Fairway woods

[Mr_T]

I'm looking at getting a 3 wood at some point, probably after I've upgraded my irons, I really struggle to hit 3 woods off the ground so should I be looking at something that has a larger head to use off the tee as this is when I will be mostly using it anyway?

 

[Imurg]

Why not try a 4 wood.
I have the oldish Cleveland Launcher in my bag. 17 degree head but still the shaft of a 3 wood, so no real loss in distance but a very easy to hit fairway wood.
Quite a few of the current fairways are available as a 4 wood - worth looking at if you do struggle to get a 3w off the ground.

 

[Mr_T]

Thanks imurg, sounds like a good idea, how easy is it in comparison to a 3 wood to hit? Also would maybe a 1 or 2 hybrid be a good option to look at?

 

[Imurg]

I find it supremely easy to hit and it goes a mile too.

Be careful with lower lofted hybrids. Generally - and I mean generally - it's harder to hit a hybrid than a wood of the same loft. Depends a lot on your swing speed but lower lofted hybrids can be hard work. You'll not find many hybrids lower than 17 degrees in the bags of the Tour Pros.
Worth trying some though and if they work then don't knock it!

 

[MadAdey]

Get a TM Superfast 3-wood may be a good option for you. The club really does generate extra speed like they say and they do get the ball up well from the fairway. Can get a second hand one from E-bay for not bad prices. Just please make sure of one thing....avoid anything with TP wrote on the head. They are designed for low handicappers/good ball strikers as they hit the ball on a lower trajectory.

 

[Mr_T]

Thanks for the replies guys, some good feedback odd socks is the super fast 2.0 noticeably better than the 1.0?

 

[Evesdad]

I used to have an 18 degree hybrid and it could be a pig to get airbourne!

 

[Mr_T]

Oops not odd socks meant madadey

 

[SocketRocket]

Most people tend to swing too fast with a 3 wood, something makes them think that because they want the ball to go further you have to swing harder and faster.

Swing it at the same speed that you would swing a 7 iron, swing at around 80% full speed. You will be surprised how far it will go if you make clean contact with a steady swing.

 

[bobmac]

I really struggle to hit 3 woods off the ground so should I be looking at something that has a larger head

Why not save your money and have a lesson?

 

[MadAdey]

Oops not odd socks meant madadey

Thats ok.

Never swung the Superfast 1.0 but the 2.0 hits the ball really easily I found and that was with the TP model. If you got one of these I would dump the drier and use this from the tee as it really does spank the ball a mile. Saw this one on Ebay for you, not sure what flex shaft you need but his has a regular.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-Genuine-Taylormade-Burner-Superfast-2-0-3-Wood-15-Regular-Graphite-Shaft-/190611929815?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Golf_GolfClubs_JN&hash=item2c615b3ad7#ht_500wt_949

Good luck mate...

 

[SGC001]

I'm looking at getting a 3 wood at some point, probably after I've upgraded my irons, I really struggle to hit 3 woods off the ground so should I be looking at something that has a larger head to use off the tee as this is when I will be mostly using it anyway?

Some might argue that your 3 wood should be the longest club you can get airborne of the fairway with a decent trajectory regardless of the number on the sole. They also might argue your driver should be the club you can hit the furthest and still hit the fairway 60% or so of the time.

How do you get on your current driver?

If you are struggling with it and that's the real reason for wanting a second driver, just get a driver with more loft, it'll have a bigger head and be more forgiving as well as potentially having a hotter face (I don't know if technology has yet got equivalent of 0.83 cor into a 3 wood size head yet).

I used to have a driver with more loft than a monitor would recommend because I felt more comfortable shaping the ball and would therefore use it more often, giving up a few yards on some holes but hitting it more often. Injury has now changed my recommendations so my loft is now in line with it.

 

[Mr_T]

How do you get on your current driver?

Okayish, I had really struggled with a slice but I've been working on getting it to a nice fade and after and fit again after injury I have a few bits to work on which I hope will solve the problem. Thing is I haven't had my drover very long so I want to persevere with it for a while, my problem with my 3 wood is that I always hit the ground first so the club bounces up causing me to top it, it's ok off the tee but its only a cheap donnay 3 wood which is pretty old (it's got a steel shaft) so I want to get it replaced

Madadey that's looks a great deal thanks a lot my only concern is should I go to somewhere like American golf and try before making a purchase or is it worth just taking a punt on it?

