Driver or 3 wood off the tee

[Fish]

Martin

Stick with it and ignore the cynics if they have nothing positive to say.

Try a strong 13* 3w off the tee if the feel of a 3w is comfortable, I can't hit my strong 3w off the deck so I carry a 4w (17*) and a 7w for off the fairway.

 

[RGDave]

How's about using the 3 wood most of the time and following that with a 5 wood to(wards) the green.

The two together are plenty long enough to cover 400+ yards. (no forum yardage).

Bogey those holes and make the most of the other ones under 400+

Play to 12.2 simples.

 

[rksquire]

I am certainly no expert but can relate to your predicament - yes you have a shot on each hole but the thought process to improve will be how do you get to the green in 'regulation'. I imagine anything much over 400 yards for par 4 is unlikely to be reached in 2.... so despite the erratic nature of your second shot an extra 20/30 yards off the tee actually brings GIRs into play. Maybe replace the 9.5 degree driver and shaft or simply get fitted for clubs? Work on the irons relentlessly, take 3/4/5 irons of the tee in practice rounds and dial those in?


Out of interest, how do your distances compare now to when you were a 9h/c?

 

[chellie]

Why do people think that higher handicappers can't hit the fairway so often off the tee I'm currently hitting the fairway 75% of the time but like all high handicappers I've to get consistency in the rest of my game for the whole round and my short game is definately what's letting me down.

Martin, like Fish said why not ditch the 3 wood off the deck and look at using a hybrid.

Good luck, oh and in my eyes 18 isn't a high handicap

 

[Birchy]

If the stats you quote are correct you are really looking at the wrong part of your game that needs improving imo.

 

[the_coach]

My 3 wood is 15 degrees, I can't hit it for toffee of the grass but off the tee it is doing me proud.


Cheers for any thoughts.

To hit a 3 metal off the ground successfully you still need a slight downward swing path so you can contact ball first & don't make ground contact until after the ball, so you'll either just scuff grass after or maybes even take a very small thin scrape divot.
Ball position critical so off the deck your looking at a position one ball behind where you successfully hit it off a tee.

If you try & sweep a 3 metal off the ground it's much harder to swing level through a ball that's actually on the ground, get better consistent contact by taking hitting the ground first completely out of the equation, you do this by having a slight downward AoA so you get more consistent solid contact that way, ball first any ground contact after. Best 3 wood 3 metal tour players all have had a slight negative AoA.

Hitting driver into the wind you don't really wan to tee it down, this tends to encourage a ways too much of a steep approach into impact & the ball launches high & spins a lot more into the wind so it just goes a lot higher not forwards & you lose distance.

Much better to tee it normal height with the driver, grip one inch down the shaft, make an 80% swing with the intent of swinging level through impact. Then you cut the spin rate down a good ways, the ball stays on a much lower trajectory moving forwards through the air & not climbing up into the wind, & you get good distance still with less effort.

 

[Foxholer]

Yep!

Try a Hybrid! There are Iron style ones and Wood style ones, so find the style that suits you best.

On a Links that you hit lots of fairways with, I'd suggest looking at the Burner ones first.

While 'using your shots' might make sense at your current level, there will (hopefully) come a time when you have to change that approach. So getting the mid-iron play sorted will be an essential part of that. And it always helps to have a decent short game! Adopting the 'bogey golf' approach will actually help that imo - as, by laying up, you will get loads more 'opportunities' to use your short game skills!

Btw. Nemicu's post doesn't seem too 'not nice' to me. It applies exactly the same (and as appropriate) to me too - and I hit pretty much your distances, though don't generally use the 3W off the Tee. Perhaps a bit sensitive/read the post the wrong way?

Oh! And i learnt to hit FWs off the deck by playing lots of Links golf. So try some rounds on your own and do what the_coach says.

 

[Martin70]

Thanks for the replies guys going out in a bit on my own to work on the fairway woods.

 

[Hacker Khan]

I know you're right and my biggest problem is my 2nd shot. I'll expand a little hopefully it will make more sense as to why I am asking. I played a few public courses earlier in the year where distance was no problem at all and had a couple of front or back nines which were 4 or 5 over gross ( with substantially shorter winter tees) . Then a bunch of us joined a club which can be very demanding on some par 4's as some are long and it's a links course which has knocked my confidence with my irons somewhat as I've always taken a big divot and am taking my time to adjust here. Therefore I was wondering how to pinch 20 yards if possible while I work out where I need to change things with my irons as I am seriously struggling with fairway woods or long to mid irons while I adjust.

Hope that explains my question, cheers.

I got one of those Wilson fybrids at about 19 degrees for about 30 notes in a sale recently, and it's kind of a cross between a hybrid and fairway wood. And believe you me, you sound a lot better than me but his fybrid kind of works for me more often than not off the fairway.

Also TM are now doing a mini driver which they say is a cross between a 3 wood and driver but it is designed mostly for the tee. http://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/blogs/gear-blog/49985-49985 So this may get you a few extra yards off the tee you are looking for without sacrificing your accuracy?

But with those stats as other have said, your driving is not a problem and many would kill for that accuracy, work on finding a wood/hybrid you can hit off the deck.

