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Better off without a 3 wood?

SuperStroke
I am like a few others here I also carry a 4 wood 16.5* Taylormade Superfast that only gives up about 10 yards to a 3 wood, lands a little softer on the green ( Not saying I can hit the green) and is very good off the deck. It also alows me to add another wedge to the bag, cause I can hit the green fairly good with any of my 4 wedges. Pelz say's it , fish where the fish are, and it works for me
 
I carry a M1 Mashie. Which is a 1 Hybrid. I love it and hit it much better than any 3 wood I have ever carried. It's loft is 15.5*, which is similar to most 3 woods. It hits balls easier out of the rough for sure.
 
In addition to my post I do agree with the rest. Try a hybrid. I have a Mashie 2 and never use it now that I have figured out how to hit my 3w. It's there because it's easy out of the rough and if my swing went to heck, I can use it because it's that easy.

I have been only playing for a few years and sometimes my swing just feels strange to me. Can't explain it. Especially when I was gaming a driver. One day felt incredible and could hit it anywhere I wanted. Another day feels like I have never touched one before in my life.

I've heard for some the Mashie 1 was hard to hit. I considered getting one. I think I hit my M2 about 200-210. In fact at one time I had 3 Mashies in my bag. I struggled with my irons. Then one day a month or so ago things just clicked with them and I dropped the Mashies and now have 4-AW.

I think you keep the clubs you feel comfortable with. The ones that you pull and say well where is this gonna go should be set aside or trade in for credit at a reputable golf store. The relief I felt pulling my driver from my bag was incredible. It meant when I went to the range I didn't need to waste time on that club. It gave me more time to work on chipping and putting which helped me. It also saved me penalty strokes and lost golf balls. When I broke down my local courses, longest Par 4's were only 370. Even at the shorter end of my 3 wood or comfort club I was only a 7 iron out. It still irks me that I can't hit a driver but it's a relief and the temptation is now out of sight.

Good luck man. It will all work out. One day you will pick up a 3w and feel like wow, why haven't I been bagging one of these.
 
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Doing just fine, better, without one. It's really not necessary in my bag. I find the best way to shorten a hole is to hit it straight and too many 3Ws send me long and wrong.
 
griff said:
Doing just fine, better, without one. It's really not necessary in my bag. I find the best way to shorten a hole is to hit it straight and too many 3Ws send me long and wrong.
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Awesome. It's all about lowering your score and having fun.
 
There have been periods of time when I didn't carry a 3w. But I always go back. Most likely because I like to punish myself. The 4w advice is good. I'd like to find a good LH 4w.

Kevin
 
I've actually looked into purchasing a 4 wood several times but the loft of these is usually 17* and the 5-wood I'm gaming now is 18* so I wasn't sure I'd see a significant increase in distance.
 
mtiger10 said:
If I have a reliable 18* 5 wood, should I even bother with carrying a 3 wood? My driver is 9.5* Nike VR str8-fit that I can hit 240 but I've struggled to find a 3 wood that I can hit with any consistency off the turf. I've been through several over the last few years (Callaway X-Hot, Cobra Speed LD-F, Big Bertha Diablo, Diablo Edge) but I just can't seem to find one I can hit. They all seem long and awkward to me because I'm only 5'5"
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I find I am more comfortable hitting lower profile 3 woods than the ones with a huge, tall face.
 
Do what is best for you. Don't carry a 3 wood if you can't hit it.
 
I gave up on my last 3 wood a couple months ago and bought a Taylor Made R11 4 wood which I hit pretty well, esp off the tee on narrow fairways-good distance too. I went today to look at the R11 3 wood and ended up instead trading my R11 4 wood in for an Exotics CB4 Tour 16.5 degree 4 wood. I hated to part with my white 4 wood, but the Exotics felt remarkably better off the short tee and gave me a consistent 20-30 yards more than my R11 4 wood on the launch monitor, so it's history tonight.
 
DrPatSr said:
I gave up on my last 3 wood a couple months ago and bought a Taylor Made R11 4 wood which I hit pretty well, esp off the tee on narrow fairways-good distance too. I went today to look at the R11 3 wood and ended up instead trading my R11 4 wood in for an Exotics CB4 Tour 16.5 degree 4 wood. I hated to part with my white 4 wood, but the Exotics felt remarkably better off the short tee and gave me a consistent 20-30 yards more than my R11 4 wood on the launch monitor, so it's history tonight.
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CB4 is a BEAST. I opted for a Trilogy for the extra forgiveness. Was really hard to make the choice based on the results from a well struck CB4 shot. Trilogy gave me better misses so that's what I bought.
 
I play w/ a 3 wood in my bag and couldn't imagine not having that club but I think I'm in the minority these days. Play whatever feels right and more importantly what helps you score the best.
 
Did you try talking to a tour pro? Maybe you could try several woods/degrees/brands on a monitor to find the best fit.
 
