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3 woods...again...
Goynes42
Professional Champion
 
182 Views    18 Replies    0 Likes   I like it!
Let's try to get this back on track. I'll restate my original question: Why do club companies and consumers focus so much on distance with fairway woods, when those are (to me anyway) "position" clubs to begin with, used to stay short of trouble and keep the ball in play off the tee?

(I know the real answer, it's "money money money," but humor me here.)
lpj0
Professional Champion
 
# 1    7/5/2013 10:17:28 AM   
OK, back to 3 woods.

Short of the real answer you posted, there is nothing. So the question I read as; why do people want to spend money on a 3 wood that is "just" longer? I think is has to do with the "bigger is better" concept. Consumers (including me on occasion) get sucked into the concept the new one is better because it is higher performing.

Back to the position club though... I could not agree more. I won't restate the "fill the gap" I mentioned in the last post. For me, a 3 wood is a great club for 3 main reasons in addition to filling a distance gap.

1. The higher loft face gives me less side spin on a poor swing and therefore stays on line more. (And I have the previously mentioned poor swings often.)
2. The shorter distance (than driver) is a bonus when the shot is off line. 230 off line may put me on the edge of the woods, where 255 would put me in the woods.
3. It is fr easier (for me) to hit a 3 wood off the fairway.

Longer distance in a 3 wood kills my #2 reason. So I don't really want longer. Straighter would sell me first. (Disclosure: I like shinny new clubs ;-)

Since this is the longest post I have ever written, I now am rambling (and lost) and will be quiet.


N C P
Professional Champion
 
# 2    7/5/2013 12:19:02 PM   
Personally, I believe that with the exception of the putter and driver the clubs in the bag should be chosen to minimize gaps between clubs so as to hit shots from anywhere ones ball should land. So my view is that the 3 wood should be a position club.

However, with my recent struggles with the driver, I have been grabbing 3w (off the deck) from the tee box more often. Now I find myself looking for a little extra distance even though I have been having decent second and third shots shots into the green.

Overall though, I think the 3 wood should be more of a position club and hope to use mine as such once I fix my errors with the driver.


Vincedaddy
Legend
 
# 3    7/5/2013 3:37:31 PM   
It is the American way. We are a society of excess. Marketing firms know this and exploit our weak minds to get our $$$$$.


armygrunt47
Professional Champion
 
# 4    7/5/2013 7:55:40 PM   
I really hate to do it because I love having the versatility of 4 wedges in the bag but I am actually looking for a lower lofted 3w and adding a 2 hybrid to the bag. Not for distance but to tighten my yardage gaps between driver and 3i. I have a 50-60 yd gap there that is filled with a 15* 3w in the middle. A 13* sw and a 16* hybrid would tighten the gaps up almost perfect. I would just go with my 48, 54 and 60 instead of 48, 52, 56 and60.


Pappy82nd
Professional Champion
 
# 5    7/5/2013 8:09:41 PM   
I hate to state the same thing again, but I do not have a 3 wood, or any wood for that matter. I have a 2 hybrid that I can hit as long as any 3 wood I have tried. I simply cannot get a 3 wood off the deck. If I had one, it would be treated the same as my 2 hybrid, as a position club, not distance.


armygrunt47
Professional Champion
 
# 6    7/5/2013 8:23:34 PM   

I hate to state the same thing again, but I do not have a 3 wood, or any wood for that matter. I have a 2 hybrid that I can hit as long as any 3 wood I have tried. I simply cannot get a 3 wood off the deck. If I had one, it would be treated the same as my 2 hybrid, as a position club, not distance.

Have you tried a 4w or 5w? Sometimes just that little bit of extra loft can make all the difference.


Mark Simmons
Legend
 
# 7    7/5/2013 10:59:46 PM   
I don't use the 3-wood off the tee. Off the tee I prefer to take advantage of those great big sweet spots on modern day drivers and take a 1/2 or 3/4 swing and/or choke up on the club. Today I used driver on a 190 yard par 3 into the wind. Kept the ball down, straight onto the green and made the birdie putt.

So the 3 wood becomes my longest distance fairway club. I use it when I need maximum distance. If the smart play is accuracy, not distance, I pull my 3-hybrid.

Now having said that, I'm no dupe when it comes to the marketing of clubs. My 3-wood is a Taylormade Steel...that I bought several years ago used.


OtterMan08
Legend
 
# 8    7/6/2013 5:21:09 AM   
It seemed reasonable to me at the time these first were marketed that, if the driver had gotten longer the 3 wood might naturally follow to keep up. Who wants a 40 or 50 yard gap in their tee shot selection? Most of the big yardage gaps tend to be at the top end of the bag. I may add a new 3 wood next year to fill in the little distance mismatch between my 2H and the 3W I have now.


