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The gap between.

My gap is about 25-30 yards.
 
I currently have a 15 deg 3 wood and the difference between that and driver is about 25yds on a still day in summer.

There are, as others have said, times when 3 wood onto the fairway IS the better option but this all depends upon what extra hazards this drop in distance brings into the equation.

Ever since I started this game, I have never had problems off the tee and tbh see my driver as my 'banker' club. I have a consistent shot with a very slight fade at the end of the flight. Now on my home course there are numerous bunkers and general rough that comes into play at around the 240 yd mark and so by hitting driver I effectively take this trouble out of the equation as I can comfortably fly them. If however, someone is not particulary consistent with driver, this would not be a good plan as it is important to be near the fairway for this to be workable.

I have played other courses, Royal Birkdale and The Eden at St Andrews for example, which are longer than my home course, but I would very rarely use driver as these courses require a more position base plan and there are few bunkers etc at the point where 3 wood or rescue will finish up.

At the end of the day, if you are able to get really accurate with your 3 wood the line that you take off the tee may well be cutting more of a corner off and so eventhough you hit shorter than driver in straight line test, the angle difference may mean that you are possibly no further away from the hole in a lot of cases with 3 wood than if you hit driver and take a wider line off tee.
 
I'd say that a 25 to 30 yard difference in distance between a driver and 3-wood is about right.
 
Yup, 20-25 yards for me as well. I would have trouble if I could not use driver off the tee regularly. I need the yardage and I have a bad habit of overcooking the 3w off the tee unless it is the right club to hit off the tee. In other words if I am using the 3w in place of driver on holes where I need my driver I can really struggle over-swinging something fierce with the 3w and hitting a really poor shot as a result.
 
I would say 20-25 yards. I hit driver around about 230m-250+yards. Have a 4 wood not a 3 that goes 215M-235yards. and a Cobra 20deg Hybrid that I hit consistantly 200m-220 yards
 
Even though I've got a very small loft difference between driver and 3 wood (13.5* driver) I've got about 30 - 40 yard difference between the 2. I think that's mainly due to having an old 3 wood and a brand new driver.
 
I would say that regardless of what the gap is between driver and 3W, the potential to widen that gap will always be greater with the driver then closing the gap with a 3W. I wouldn't get rid of the driver even if the gap is close, because 1) that might not always be the case and B) the potential to hit the driver further than average is much greater with the driver. If someone averages 250/225, it is much more likely that they could gain yardage with the occasional drive and get it up to 270 or so. It would be a tough task to increase the 3W distance by 20 yards.
 
I do not carry a 3W instead I carry 5W, 3I. I have been working on gripping down a couple of inches on driver which gives me more control and limits distance on those holes where there is a "too much". Using Garmin yesterday, I measured the gripped down D at 254, 244, and 248 which were very satisfactory on those particular holes. I find the gripped down D easier to control than 3W.

In the fairway, I use 3I or 5W depending on what shape is needed. If enough room for the hook then I hit 5W, if no room or needing a cut it is 3I. There is a 20 yard gap there but I don't mind that, I would rather have a leave that I can play than being further but in trouble.
 
I am a newbie, and driving is my biggest issue right now. My "good" drives can go anywhere from 180 - 220, but I did hit two out to ~240 today with roll.

Below the driver, my 5W is very consistently 200 - 220.

Below the 5W, my 3H is 180 - 200.

I tend to leave the driver in the bag, or ask myself: "you feelin' lucky, punk?"
 
There have been times where i've thought of keeping in the bag, but unfortunately I don't believe I hit the ball long enough (or hit my old 3 wood accurately enough) to pull that off. My drives on average, I would guess are somewhere between 220 and 240; also just guess I think i'm lucky if i get 200 with my 3wood (granted the burner superfast is much more forgiving than an old titleist 980).
 
Probably around 20-30 yards of difference.
 
I would say 25 yards difference off of the tee, I am old enough and a relatively short hitter so I need the yards. When the swing is really working the gap may expand to as much as 35 yards.
 
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