For the mid to high hcp'rs ... 5w vs 3w

[Kalnoky]

On 10/9/2016 at 7:37 AM, inthehole said:

Just curious if anybody else has found the same epiphany ... for us average golfers with moderate swing speeds and not alot of practice time, the 5 wood is far more reliable ...

Absolutely.. At the beginning of this season I bought a used 5-wood and it is has been a very reliable option for me. 

[shanksalot]

For years i played a 3w, but about five years ago I started using a 16* 4w. Today I am playing a 17* 5w and am having much better success. I don't hit it as far as I used to hit the 3w, but I hit it consistently further as the 3w did not always go long and many mishits were in the rough or some other trouble. I also have an 18* hybrid that is about 10 yards shorter that I go to when I absolutely have to get the ball in play. TGFH.

Edited October 10, 2016 by shanksalot

[BaconNEggs]

I dropped the 5w a few years ago in favor of a 3w and 3h combo for my longer shots. I hit the 3h about as far as a 5w. I'm pretty comfortable with the ranges those two provide. I'd be curious to hit a 2h and see how much juice I can get out of that, and wonder if it would be potentially worth replacing the 3w with. 

[WUTiger]

On 10/9/2016 at 10:51 AM, Hacker James said:

also, be aware of the "honeymoon" effect of any new club. Often the "break through" is short lived. I am not sure why, maybe because of the novelty,

I've noticed this. Sometimes it's a case that you were just swinging unusually well on demo day.

To avoid this, I always go back and get a "final fitting check" before I buy the club.

I did get my new driver at a demo day. But prior to DD, I had been swinging plenty of drivers on my own, and taking notes. The driver I bought was already on my short list.

[No Mulligans]

I don't have a 3w or a 5w, I do use a 4w though.

[Liko81]

On 10/9/2016 at 9:37 AM, inthehole said:

As a mid hcp who's struggled with consistency with the 3 wood for years (have good and bad days with the 3w .. but the occasional REALLY bad days are round killers)... this year I bought a quality 5 wood.     What a difference !!     I hit it SO much better off the deck - my average length is longer than the 3w as I hit is cleaner (that once in a blue moon 3 wood when I pure it was longer, but that was a couple times a year shot).  Off the tee I have so much more confidence with the 5 wood due to the shorter shaft.

Just curious if anybody else has found the same epiphany ... for us average golfers with moderate swing speeds and not alot of practice time, the 5 wood is far more reliable ...

Not exactly the same, but I did switch from a standard 3w loft to a 3HL (16.5*), and that 1.5* extra loft seems to have made a big difference all by itself; my shot consistency went way up and my distance increased 10 yards on average, turning my 3w from a last resort to a useful gap-filler between the driver and 4H. If I'd known about the mini driver in the same line when I was looking, I might have tried that out as well; a slightly deeper face, 16* loft, pretty much a "deck driver" in all senses of the word.

[newtogolf]

5 hours ago, natureboy said:

Had you experimented with gripping down on the 3W before you bought the cut-down one?

Yes, I grip down with my wedges and irons when required but it's not completely comfortable for me.  I typically grip the club close to the top of the grip with my right hand and I like the feel of the flair out or the grip in my hand better than when I'm gripping down and it's the same thickness.  

[Vinny Cap]

When I started, I couldn't hit the Driver anywhere but OB so I got pretty good with my 3W.  I always liked my 5W and was comfy with it from anywhere from the Tee , the fairway or the rough.  I was playing some old Callaway 2000ish Big Bertha's my friend gave me when he upgraded to TM stuff.  I liked them so much I ended up finding the 1,2,4 & 7 woods to match and now have the whole set.

I don't always game them as I have been using my Driver for the last two years and getting pretty good at it.  I always carry my 3W and will throw the 5W in the bag if I think I might need it.

I think I have only hit my 3 & 5 a handful of times this year... Hmmm, maybe they should stay at home?