Swoosh said:
Did you try talking to a tour pro? Maybe you could try several woods/degrees/brands on a monitor to find the best fit.
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Touring pro wouldn't give me the time of day if I asked him what 3W to hit. And if he/she did I doubt I could hit it like he/she would hit it. I do agree about fittings and hitting all of them. Sound advice.
 
griff said:
CB4 is a BEAST. I opted for a Trilogy for the extra forgiveness. Was really hard to make the choice based on the results from a well struck CB4 shot. Trilogy gave me better misses so that's what I bought.
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I may end up wishing I had done that too. We'll see. If I can't hit the CB4 4 well in the real world, I'll look at a trade in on a Trilogy. Thanks.
 
Ive also only carried a 4 wood in my bag. I have a pretty beat up looking R11 4 wood that serves me very well. Love the club. My dad bought some new cobra's, so he gave me his R11 3 wood to try out this weekend. Im pretty keen on putting the 4 wood shaft into it and testing that, as the shaft is half an inch shorter. If it doesnt work out, I will lose the 3 wood again and go back to my usual 4 wood setup. Like so many have said, whatever works.
 
+1 to those that have suggested you should go with what feels comfortable for you. There's no point in "following the herd" and carrying clubs that you don't feel confident with or simply don't use.

Personally I don't use my 3 wood off the deck, I use it as a safety club off the tee either on tight fairways or when I need to pull my tee shot up 20-30 yards short of where my driver would usually go. Certainly wouldn't be without mine now, but it's got to be about what works for you.
 
I've got to agree with most of the others in the thread - if you're not comfortable with it, or not hitting it well, leave it out of the bag and either practice with it at the range to get into the groove, or put in a different club.
 
I had an R7 3 wood that I could not hit. Left the 3 out of the bag for a almost 2 seasons and just used a 3 hybrid as my long fairway club (only had the 3 and 4 hybrid, no other woods). It really made me use course management more because I couldn't just hit it long enough to reach short par 5s or long par 4s, so I would have to lay up to 100 yards and count on my short game to par. Got tired of this and bought the Burner 2.0 3 wood, 5 wood also, and now the game is much more fun, knowing I have a club I can hit long off the fairway.
 
griff said:
CB4 is a BEAST. I opted for a Trilogy for the extra forgiveness. Was really hard to make the choice based on the results from a well struck CB4 shot. Trilogy gave me better misses so that's what I bought.
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Incidentally, anything with the word "Tour" in the name doesn't apply to me unless it's followed by the word "Bus"
 
I would suggest taking a look at the 17* Cleveland Launcher FL 3 wood. Its likely longer than your 4 wood and its a very easy to hit club. I have the 15* and its my best club, off the tee AND off the deck. I hit my Cleveland 3w further than my driver...
 
h0ss66 said:
I would suggest taking a look at the 17* Cleveland Launcher FL 3 wood. Its likely longer than your 4 wood and its a very easy to hit club. I have the 15* and its my best club, off the tee AND off the deck. I hit my Cleveland 3w further than my driver...
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I have the 13.5 and it's a beast. The shaft is awesome for a nice easy swing but I can't go after it. I've out driven my buddies with mine of the tee with them using their drivers.
 
I'm only 5'6" and have had great success hitting both a Superfast 2.0 3w and a Tour Exotics Trilogy 3w off the deck. I think the Trilogy was the easiest 3w I have ever hit off the deck.

Right now I don't use a driver. My 3w is my go to club.
 
ddelise said:
I've heard of some people carrying a 16.5* Tour Edge Exotics 4-wood because they find it just as long as most 3 woods, and easier to hit.
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Yup! Carry one here and it acts like a 3 wood anyway. With the lower spin balls in the last 5 years, the 4-wood becomes a 3-wood. As driver lofts have increased (more using 9.5 and 10.5) your 3-wood should increase a bit too.

Whether you carry one at all is totally up to the golfer and the courses you normally play. For myself, I carry a 18-deg 5-wood (220-230) and a 16.5 deg. 4-wood (230-250 if I jump on it). Little difference in loft but it gives me the gap I'm looking for. Also on shorter dogleg par 4's I can draw my 5-wood better, and fade my 4-wood better. So I do use both of them pretty regularly.

My 4-iron is another story. For some reason I am not left with this particular yardage on the courses I normally play. It's been my "hit it under the tree club" for a long time now.

mullie
 
I've heard that as long as you have a good 2 iron/hybrid in the bag a 3 wood is an option. I'm interested in getting a good Adams 2 hybrid at some point other than just the a7. I did have some success off the tee with the Black Super Hybrid 17 degree 2 iron and have also had success with the a7Os matching 2 hybrid with the a7Os irons. I did have a par 5 though where I did hit my 3 wood 200+ yards off the tee and just needed my 4 hybrid to the green. I need to be more consistent with the fairway woods before I consider them as part of my bag permanently. Right now I need to go back to the Speedline F10 driver - I was hitting a 9.5 loft with Wabasi shaft. It was my favorite driver ever - and even saw drives I've never seen before and likely won't see again until I get my hands on that driver again!
 
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