Should Slower Swingers Hit 3W Instead of Driver?

[stealthhwk]

Hope this is in the right place, but here it goes. I read an article supposedly from a pga professional where he spoke about distance from the tee, he had what to me, was some rather radical ideas. He states that slower swingers really benefit from more loft off the tee more than your faster swingers. He said its so dramatic, that many players should not hit driver off the tee but a three wood or hybrid from the tee because the slower swinger will actually hit those clubs slightly further than a driver. I have often been told Im a slower swinger and while Ive gotten lucky and hit a few 260 yard drives ive dropped another ball plenty of times just to see what happened and hit my three wood a few yards further and usually straighter. Whats your take? Is this guy crazy? Can I really possibly hit my three wood further on AVERAGE or is this just total nonsense and my very limited experience a fluke?

[saevel25]

7 minutes ago, stealthhwk said:

He said its so dramatic, that many players should not hit driver off the tee but a three wood or hybrid from the tee because the slower swinger will actually hit those clubs slightly further than a driver. 

Slower swing speeds can't produce the amount of backspin required to keep the ball in the air long enough. That is why more and more people are getting fitted for higher lofted drivers today with the lower spin designs. 

It use to be PGA tour players required 4-7 degree drivers. Now they are hitting 9-11 degree drivers. 

Amateurs should really be looking at 12-14 degree drivers if you swing slower. 

The issue with using the 3-wood is that the sweet spot is much lower. So your more likely to lose ball speed on average from mis-hits. 

I say get fitted for a driver before ditching it for a 3-wood. 

[stealthhwk]

1 minute ago, saevel25 said:

Slower swing speeds can't produce the amount of backspin required to keep the ball in the air long enough. That is why more and more people are getting fitted for higher lofted drivers today with the lower spin designs. 

It use to be PGA tour players required 4-7 degree drivers. Now they are hitting 9-11 degree drivers. 

Amateurs should really be looking at 12-14 degree drivers if you swing slower. 

The issue with using the 3-wood is that the sweet spot is much lower. So your more likely to lose ball speed on average from mis-hits. 

I say get fitted for a driver before ditching it for a 3-wood. 

So glad to hear u say that. Ive struggled with low ball flight esp with driver. Bought a callaway xr and set it to 12.5 degrees loft. Seems to be helping but only have two rounds under my belt so far so I still havnt figured out my average distances with it just yet. Thanks for the reply

[Golfingdad]

13 minutes ago, stealthhwk said:

Hope this is in the right place, but here it goes. I read an article supposedly from a pga professional where he spoke about distance from the tee, he had what to me, was some rather radical ideas. He states that slower swingers really benefit from more loft off the tee more than your faster swingers. He said its so dramatic, that many players should not hit driver off the tee but a three wood or hybrid from the tee because the slower swinger will actually hit those clubs slightly further than a driver. I have often been told Im a slower swinger and while Ive gotten lucky and hit a few 260 yard drives ive dropped another ball plenty of times just to see what happened and hit my three wood a few yards further and usually straighter. Whats your take? Is this guy crazy? Can I really possibly hit my three wood further on AVERAGE or is this just total nonsense and my very limited experience a fluke?

Off topic here but, dude ... you gotta work on those thread titles.  The one earlier today didn't mean anything either until it got changed by a mod.

Make people interested and want to come read what you have to say. 

To answer your question though ... its "for real."

[pumaAttack]

3 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

Off topic here but, dude ... you gotta work on those thread titles.  The one earlier today didn't mean anything either until it got changed by a mod.

Make people interested and want to come read what you have to say. 

To answer your question though ... its "for real."

Or is it "bs"??

;)

[Golfingdad]

Just now, pumaAttack said:

Or is it "bs"??

;)

Good point.  It very well could be.  What was the question again?

[Patch]

 I say"for real". Imho most amateurs would be better off using a 2 wood.

[b101]

Both yes and no for me. Yes to them needing more loft (on the driver in particular - pretty much everyone does!), but if you hit both right, there's no way the hybrid or 3 wood are going further than the driver. The other suggestion I'd add would be to shorten the shaft on the driver to give you a bit more control. 

[billchao]

3 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Good point.  It very well could be.  What was the question again?

Umm it's explicitly stated right in the title...

[Mr. Desmond]

Hit a driver no more than 45 inches, grip down on it, maybe put a 20g counterweight in it for better dispersion, and loft up to 12.5-13.5 of loft, get a 42g shaft, get a head that is lite weight and not low spin. Hit driver.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Mr. Desmond

[stealthhwk]

3 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Off topic here but, dude ... you gotta work on those thread titles.  The one earlier today didn't mean anything either until it got changed by a mod.

Make people interested and want to come read what you have to say. 

To answer your question though ... its "for real."

LOL!!! I was gonna go with free beer, but didnt want to carsh the server. Im sorry my titles suck so badly. Too many years at my current job may be killing off brain cells. Any suggestions for a better title or if a moderator could hook it up, it wouldnt bother me any. Forgive the noob. 

[Lihu]

5 hours ago, stealthhwk said:

Hope this is in the right place, but here it goes. I read an article supposedly from a pga professional where he spoke about distance from the tee, he had what to me, was some rather radical ideas. He states that slower swingers really benefit from more loft off the tee more than your faster swingers. He said its so dramatic, that many players should not hit driver off the tee but a three wood or hybrid from the tee because the slower swinger will actually hit those clubs slightly further than a driver. I have often been told Im a slower swinger and while Ive gotten lucky and hit a few 260 yard drives ive dropped another ball plenty of times just to see what happened and hit my three wood a few yards further and usually straighter. Whats your take? Is this guy crazy? Can I really possibly hit my three wood further on AVERAGE or is this just total nonsense and my very limited experience a fluke?

