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Has it ever helped you to hit Driver while using the mindset its a 3wood?

rollin

rollin

"Just playin golf pally"
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Last couple or so rounds Im finding my swing (hitting driver) feels and been resulting in more good hits if I tell myself Im holding and hitting 3wood.

I hit my 3wood well (which fwiw I never use to, but I do this season). Driver this season not so much. Since my swing rebuild those 2 clubs sort of flipflopped opposite way for me. I developed an OTT swing with driver and while when its tamed can still be very efficient and long little fade. . Problem is its been more problematic than efficient. And then when it isn't going well enough I start to also lose tempo at which point outright poor misses are the result and hence a poor day off the tee.

So I have recently found that telling myself Im holding and swinging my 3wood. Not only has my OTT been diminished but even drawing the ball some again. Or at least straighter and simply just outright dropped the amount of poor and errant shots down a ton. Still hitting as long as I always did so its not like Im getting less yardage. In fact Im even bombing my fair share again.

Just something about my 3wood that feels good and my tempo is good and so making believe Im swinging 3wood has somehow began to fix my inconsistent driver. Right? wrong? IDK I guess whatever works. I just hope its not temporary and it keeps going. Anyone ever do something similar that helped.
 
Honestly no, they are totally different swings, at least in my mind. If I am struggling with driver I just go with a 3 wood but if I start swinging my driver like a 3 wood it doesn't go very far. Now if it is a swing thought feel that works for you while still swinging the driver optimally then I would just keep doing it.
 
Very similar to me. Power fade can give way to a slice witj the driver. 3 wood is money. So i told myself its a3 wood. Not so good. So i cranked the loft to 12.5 and Ted tje ball lower. Even worse. Hypothesis proved with surety that calling tje driver a3 wood does not change the fact its a driver. For me
 
It’s an interesting question. When I am struggling with my driver, like always, I switch to my mini driver; and it almost seems like I can control my swing (and mindset) a little more. Then I pick up the driver and it’s right back to crap. So maybe I can convince myself to dial back that driver swing a bit by telling myself it’s the mini? Hmm.
 
Yes every time I hit it off the deck with one different mind set, it’s more forgiving than a 3wd as long as I connect.

Off the tee not really because bigger head driver is more forgiving than smaller head and mass 3wd, plus I only carry 5wd.


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ntanygd760 said:
Honestly no, they are totally different swings, at least in my mind. If I am struggling with driver I just go with a 3 wood but if I start swinging my driver like a 3 wood it doesn't go very far. Now if it is a swing thought feel that works for you while still swinging the driver optimally then I would just keep doing it.
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that's sort of what I mean. Ive obtained a nice fluid swing with my 3w. Well.....at least more often than not this season..lol
And so with my driver struggles this season it seems (last couple/few rounds) I can obtain a better tempo and swing path and over all comfort zone by sort of picturing an anticipated 3w swing/feel in my head while even though swinging driver. So far its working. Could be coincidence and maybe like so many other revelations we have it too fails again. But for now having hit many good drives lately Im going with it. lol we'll see what happens next rounds.
 
Art M said:
Very similar to me. Power fade can give way to a slice witj the driver. 3 wood is money. So i told myself its a3 wood. Not so good. So i cranked the loft to 12.5 and Ted tje ball lower. Even worse. Hypothesis proved with surety that calling tje driver a3 wood does not change the fact its a driver. For me
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yea its still a driver and doesn't change. And if I were losing yardage it also wouldn't be worthwhile since I could just use 3wood to begin with and the whole point is them moot. But (and fwiw this is relatively new approach) it has for now helped my driver consistency while also maintain my distances. So I just cant really argue with myself about that right now.
 
O'Carroll said:
It’s an interesting question. When I am struggling with my driver, like always, I switch to my mini driver; and it almost seems like I can control my swing (and mindset) a little more. Then I pick up the driver and it’s right back to crap. So maybe I can convince myself to dial back that driver swing a bit by telling myself it’s the mini? Hmm.
Click to expand...

There are fwiw other areas of my game where I tell myself I am swinging something shorter. Like for example....I think many amateurs fail at hitting longer irons because we tend to think we need to hit the ball harder when further out when all we really have to do is swing the same as any other shorter iron and let the longer club do its job. Only after realizing that I had no need to swing a 5i from say 185 any harder than my 8 iron from say 150 did I find much better swings and efficient use with those longer irons.

So with that logic....just perhaps (in this 3w/driver situation)I am simply doing the same thing., perhaps just finding a smoother tempo in just the same way. Letting the longer club (driver in this case) do the work. Whether its a 8i mindset while swinging a 5i or a 3w mindset while swinging driver its perhaps helping me feel and place better/smoother swing and letting my longer club do the work. I suppose this is all mental or like "Yogi" says "its 90% half mental."
 
Sounds like it's working well for you, keep it up. I wish those kinds of mind tricks worked for me too. I find golf hard enough and do best when I really 'embrace/sense' the swing for the club/shot I'm envisioning. I've tried that one off imagination stuff with poorer results. We're all different though so keep hitting them well:thumb:
 
Not really for me. Two different swings for me.
 
They are very much the same swing for me, as are most clubs. The setup is a bit different to get that driver upswing. Personally I don’t tell myself to hit the driver like it’s a 3W, instead I tell myself the same swing thought for every club.
 
I’ve not tried a 3w mindset when swinging a driver, but I have choked up on driver to emulate a 3w length, with mixed results.
 
My Driver, Woods and Irons are all the same swing - ball position and setup dictate the differences. I use to have different swings and was so inconsistent.
 
rollin said:
that's sort of what I mean. Ive obtained a nice fluid swing with my 3w. Well.....at least more often than not this season..lol
And so with my driver struggles this season it seems (last couple/few rounds) I can obtain a better tempo and swing path and over all comfort zone by sort of picturing an anticipated 3w swing/feel in my head while even though swinging driver. So far its working. Could be coincidence and maybe like so many other revelations we have it too fails again. But for now having hit many good drives lately Im going with it. lol we'll see what happens next rounds.
Click to expand...

Yep as they say feel isn't real but it might as well be if it helps you shoot lower scores.
 
wubears71 said:
My Driver, Woods and Irons are all the same swing - ball position and setup dictate the differences. I use to have different swings and was so inconsistent.
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I agree and this is what I try to do.

With the ball being further back in the stance with the 3 wood you should have a negative angle of attack. In that respect it has more in common with irons than a driver.
 
I've tried that and it was of no help to me. I've tried swinging the driver like everything short of a baseball bat, and I just can't figure it out.
 
I think some of you may be a bit confused as to just what Im suggesting here. Most of us (I think) understand the differences between 3w/driver as for ball position, AOA, swing arc plane, longer shaft, etc..
Those things differ and fwiw can offer a different feeling in what is otherwise considered a same swing. Its similar as we move to irons and up the scale to shorter clubs. Those factors change again. Those factors can offer us somewhat different physical feelings as we change clubs and is also why imo some will debate as to whether or not the swing is the same with all clubs or not. Right, wrong, or indifferent its not like I am swinging my driver with the factors of a 3wood. For example Im not changing my ball position or choking up on the club. Just that for whatever the reason, when I think 3w (which I been swinging with a good tempo) its been helping create a good tempo with my driver and is one of the things that's been missing or at least fading in and out from drive to drive.

Honestly it may actually just simply be that by thinking 3w its preventing me from trying to kill the ball or overswing the driver and therefore often ruining tempo. It may just be that simple. But whatever it is I will keep it going so long as I find its better.
 
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