My thought:  If you can't hit the driver, game the 3W while you learn to hit the D.

If you can't hit the 3W then def put the 5W into play as you will need at least 1 long club in the bag.

Keep practicing and learn all three of these clubs and they will help you a ton!

[Lihu]

On 10/9/2016 at 6:26 PM, jkelley9 said:

I seem to be doing okay with my 3w :shrug:

I understand why 3w's are tough to hit, but what I don't understand is people who claim that a 5w is drastically easier to hit. I find these people all the time. I just don't get it. 

A hypothesis I have is that people have their woods at incorrect lengths and/or stiffness. I feel like with this clubs it's more important than even the irons. 

Another hypothesis I have is that the majority of people who carry a 3w (myself included) use it as a "oh balls... I hit a crap drive and now need to make up some distance." I think most people can't handle that added tension. I'm pretty relaxed about it. But the most often miss I see with a 3w is topping it. I think folks are leaning back and wanting the ball to go "high up" in the air to carry farther. Well that's surely debilitating to a swing. I see it all the time though. 

That's more or less why I use a hybrid for long par 4s that need some form of recovery. I haven't found my 3W to be that much more reliable at getting me to a green from 240 yards away than just hitting a 220 yard shot with a hybrid then hoping for an up and down.

3W is not all that hard to hit the right distance, but because the ball goes so far and high, a tiny path error can end you up in the trees or worse. For me, it's basically just like a slightly shorter driver off the deck. Unless the lie is perfect, I don't usually take it out of the bag. It's not a reliable club for me at this point, and I just don't hit far enough that I need to use it for short par 4 off the tee. If I have a tight fairway on a short dogleg, I usually pull out a long iron or hybrid.

 

On 10/10/2016 at 7:00 AM, Hazsa said:

Interesting read. I actually have a space in my bag as I carry a Driver, 3W, then 3/4H, 5 Iron etc.

I'm pretty confident hitting my 3W off the tee and off the deck, but i'll hit the Hybrid if it's tight. I might give the 5W a try next season, but not to replace the 3W. 

Yeah, if I find myself needing a long club on a par 4 it's usually tight because I'm inside the trees. So, I'll probably hit a long iron or hybrid to "extract" myself.

 

On 10/10/2016 at 8:20 AM, natureboy said:

Had you experimented with gripping down on the 3W before you bought the cut-down one?

It's not quite the same because the club is designed to sit at a particular angle. It's possible that many people find the 5W more comfortable because it requires a more "vertical swing" than a 3W, or at least it feels more "vertical"?

 

On 10/10/2016 at 1:20 PM, newtogolf said:

Yes, I grip down with my wedges and irons when required but it's not completely comfortable for me.  I typically grip the club close to the top of the grip with my right hand and I like the feel of the flair out or the grip in my hand better than when I'm gripping down and it's the same thickness.  

Not surprising as the clubs aren't designed optimally for a gripped up swing.

 

On 10/10/2016 at 9:23 AM, BaconNEggs said:

I dropped the 5w a few years ago in favor of a 3w and 3h combo for my longer shots. I hit the 3h about as far as a 5w. I'm pretty comfortable with the ranges those two provide. I'd be curious to hit a 2h and see how much juice I can get out of that, and wonder if it would be potentially worth replacing the 3w with. 

I have this combo as well, but rarely use the 3W on the course. I use it a lot on the driving range, just for "fun" mainly.

[natureboy]

4 hours ago, Lihu said:

It's not quite the same because the club is designed to sit at a particular angle. It's possible that many people find the 5W more comfortable because it requires a more "vertical swing" than a 3W, or at least it feels more "vertical"?

Not surprising as the clubs aren't designed optimally for a gripped up swing.

Not sure I agree with these statements. When you grip down you adjust the other elements of your setup to compensate and keep the relative lie angle the same. When gripping down you wouldn't stand the same distance from the ball e.g.

