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A question aimed at the better players here

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sickyspider

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Management
When browsing threads, I often skim through people's bag and club set up as well. I am a little shocked to see that there are quite a few good players who play a 5 wood but no 3 wood! What's more, some of these good players play a 5 wood and a 3 hybrid as well.

I would be interested to hear your strategy and thinking behind this, as I am constantly pondering that side of the bag set up, 3W/5W or 4W/3H or 3W/3H????? Decisions decisions decisions!!!!
 
I frequently have only a 5w along with 3I, no hybrids at all. Sometimes I carry 3W and no 5W. Reasoning, I need the wedges at the other end more than two or more longer clubs. My thinking is that the 3W or 5W are just for positioning not for hitting to greens. I only want to hit them with total confidence and I tend to hook fairway woods and hybrids. The little extra distance is not worth taking the chance of missing left or right. When I was playing really well (3 index) early in the summer, I had driver, 5W and irons, no hybrids.
 
The goal is to make sure there are no gaps from driver to SW no matter your level. More than that your trajectory is key with said clubs as well. I can't speak for those that carry 5w over a 3w except is may fill the gap. Or they may not hit the 3w well so it's left out. What ever the reason just make sure the gaps are filled.
 
Agree with Freddie. Gap control should take priority over the number of the club. There's no sense in leaving out a 5-wood or anything else if there is a 30 yard gap between 2 clubs.
 
I wish I was a better golfer so I could share my opinions how important gap management and course management are when it comes to club selection. I would also say something along the lines about how important it is to know your own game and how to minimize your weaknesses.
 
I'm not one of the better players here. But for a long time I didn't play a 3W or a 5W because the ones I had I couldn't reach the green anyway. I just played to a yardage for my short clubs and wedges. Now, I have a good 3W & 5W so I'll try to reach the greens on the par 5s.
 
Personally I think it is all about yardage/gap control. I used to carry a 3 and 5 wood because I am not a long hitter, and really needed the 3 and 5 woods for distance reasons. I now carry a 4 wood (with 3 wood length shaft) and a 3 hybrid. The hybrid can go about the same distance as my old 5 wood and allows me to carry the extra wedge. I know anything 220 or over I will not reach with my 3 wood, so I will lay up to the right distance needed to score.
 
Thanks for the input everyone - this is the kind of info I want! Lefty78 - spot on!

Blugold,

Anyone who has a pretty decent long game not necessarily a very low handicap. I want to hear their (your) thoughts. Unless folks WITB info is not up to date, I have seen here players with handicaps as low 5 or 6 list playing a 5W but no 3W!
 
Lofts and gaps my man. Those need to match up and be closed.
 
sickyspider said:
Anyone who has a pretty decent long game not necessarily a very low handicap. I want to hear their (your) thoughts. Unless folks WITB info is not up to date, I have seen here players with handicaps as low 5 or 6 list playing a 5W but no 3W!
Click to expand...

It's all about gap control. Also setting up the bag to best attack whatever course is your home course. If you know that a 3wood is too much off of the tee on certain holes, then a 5 wood be best. Or that a 5wood is the easiest option to go for a par5. The hybrid maybe the "out of the rough" type club for a lot of people. It is just up to each player. I use a 3wood and 3hybrid. With the loft of my 3hybrid, I only lose about 5 yards or so to a 5wood. So I dropped the second fairway wood and added another wedge.
 
While not a low handicapper I would say course management is more important than gap management and working on the short game. I prefer using fewer clubs which you have more confidence in. I see so many people especially here who agonize over that last spot in the bag when they should be more concerned with how well they hit what they have. Harvey Penick said you can build a game around a 3-wood and a 7-iron, he was saying if you know how far you hit those two clubs you can manage your way around a course.
 
I use a 3 wood, 19* hybrid & 4-iron as longer clubs. My problem is that the 3 wood is inconsistent, I sometimes hit it 220...sometimes 180-200...the hybrid is a secure 200. I don't however see that 5 wood would help me. Maybe a bit longer than the hybrid, but not long enough to compete with the 3 wood.
 
majBC said:
While not a low handicapper I would say course management is more important than gap management and working on the short game. I prefer using fewer clubs which you have more confidence in. I see so many people especially here who agonize over that last spot in the bag when they should be more concerned with how well they hit what they have. Harvey Penick said you can build a game around a 3-wood and a 7-iron, he was saying if you know how far you hit those two clubs you can manage your way around a course.
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Harvey Penick was a very wise teacher!
 
Although I am consistenly in the 70s at my home course, I don't consider myself a better player yet...still too many bad shots in a round and I know that course inside and out...

