3 wood vs hybrid

[d1217]

I know the title may be something that you all hear many times, but im not asking about buying them. last night i bought a mizzy mx fli hi 17* with a stiff steel shaft, tried it at the range today and i can hit it similar if not further and more accurately than my 3 wood, im wondering if the shaft in my 3 wood is wrong, its the standard cleveland gold graphite in stiff and it feels a bit whippy, the ball does balloon a bit. just looking for a bit of advice, do i take out the 3 wood, or try and find somewhere i can test an xstiff shaft that i could put in my 3 wood. sorry its a bit long winded!!!

thanks in advance
d1217

 

[Losttheplot]

A 3 wood is often around 17 degree too so I'm not surprised you hit it similar distances. If you hit the 17 degree hybrid better than the 3 wood I'd ditch it for another club, assuming you could take another wedge or generally fill another gap elsewhere.

 

[Nikki]

Another option is to try a stiff steel shaft in the three wood...

 

[Ethan]

Most 3 woods will be closer to 15 degrees and almost certainly have a longer shaft than a hybrid, so you should be able to hit the 3 wood further. I can hit my 3 wood much further than a 17 hybrid.

If the hybrid is better suited to the player than the 3 wood, they wil get proportionately better results from it. Maybe the issue here is that the 3 wood is unsuitable. The standard Cleveland shaft is almost certainly softer than the PL Red in the driver, for example.

I would recommend a well fitted graphite shaft over a steel. Look at the number of tour players playing steel shafts in their woods. Hardly any.

 

[steveyjd81]

I don't bother with a three wood, just use a 16degree hybrid find it more versatile

 

[HTL]

I don't bother with a three wood, just use a 16degree hybrid find it more versatile

Second to this but I use a 17* hybrid. Find it goes just as far and much easier to use.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Second to this but I use a 17* hybrid. Find it goes just as far and much easier to use.

And he still hits it bloody miles !!!

 

[Imurg]

The Cleveland Gold shaft has a soft tip to help the ball into the air. The Red version has a stiffer tip for faster swingers. Although I have a moderately fast swing - I got fitted with S300 shafts in my irons - I find the Gold shaft suits me better than the Red.
As the ball balloons, you may find the Red a better shaft for you and they're fairly easy to find.