Strong 3-Wood vs Regular 3-Wood vs Driver?

[MelbaToasted]

i didn't really have any luck finding any previous posts comparing the benefits of each, so i hope i'm not reposting something already discussed...

but i'm having trouble lately with my driver (aren't we all?), and my next longest club is an 18° hybrid. i was thinking of trying out a 13° strong 3-Wood strictly for tee use. my question is: do people find the strong 3-Wood a lot harder to hit consistently than a regular 15-16° 3-Wood? is there a noticeable difference in distance? how about the strong 3-Wood vs the Driver in terms of consistency? does the strong 3-Wood lose a little forgiveness because of the decreased loft and smaller head?

one last thing... just curious, for those with both a driver and a strong/regular 3-Wood, how many times do you usually take each off the tee during a typical round?

 

[Griff]

Strong 3's can be just as hard to hit as a driver off the tee and they are hard to hit off the deck. It's a good thought and is not without merit. Problem is you gain very little loft that could aid in sidespin reduction and you lose the forgiveness a big 460cc head offers. If I can't hit the driver off the tee for whatever reason, I will take the straight 210 yards my 3H usually gives me. Darned thing has been hooking lately, but it is historically straight.

 

[Dr. Teeth]

The benefits are very specific to each person. I recently tried a strong 3 for the first time and I found it surprisingly easy to hit both off the tee and ground. That being said if you hit a traditional 3W better and more consistent then that is the way to go. My driver is 8* I ordered a 14* 3W and I have an 18* hybrid. I felt like that was a really good tapping for me. I have the option of changing the loft if I need to space out the distances better.

 

[WMac19]

i didn't really have any luck finding any previous posts comparing the benefits of each, so i hope i'm not reposting something already discussed...

but i'm having trouble lately with my driver (aren't we all?), and my next longest club is an 18° hybrid. i was thinking of trying out a 13° strong 3-Wood strictly for tee use. my question is: do people find the strong 3-Wood a lot harder to hit consistently than a regular 15-16° 3-Wood? is there a noticeable difference in distance? how about the strong 3-Wood vs the Driver in terms of consistency? does the strong 3-Wood lose a little forgiveness because of the decreased loft and smaller head?

one last thing... just curious, for those with both a driver and a strong/regular 3-Wood, how many times do you usually take each off the tee during a typical round?

Depends upon the club, really. I played a Callaway Warbird strong-3 for years. Loved it off the tee and was pretty consistent with it off the deck. But when they first came out, I tried the Tour Edge Exotics fairway woods (CB1) and fell for their forgiveness and consistency.

I actually had to work backwards with them in order to find the right fit. I'd initially bought a strong-3 but hit it too low and too far off the deck. Too far may sound silly, but I don't have a need for a club that I can hit 270 yards from the fairway. Then I tried the 3-wood, still a bit too far and too low. Almost gave up, assuming them to just be low-launching cannons, but tried the 4-wood anyway.

With the 4-wood, I get similiar distances to my Warbird strong-3 but with a much better ball-flight and significantly more forgiveness.

For when my consistency off the tee leaves much to be desired, I won't hesitate to go with the 4-wood. But I also had a 12* Taylor Made R540 XD made to 44" (same shaft as my fairway woods, btw) to ingrain more confidence. That way, I'm still looking down at a driver head, feel like I'm hitting driver, yet get similar results to my 4-wood... with a bit more distance.

With confidence restored, I'll gravitate back to my usual driver. FWIW, I only follow this protocol in the beginning of the season.

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

i didn't really have any luck finding any previous posts comparing the benefits of each, so i hope i'm not reposting something already discussed...

but i'm having trouble lately with my driver (aren't we all?), and my next longest club is an 18° hybrid. i was thinking of trying out a 13° strong 3-Wood strictly for tee use. my question is: do people find the strong 3-Wood a lot harder to hit consistently than a regular 15-16° 3-Wood? is there a noticeable difference in distance? how about the strong 3-Wood vs the Driver in terms of consistency? does the strong 3-Wood lose a little forgiveness because of the decreased loft and smaller head?

one last thing... just curious, for those with both a driver and a strong/regular 3-Wood, how many times do you usually take each off the tee during a typical round?

Why not go with a higher lofted driver, like a 12 or 13 degree? I use both a driver and a 3 wood off the tee every round. I use the three wood on shorter par fours.

I would also consider finding a PGA teaching pro in your area to work out the driver issue. What works for me, more than likely will not work for you.

 

[CharlieMoy]

Why not go with a higher lofted driver, like a 12 or 13 degree? I use both a driver and a 3 wood off the tee every round. I use the three wood on shorter par fours.

I would also consider finding a PGA teaching pro in your area to work out the driver issue. What works for me, more than likely will not work for you.

I agree. A higher lofted driver will increase backspin, which will allow less sidespin. The same reason why you can barely slice a 60* wedge.

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

A good read; http://www.franklygolf.com/simple-rules-for-buying-golf-equipment.aspx

 

[jmaier]

My normal setup is driver/4w and that works out well for me on decent ballstriking days. If the driver falters or there is a particularly tight or short Par 4 then I have the 4w and I also have no issue ripping it off the ground.

But i also have a 14 degree 3w that has a lower launching shaft that I am more accurate with, on average, than the driver. I don't recall ever slicing it -- misses are pulls and usually playable. I can't hit it off the ground so it is truly a driver replacement. I occasionally play a short course with narrow fairways and bunkers and trees galore and it is the 14* that is in the bag. There's no doubt that it is 20-30 yards shorter than my best drives but the avg tee shot with the 14* is only 10-15 yards shorter than my avg drive.