But FWIW, I only recently added a 3wood to my bag...Back in the late 80s/early 90s when I played I could never hit a fairway wood off the deck...ever. When I started back up last winter I commited to learning how to hit one off the grass....I found that the extra loft and shorter shaft allowed me to hit decent shots with the 5w, but the 3w was hit and miss. I quit carrying the 3w for a long time knowing I wasn't going to try to use it. Once I started shooting right around 80 I started playing from the tips, and one of the par 3s was just too damn long to reach with even a perfect 5w, so I dropped a wedge and added the 3w again. Since adding it, I have started using it off the tee on a couple shorter par 4s with very narrow fairways lined by trees. I rarely get in trouble on those holes now, but with the driver it was a 50/50 risk...I have also practiced with the 3w enough that I can consistently hit it off the deck, but I prefer to use the 5w still on my second shot on par 5s because I can stop it where I want to easier.

So my answer as to why some people would carry a 5w but no 3w would be that they are easier to hit off the deck, and you will hit a shorter club with confidence better than a longer club that scares you to swing it.
 
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You guys never disappoint - lots of good stuff here!

Course management and gap control I agree are vital. Whatever gaps you have at the top end (eg. driver then 5W) can be filled in with good wedge options and execution.

I like a 3W but I am inconsistent especially from the fairway and rarely get more than 210-220 yards so it's not being used to it proper potential. As other's have said, a 3H gives confidence from the rough that maybe a 5W wouldn't. My 5W is 18.5* and my 3H is 21* so I don't like playing both if I can help it. I hit the 5W well though from both the tee and fairway but not so from the rough.
 
sickyspider said:
Thanks for the input everyone - this is the kind of info I want! Lefty78 - spot on!

Blugold,

Anyone who has a pretty decent long game not necessarily a very low handicap. I want to hear their (your) thoughts. Unless folks WITB info is not up to date, I have seen here players with handicaps as low 5 or 6 list playing a 5W but no 3W!
Click to expand...

I agree with this as well, and also with Tadashi, since my goal is to be sure I don't have yardage gaps in excess of 20 yards. However, like Lefty said, I prefer to have appropriate wedges in the bag depending on the course that I'm playing. If I need an extra wedge in the bag, I'll either leave out a long iron or hybrid depending on which I'm hitting more solid at the time. I keep my 3W in the bag though typically because I like to have the extra yards available to me off the tee when I don't hit my driver.
 
I am not one of the better players by any means but for me it came down to filling a gap on a budget. At the time I couldn't afford both a 3&5wd.

So I went with what filled the most needed gap in the bag and for me a 5wd did that.
 
My name is Tiger Woods


and I don't use any woods or a driver. I only use a 9 iron.
 
I'm not that great, but I carry a 5 wood but no 3 wood because I don't need a 3 wood. I would rarely use it off the deck and I don't need an option other than driver for off the tee. I like my 5 wood for off the deck on par 5s.
 
I have 10.5 driver, 16.5 4w.
Play either 3-W, 52,56,60 or 2-W, 52,58
In the next month, will experiment with changing lofts on 3-6 irons, making them stronger.
The 4w is easier to hit. I like to use the driver for punch shots.
 
I would probably better off playing a 5W or a 4W based on my gaps.....and I will more than likely look at that for the upcoming Morgan Cup.
 
I am by no means one of the better players here but I'll chime in anyway: I carry a 5 wood instead of a 3 wood because I find it 10x easier to hit off the deck or off the tee. Also I tend to de-loft my clubs through impact making my 5 play more like a 4 wood.

In the end it's about gaps and having a club for whatever shots I'm going to face on the course. I prefer to not be hitting 'feel' shots over 200 yards. I hit my 5 wood 220 or so and then I hit my 1H 210 with a nice easy swing and I move into my irons from there.
 
The title alone removes me from any comments in this thread. I will definitely be interested in what some others have to say!
 
I set my bag for the course I play the most. On my course I can reach a couple of the par5s in 2 with a 3w. I also use the 3w off the tee on a couple holes. I leave out a 5w and instead use a 3 hybrid for use out of the rough and out of the desert if a decent lie. Also added a 4 hybrid recently for use out of the rough and a couple par 3 tee shots. Rest of the bag is gapped 5 iron through lob wedge.
 
I use to carry a 5 wood but as I got better, I found it was more important for me to have more "scoring" clubs(wedges) in the bag.
So I pulled the 5 wood out and replaced it with another wedge. That combo really suits my game right now and is working well.
I may have a bit of a gap between the 3 wood and my 18 degree hybrid, but for me, I would rather have more options with the short clubs.
Since the change, I have had very few instances where I wished I had the 5 wood in the bag.
 
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