[TryingtoPlay]

Interesting discussion. I am currently not carrying either a 3W or a 5W. I am carrying a 4W which is probably a bit odd but I have been playing my 3H so frequently that it hasn't been something that I have changed as of yet.

[Lihu]

3 hours ago, natureboy said:

Not sure I agree with these statements. When you grip down you adjust the other elements of your setup to compensate and keep the relative lie angle the same. When gripping down you wouldn't stand the same distance from the ball e.g.

Yeah, but it seems like that would change your swing.

[natureboy]

17 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Yeah, but it seems like that would change your swing.

Don't you attempt to make the 'same swing' with slightly different setup for a 3 iron vs. a 9 iron (assuming full swings with both)? They aren't the same length.

Edited October 12, 2016 by natureboy

[Lihu]

1 minute ago, natureboy said:

Don't you attempt to make the 'same swing' with slightly different setup for a 3 iron vs. a 9 iron (assuming full swings with both)? They aren't the same length.

The 3i just sits farther away from me at setup than my 9i, so my swing is almost exactly the same. Same for my driver. I have one swing for all my clubs, but I just move the ball closer or farther forward or back depending upon the club. Not exactly the same swing but that's only because I'm not all that good.

So, if I try to choke up on a 3W to make it like a 5W, the club will not sit in its optimal "sitting" position. It will be canted at some angle it was not designed.

[natureboy]

4 minutes ago, Lihu said:

The 3i just sits farther away from me at setup than my 9i, so my swing is almost exactly the same. Same for my driver. I have one swing for all my clubs, but I just move the ball closer or farther forward or back depending upon the club. Not exactly the same swing but that's only because I'm not all that good.

So, if I try to choke up on a 3W to make it like a 5W, the club will not sit in its optimal "sitting" position. It will be canted at some angle it was not designed.

All your clubs have identical lie angles? You don't bend over a bit more with shorter clubs?

[Lihu]

12 minutes ago, natureboy said:

All your clubs have identical lie angles? You don't bend over a bit more with shorter clubs?

This is getting off topic, but...no, I have the same swing and setup for all my clubs. The club head just sits closer to me or farther away from me and I adjust the ball position as necessary. . .

 

 

[natureboy]

4 hours ago, Lihu said:

This is getting off topic, but...no, I have the same swing and setup for all my clubs. The club head just sits closer to me or farther away from me and I adjust the ball position as necessary. . .

 

 

Lie angles change progressively through most sets so to sole the club - as it was designed (your issue with gripping down on a 3w) - you would need to be slightly more bent over with the shorter clubs that have more upright lies or else they'd be more toe up / heel down than the longer clubs.

[gregsandiego]

On 10/9/2016 at 9:26 AM, dave s said:

Same here.  3-wood is long gone.  I have a 5w AND a 7-wood.  Both are so much more reliable than a 3-wood.  Actually, I kept the 3-wood in the bag for so long because my home course has a par 3 that plays from 188 - 210 from the tees we play.  Now, I just hit the 5-wood and take my lumps.  At least I know I'm not going to roll it or slice it off the planet.

The 7-wood is my 170-180 club, the 5 wood approaches 200 on a rare perfect swing/hit.

If anyone is considering going 'old man' like me, the long end of my bag is 6-iron, 5-hybrid, 7- and 5-woods. I'm staying away from any club with the numbers 4 or 3 anymore.

Glad to see the OP found some love in a 5-wood.  Good stick.

dave

I have a slogan (complaint) that "I hate anything with a 3" when I'm on the fairway. Even my 3 hybrid pisses me off. 

Regarding the 5 wood am I wrong that these aren't the most popular club anymore? When I walk into my favorite GolfSmith for practice, they have several groups of demo clubs out. Plenty of drivers, and "3/4 hybrids". A few 3 woods. I've never found a 5 wood in what they are pushing.