one out I just will rotate as needed.

[Mulligan Jeff]

A strong 3 wood or long iron is typically used by aower handicap player, go with something easier to hit.

[Valleygolfer]

A strong 3 wood or long iron is typically used by aower handicap player, go with something easier to hit.

I don't have a problem hitting either one. I have probably hit some of my best shots with the strong three wood.