Is it time to buy a 3 wood?

[DelB]

Played Pumpherston in a society meeting today and thoroughly enjoyed the course. Started well enough and was only 1 over after the first three holes! (I'm a 22 handicapper, remember!) Had shot 38 after the first 8 holes, then took an 8 at the 9th and a 9 at the 10th, thanks to losing balls off the tee! Was a bit up and down after that, scoring well one hole and poorly the next. Was standing on the 18th tee needing to score a 5 on the final Par 5 for a round of 99. Thankfully, got a 5.

The whole round got me thinking though - am I missing out by not having a 3 wood? The driver is very erratic and is costing me shots big-time. My irons are OK, in the main, and my putting's not bad, but that's no good when you are three off the tee. I've got a 17 degree utility club which I use on longer Par 3's and also off the deck on Par 5's, but just wondered if a 15 degree 3 wood would be a safer option off the tee for when the driver's playing silly-buggers.

Any thoughts on the matter would be most welcome!

 

[Imurg]

In your case the simple answer is yes.
IMO if you can hit your driver reasonably well 6/7 times out of 10 then its worth having in the bag - if you're only at 3/4 times out of 10 then use a 3 wood.
Unless you are blessed with a Seve-like short game being shorter off the tee and on the fairway has to be better than 30 yards longer but in the clag.

 

[DelB]

Thanks for the reply, Imurg.

Some rounds I can hit 7 or 8 decent drives out of 10, but other times it's only 2 or 3! I think I only hit 1 decent drive on the back 9 today and most of the others were either wild or miss-hit completely and only travelled 30 yards or so.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Quite simply - yes. I use to have an old callwayway big bertha + which I hit very well and reasonably long and it would be used more than my driver. I have never had anything before or since that gave me as much confidence. Go out and try as many as you can and hopefully you'll find something you can use when the big dog is misbehaving.

I'm starting to use my current 3 wood more and more again even on 400+ par 4's when I'm not hitting it that well. Also we have some hazards that with the unusually dry period I'm running into with my driver so need to take a more pragmatic approach.

A good 3 wood is a powerful friend. Enjoy the fun of the search and using one on the course

 

[USER1999]

I have just taken mine out of the bag. Too unreliable. Give me a driver every time, or a 5w.

 

[Macster]

Started the year off 12 (11.6), and for most of this year, havn't been able to hit my Driver at all consistently.

Put my son's R7 Taylor Made 3 Wood into the bag instead, complete with Steel shaft, and now down at 9.2.

Sure, I arent short, and can push it out 240\60yds with it, but its a helluva lot more consistent and puts me on the short stuff way more than a Driver.

Question answered.

 

[TonyN]

Do it, its a much safer option and normally not alot shorter for most, well not for me anyway.

I use my 3 wood more than my driver, but then I do play on a short tight course!

 

[intherough]

I'd leave the driver alone for a while or at least get a HT one with about 13 loft. I've only had a driver in the bag for the last 3 years. Before then it was always a 3 wood off the T, I could hit this just as far as some driver but more importantly it was on the short stuff 99% of the time. Until you can hit the fairway 8/10 times on a regular basis, i'd leave it alone.

 

[DelB]

Just spoken to the Pro I'm getting lessons from and he agrees that a 3 wood would be a good option to have in the bag. Am going to go and try out the Mizuno MX700 and the Ping G15, to start with.

Thanks all for your replies.