I understand the rationale behind why those big forgiving drivers are easier to hit but it doesn't track with my experience. I've rarely seen weekend duffers teeing off with fairway metals banana slicing 50-100 yards. I don't know if it is the longer shaft or the fact that folks overswing with the driver but the misses are big and I see the distance and directional variance are high.

 

[StLCardsFan]

I use a 13º 3-wood and have for a long time. Love it off the tee and hit it well enough off the deck. I'm not asking for too much if I hit it out of the fiarway. If I am using my 3-wood from the fairway, I am 230+ so all I ask is that I advance the ball and it doesn't get too far sideways. I'm not trying to stuff it to the back right pin. Off the tee it is the perfect compliment to the driver. Long and straight for me and very consistent. Great club to have on the tighter, shorter holes. I will usually use it on any hole less than 400-410 or so, depending on the layout.

I played a Callaway Warbird strong-3 for years. Loved it off the tee and was pretty consistent with it off the deck.

This is the club I am still using. 15 years and still going strong.

 

[Lukey719]

I have a 14 degree 3 wood and love it. Not sure if you would consider it a full fledged strong 3 wood, but I love it. I actually don't hit it off they tee much unless my driver will go too far and out of the fairway or something of that sort. My 3 wood is about 35 yards shorter than my driver and they are about the same accuracy, so this is why I favor my driver in most situations, but strong 3 woods are awesome and even if they aren't for you I think you would like it if you didn't have such a big gap between your driver and your 18 degree hybrid.

 

[MelbaToasted]

thanks for the advice, fellas... i think i'm gonna to be trying out some 15° 3W's soon. my Driver has been out of order to the point that it has basically been relegated to bag decoration the last few rounds. i've recently chosen to tee off with my 2H on almost every non Par 3 because it's way more accurate and i still get decent 220-230 distance out of it. driver lessons are definitely in order, but i think at the moment, a 15° 3W should get me more distance off the tee and it can eventually become a club i can learn to hit off the deck when my driver gets going again. i figure a 13° 3W might be fun off the tee, but not so much off the deck.

I'm definitely gonna take to the launch monitors, but in the meantime, how much more tee distance should i expect out of 15° lofted fairway wood compared to an 18° hybrid?

 

[Badger_Golfer]

Strong 3-woods can be difficult to hit as well because they dont have that much more loft than a driver. Instead of going with a strong 3, Id suggest just gripping down on your driver.
IMO a 3 can be just as difficult to hit as a driver because that shaft is almost as long but the clubhead is much smaller. Id take gripping down on a driver over a strong 3 any day.

 

[pjcedog]

i didn't really have any luck finding any previous posts comparing the benefits of each, so i hope i'm not reposting something already discussed...

but i'm having trouble lately with my driver (aren't we all?), and my next longest club is an 18° hybrid. i was thinking of trying out a 13° strong 3-Wood strictly for tee use. my question is: do people find the strong 3-Wood a lot harder to hit consistently than a regular 15-16° 3-Wood? is there a noticeable difference in distance? how about the strong 3-Wood vs the Driver in terms of consistency? does the strong 3-Wood lose a little forgiveness because of the decreased loft and smaller head?

one last thing... just curious, for those with both a driver and a strong/regular 3-Wood, how many times do you usually take each off the tee during a typical round?

They are three different things completely and do different things, driver, 3W and +3W. Suggestion, take a scorecard from the golf course you play the most often and look at the yardages for the par 4s and 5s from the tees you normally play. Now subtract your average driver yardage from the par 4s and 5s on the card and see what you get, if that yardage for the longest of the par 4s is more than you normally hit your 18 with an average hit or if the second shot on the par 5s with the 18 will not get you inside of 100 yards on the longest par 5 then you definitely need a club in between the 18 and the driver, if not then you should be fine without it.

 

[pjcedog]

I use a 13º 3-wood and have for a long time. Love it off the tee and hit it well enough off the deck. I'm not asking for too much if I hit it out of the fiarway. If I am using my 3-wood from the fairway, I am 230+ so all I ask is that I advance the ball and it doesn't get too far sideways. I'm not trying to stuff it to the back right pin. Off the tee it is the perfect compliment to the driver. Long and straight for me and very consistent. Great club to have on the tighter, shorter holes. I will usually use it on any hole less than 400-410 or so, depending on the layout.



This is the club I am still using. 15 years and still going strong.

I had a Warbird driver a long time ago and at 9.5 degrees I could hit it off the deck easily, 250 or more, I had almost forgotten about that. It may still be out in the garage in fact. I also used to have a 12 degree driver I could hit off the deck pretty easily and that was back when I played to about a 15 handicap so it isn't all that hard to do. It cannot be a 460cc big head driver though, has to be a smaller head, you might have to search for a used club to find one.

 

[RxGus]

i didn't really have any luck finding any previous posts comparing the benefits of each, so i hope i'm not reposting something already discussed...

but i'm having trouble lately with my driver (aren't we all?), and my next longest club is an 18° hybrid. i was thinking of trying out a 13° strong 3-Wood strictly for tee use. my question is: do people find the strong 3-Wood a lot harder to hit consistently than a regular 15-16° 3-Wood? is there a noticeable difference in distance? how about the strong 3-Wood vs the Driver in terms of consistency? does the strong 3-Wood lose a little forgiveness because of the decreased loft and smaller head?

one last thing... just curious, for those with both a driver and a strong/regular 3-Wood, how many times do you usually take each off the tee during a typical round?

If you want a 13* 3 wood strictly for the tee- have you considered a HT driver instead? Easier to hit off the tee than a fairway wood, larger sweet spot, and same/similar loft. That is where I would be looking if I were you.