A properly fit driver is the best way to go. The head on a driver is larger and has a larger sweet spot than the 3W. If you hit 3W longer than your driver, then using 3W instead of driver is only a temporary fix.

Also, slow swing is also a relative term. My daughter swings a driver 85 mph and considers herself a slow swinger and my son swings 110 mph and considers himself a slow swinger. It's all relative to who you are playing with.

There is not enough information in "I hit 260 sometimes on a lucky hit". So, there's not much we can state one way or another to answer your question.

[stealthhwk]

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

A properly fit driver is the best way to go. The head on a driver is larger and has a larger sweet spot than the 3W. If you hit 3W longer than your driver, then using 3W instead of driver is only a temporary fix.

Also, slow swing is also a relative term. My daughter swings a driver 85 mph and considers herself a slow swinger and my son swings 110 mph and considers himself a slow swinger. It's all relative to who you are playing with.

There is not enough information in "I hit 260 sometimes on a lucky hit". So, there's not much we can state one way or another to answer your question.

I just feel more confident in the hang time of my three wood and driver. The ball just seems to stay in the air longer. I just dont have numbers to back it up. Even with the higher loft driver it seems like the ball doesnt stay airborne for long. And while I understand it has a bigger sweet spot, Im just not as consistant with my three wood. Maybe thats because I know exactly where the sweet spot is. These 460cc drivers may be more forgiving but I just feel like I never hit it in the sweet spot cus I cant find it. 

[Lihu]

43 minutes ago, stealthhwk said:

I just feel more confident in the hang time of my three wood and driver. The ball just seems to stay in the air longer. I just dont have numbers to back it up. Even with the higher loft driver it seems like the ball doesnt stay airborne for long. And while I understand it has a bigger sweet spot, Im just not as consistant with my three wood. Maybe thats because I know exactly where the sweet spot is. These 460cc drivers may be more forgiving but I just feel like I never hit it in the sweet spot cus I cant find it. 

Possibly a contact issue? If you don't make good (also a relative term) contact on either club the higher loft will work better, but I'm confident that this is only a temporary condition until your swing gets better.

[bm85]

27 minutes ago, stealthhwk said:

I just feel more confident in the hang time of my three wood and driver. The ball just seems to stay in the air longer. I just dont have numbers to back it up. Even with the higher loft driver it seems like the ball doesnt stay airborne for long. And while I understand it has a bigger sweet spot, Im just not as consistant with my three wood. Maybe thats because I know exactly where the sweet spot is. These 460cc drivers may be more forgiving but I just feel like I never hit it in the sweet spot cus I cant find it. 

Hit whatever club you feel is best for you at the moment, of course.

Just keep working on your swing, and the driver will reveal its worthiness. At least I hope so. I've hit some nice shots with a 3w in my time playing, but nothing compares to the ball flight of a big, gnarly drive.

[b101]

2 hours ago, stealthhwk said:

I just feel more confident in the hang time of my three wood and driver. The ball just seems to stay in the air longer. I just dont have numbers to back it up. Even with the higher loft driver it seems like the ball doesnt stay airborne for long. And while I understand it has a bigger sweet spot, Im just not as consistant with my three wood. Maybe thats because I know exactly where the sweet spot is. These 460cc drivers may be more forgiving but I just feel like I never hit it in the sweet spot cus I cant find it. 

Based on your handicap (I mean no offense by this, it's just a tendency and I do exactly the same), I bet you're still hitting down on the driver rather than up and de-lofting it further. Do you have a video of your swing or a My Swing thread? The driver should be more forgiving than the three wood, but because you swing it faster, it will impart more sidespin if you cut across it, which may be the issue. 

[Buckeyebowman]

9 hours ago, b101 said:

Both yes and no for me. Yes to them needing more loft (on the driver in particular - pretty much everyone does!), but if you hit both right, there's no way the hybrid or 3 wood are going further than the driver. The other suggestion I'd add would be to shorten the shaft on the driver to give you a bit more control. 

BAZINGA!!! I recently sold a buddy an old driver that I had retired. He was one of those guys who claimed he "could not" hit a driver, only 3 wood. And he hit those very nicely. I'm thinking, "What the Hell! It's the same swing!" Turns out it was a "mental" thing. He just didn't like the "cantaloupe on a broomstick" look of so many of the modern drivers.

So I looked around in my old club stash, and came up with a Cleveland Launcher Comp that I had retired years ago. It's a 460cc head, but it doesn't look all that large because the face is pretty deep. Plus, when I re-gripped it I cut an inch off the shaft. Also, what I discovered when I took the grip off, that it was a Fujikura shaft! Don't know why they didn't advertise that fact, other than maybe Fujikura didn't quite have the reputation it does now when Cleveland contracted them to make shafts for these drivers.

Anyway, shortening a shaft will stiffen it. It was an R according to Fujikura. Also it will lighten the swingweight. So I added a little lead tape to the head to bring the swingweight back to where it was. I didn't figure a little stiffer shaft would bother my buddy since he generates more clubhead speed than I do.

I handed it to him before one of our first rounds this year and told him to try it out. Next thing I know he's flat killing it right down the pipe! He's as happy as pig in slop!

This may have been a happy accident, but it points out the fact that you need to find a driver that works for you.

Edited April 7, 2016 by Buckeyebowman

[b101]

58 minutes ago, Buckeyebowman said:

So I looked around in my old club stash, and came up with a Cleveland Launcher Comp that I had retired years ago. It's a 460cc head, but it doesn't look all that large because the face is pretty deep. Plus, when I re-gripped it I cut an inch off the shaft.

Perfect! The thought of going back to the stock, whippy 46" shaft in my X2 Hot driver scares the bejeebies out of me...