 

[duncan mackie]

Thanks for the replies guys going out in a bit on my own to work on the fairway woods.

don't limit yourself to fairway woods

try anything and everything until you find what's best for you from the fairway to cover 180-190 yds - it could be any combination of loft, shaft length, stiffness, shaft weight, wood, hybrid or hybrid iron; out there somewhere is the club that will do for you from the fairway what your current driver and 3 wood are doing for you off the tee.

from what you have posted I suspect it will be something like a regular shafted 3h such as a Burner Superfast (relatively cheap SH purchase with loads available) or a 4h RBZ II (the additional loft, shorter shaft but hotter face working with you preference for sweeping the club through) again loads of SH stock around.

a good range should have a number of options for you to try.

 

[RGDave]

I got one of those Wilson fybrids at about 19 degrees for about 30 notes in a sale recently, and it's kind of a cross between a hybrid and fairway wood. And believe you me, you sound a lot better than me but his fybrid kind of works for me more often than not off the fairway.

I remember when fybrid came out. I didn't buy the "special" fybrid (too similar to a 5 wood for me) but I did buy the 3 and (yes, yes) the 5 hybrid. I don't take it (the 5h) on comp days, but I do put in the bag when I carry just 7 clubs. It's about a 5-6 iron for me, and works a treat. The 3h is fabulous. Love that club...

 

[RollinThunder]

I've just had a lesson on taking the 3W off the deck, which I've always struggled doing. I was instructed to hit down on the ball more, rather than sweeping the ball, and to keep the swing loose and fluid, like the driver. Touch wood, it's going brilliantly, and I can't wait to give my new-found length a try on the course.

 

[London mike 61]

I've just had a lesson on taking the 3W off the deck, which I've always struggled doing. I was instructed to hit down on the ball more, rather than sweeping the ball, and to keep the swing loose and fluid, like the driver. Touch wood, it's going brilliantly, and I can't wait to give my new-found length a try on the course.

Good post! :thup:

 

[evahakool]

I think I will leave this place after this post - why are people so resentful of the one part of my game I can do well? I am off 18 as I have not played regularly for years. I did get down to 9 about 6 years ago and still lost most of my shots from inconsistent mid to long iron approaches. My new club has really struggled with the weather and lots of the fairways are bare and I can't seem to get under the ball like I'm used to. That is why I asked my question as I can hit my 8+ irons far better than my longer irons at the moment.


Very sorry if that upsets one or two bloody hell.[/QUOTE

Martin don't let the odd one or two put you off posting on here, the majority on here are really helpfull as you can see from the good advice you've had so far.

Good luck with your game.

 

[Foxholer]

from what you have posted I suspect it will be something like a regular shafted 3h such as a Burner Superfast (relatively cheap SH purchase with loads available) or a 4h RBZ II (the additional loft, shorter shaft but hotter face working with you preference for sweeping the club through) again loads of SH stock around.

That's the one I was suggesting. Not necessarily the 3h, but these, and/or the RBZs you mention, often become many players' 'Go to' club. Some folk, however, just don't get on with/haven't found the right hybrid and a 7W is 'that' club!

 

[pingwizard]

Im really interested in seeing how this Taylormade SLDR mini Driver will fair out. Could be a saviour for those who consistently hit a 3 wood from the tee....then again it could just be an expensive gimmick!!

 

[Lydo]

I can't hit long irons either, so bought RBZ 3 hybrid and TM burner 6 hybrid. So easy to hit and prob my 2 favorite clubs now. Can hit the 3 around 190+ and the 6 about 170 odds.

Can't recommend hybrids enough. Just remember hit down on them like an iron and not a fairway wood.

You should be able to pick some 2nd hand off eBay for cheap enough too.

 

[Oddsocks]

Not going to publish forum yards but on average I can hit my driver on the fairway about 7/10 although the leaked ones right will cost me shots.

My 3 wood I can hit fairways arrow straight 9/10 and sometimes no loss in difference so I obviously have been hitting this more often on all but the most lengthy holes.

My driver is 9.5 degrees and I play on a links course and like the low flight when it's hit it up the middle against the wind.

My 3 wood is 15 degrees, I can't hit it for toffee of the grass but off the tee it is doing me proud.

So I am now thinking greedily - aside from learning how to hit the woods off the deck, looking for even more distance off the tee without sacrificing too much accuracy do you think I should look for a more lofted and shorter shafted driver?

There are only 2 or 3 par 4's which are difficult in length to reach in 2 but I have to play them as par 5's even with a lovely 3 wood up the middle.

I intend to get a lesson or two to try and hit a fairway wood over 200 yards consistently which will help but I'm kind of curious as to what the best wood might be off the tee.

I don't want to sacrifice my dead straight line with my 3 wood at any cost - but I'd like 20 or 30 more yards if possible.

I'm pretty sure the accuracy advantage with my 3 wood comes from the shorter shaft so was wondering what the impact in difference would be with a shorter shafted driver of say 13 degrees would be if they in fact exist.

Cheers for any thoughts.

There's no shame with a 3w off the tee, I got to 11 as a junior doing this as 200/225 from the tee straight was better than 240+ in the crap. Given the summer run is due, I reckon most mid cappers would see a drop in scores hitting the 3w, I do it a lot more this time of year for position instead of spray the big dog,

 

[HawkeyeMS]

If your FIR stats are that high, I'd work on what's causing your 18 h'cap and that isn't off the tee. We'd all like another 20 yards but if you're that accurate it probably isn't worth chasing.

As for nemicu, stick around and you'll work out who the <mod edits> are and learn to ignore them. They are usually just idiots fishing for a reaction. The rest of us aren't that bad (most of the time) :thup:

 

[rossymcg]

They're some seriously good driving stats, I mean as in world class driving stats, not distance but GIR,