JayPet
Legend
 
# 9    7/6/2013 7:15:42 AM   
I play Nike clubs throughout the bag and loved the Nike Sumo 3W and 5w. They were made several years ago when the square drivers were the rave. Never bothered with the square driver, but the 3 has a squared off face and when you tee off it just grabs the ball so well. I just like the feel of the solid contact and I hit far too (which doesn't hurt).


cogolfer1
LowIndex
 
# 10    7/6/2013 8:56:18 AM   
Well interestingly enough, I said in your first post about this that the increased distance with 3 woods was the precise reason I switched to a 5 wood. Since then, I've hit my 5 wood like crap a lot and am thinking about bringing my Nike SQ Dymo 3 wood back in the bag just to see if a change is good.


Dandy
Professional Champion
 
# 11    7/6/2013 11:52:31 AM   
It's so stupid. it's been said here (correctly, I'll add) that the purpose of the clubs between your Driver and highest lofted wedge is to fill gaps. You want to know how far you you hit every club.

My 3-wood is only 41.8" (just measured it:) and has a 2x4 for a shaft (Grafalloy blue X-stiff driver shaft, tipped 2" and butt trimmed to the length above). It's about 15-20 yards shorter than it was with the stock shaft but it flies lower and 1,000,000 times straighter. That's what I want out of my 3-wood, fairways!!!

It's a little sad that the marketing pukes have won over the flock and made them believe that there's an advantage to maximum distance outside the driver. We've had this discussion before, about companies (TaylorMade being the WORST) jacking their iron lofts and lengthening the shafts to get "more distance". Again, so stupid. Pretty soon they'll be convincing you that they have the longest putter on the market...

The 3-wood IS a position club and if you're using it for anything other than a position club, you're doing it wrong,


Pappy82nd
Professional Champion
 
# 12    7/6/2013 4:35:27 PM   


I hate to state the same thing again, but I do not have a 3 wood, or any wood for that matter. I have a 2 hybrid that I can hit as long as any 3 wood I have tried. I simply cannot get a 3 wood off the deck. If I had one, it would be treated the same as my 2 hybrid, as a position club, not distance.

Have you tried a 4w or 5w? Sometimes just that little bit of extra loft can make all the difference.



I have tried them all army. I think it is the larger head that puts me off. I like the small head of a hybrid, just gives me more confidence. I carry 2, 3, and 4 hybrids and use them as I would a wood and they keep me out of the woods. Great thoughts though, thank you.


Goynes42
Professional Champion
 
# 13    7/6/2013 5:04:17 PM   

I have tried them all army. I think it is the larger head that puts me off. I like the small head of a hybrid, just gives me more confidence. I carry 2, 3, and 4 hybrids and use them as I would a wood and they keep me out of the woods. Great thoughts though, thank you.


This right here is another reason I am such a fan of older clubs. The heads are just sized better. Not so dang big! They actually look like golf clubs. (Modern day hybrids are about the size of fairway woods from the 90s and before...and sometimes hybrids are actually BIGGER!) You should look around and try to find some old fairway woods in the used bin.

AH! You know what I think you'd love? The original Adams Tight Lies 3 wood. The one that put Adams on the map in the first place! It was a good-sized head with a lot of weight in the sole so it really got the ball up off of all kinds of lies.

Here's a picture...
http://c426092.r92.cf2.rackcdn..


armygrunt47
Professional Champion
 
# 14    7/6/2013 5:17:47 PM   



I hate to state the same thing again, but I do not have a 3 wood, or any wood for that matter. I have a 2 hybrid that I can hit as long as any 3 wood I have tried. I simply cannot get a 3 wood off the deck. If I had one, it would be treated the same as my 2 hybrid, as a position club, not distance.

Have you tried a 4w or 5w? Sometimes just that little bit of extra loft can make all the difference.


I have tried them all army. I think it is the larger head that puts me off. I like the small head of a hybrid, just gives me more confidence. I carry 2, 3, and 4 hybrids and use them as I would a wood and they keep me out of the woods. Great thoughts though, thank you.


That is why I like some of the newer shallow faced fairway woods. I hate a deep faced wood. I have a Cleveland XLS 3w that is great off of tight lies and I have taken an interest in the new Callaway XHot Pro fairway woods because of the shallower face and smaller CC head.


bmoody16
Professional Champion
 
# 15    7/9/2013 12:24:26 AM   
I took my 3w out of the bag, and I have two hybrids. I hit the 2 hybrid 255 off the tee, and the 1 hyb 270. Off the fairway I hit the 2h about 245 and the 1 hyb 260. I could try to add a 3 wood for added distance, but I have found its not really worth it. I hit the hybrids so straight, and with sufficient distance that there is little need to add the distance. I think most people would do well to go this route.


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