 

[Imurg]

If you're able to try one then I'd always recommend doing so.
If you're buying an older club that makes testing tricky and then you either take the punt or not - you ought to be able to sell-on with little loss if it doesn't work out for you.

 

[MadAdey]

Okayish, I had really struggled with a slice but I've been working on getting it to a nice fade and after and fit again after injury I have a few bits to work on which I hope will solve the problem. Thing is I haven't had my drover very long so I want to persevere with it for a while, my problem with my 3 wood is that I always hit the ground first so the club bounces up causing me to top it, it's ok off the tee but its only a cheap donnay 3 wood which is pretty old (it's got a steel shaft) so I want to get it replaced

Madadey that's looks a great deal thanks a lot my only concern is should I go to somewhere like American golf and try before making a purchase or is it worth just taking a punt on it?

Like Imurg said it may be worth a punt if it is cheap enough as you can always move it back on again and not loose much maybe on the right day get more for it. I would not recommend going and trying one out in the net in a shop. Go to somewhere that has a range so you can actually see how it goes. DO not let them in the shop make you hit off the tees with it either. If you want something to hit from the fairway tehn try hitting it from the range mat. If you can hit it off that sweetly then you can hit it from anything.

 

[Mr_T]

Like Imurg said it may be worth a punt if it is cheap enough as you can always move it back on again and not loose much maybe on the right day get more for it. I would not recommend going and trying one out in the net in a shop. Go to somewhere that has a range so you can actually see how it goes. DO not let them in the shop make you hit off the tees with it either. If you want something to hit from the fairway tehn try hitting it from the range mat. If you can hit it off that sweetly then you can hit it from anything.

There is an American golf not too far from me that is joined onto a top golf so I might go and gave a look at what they've got down there, im mainly buying it for use off the fairway so that is what I would mainly test but I might try hitting a few off the tee as if it close to the length of my driver and is more accurate then it could become a very handy piece of kit

 

[bobmac]

If you can't cook, what's the point of buying a new frying pan?

 

[JustOne]

How do you get on your current driver?

If you are struggling with it and that's the real reason for wanting a second driver, just get a driver with more loft, it'll have a bigger head and be more forgiving as well as potentially having a hotter face (I don't know if technology has yet got equivalent of 0.83 cor into a 3 wood size head yet).

I used to have a driver with more loft than a monitor would recommend because I felt more comfortable shaping the ball and would therefore use it more often, giving up a few yards on some holes but hitting it more often.

Good post, get a driver you can trust and a (possibly smaller headed) fairway you can hit off the deck.

 

[USER1999]

If you can't cook, what's the point of buying a new frying pan?

I like that.

I find hitting fairway woods the hardest shot to hit. And the riskiest.

 

[SGC001]

Okayish, I had really struggled with a slice but I've been working on getting it to a nice fade and after and fit again after injury I have a few bits to work on which I hope will solve the problem. Thing is I haven't had my drover very long so I want to persevere with it for a while, my problem with my 3 wood is that I always hit the ground first so the club bounces up causing me to top it, it's ok off the tee but its only a cheap donnay 3 wood which is pretty old (it's got a steel shaft) so I want to get it replaced

Madadey that's looks a great deal thanks a lot my only concern is should I go to somewhere like American golf and try before making a purchase or is it worth just taking a punt on it?

Loft, draw bias, closed faces and offset can help a fade and if you ever decide to change your driver and still have that shot pattern may be worth considering.

You mentioned hitting the big ball (earth) before the little ball as the reason you struggle with your 3 wood. Some work on your swing may help you with both your driver shape and 3 wood contact.

The suggestion of a more lofted 3 wood was really about helping to get a decent ball flight and carry. So if when you hit your 3 wood well, the shot has a nice flight and plenty of carry with it then you wouldn't to up your '3' wood loft for that reason.

I tend to be of the opinion that a fair few players would benefit from more loft on their driver, some kind of draw bias, possibly a shorter shaft too and maybe a more lofted fairway club. The kind of player this advice would be more applicable too would be those who are prone to slice or whose swings speeds are down so don't get the carry. If they're hitting it on centre don't bother with the shorter shaft, if they're not consider it.