Thin 3-wood

Hello all,

Yes, this is a 3-wood question.

Specifically, I'm using a turned down 5 wood, roughly at 16º. This is my off-the-deck advancement club. I like it because I hit it well off the ground. I have a 3hl that's at 16º, and I don't hit that well off the ground.

I started looking at why that might be, considering that the shaft is the same length, and so is the swing weight. In fact, I swapped shafts around just to figure out if it was that. No.

I find two facts, and they may be more personally relevant, but they are:

1. I hit better shots with the 5-wood because I can get the sweet spot on the ball more due to the top-to-bottom of the face being smaller than the 3HL.

2. The 5-wood sticks like an iron, and has very little rollout.

As 3-woods have evolved to be more tee-box friendly, the crown-to-floor has become longer to accommodate a slightly teed ball. This also means that you have to get a perfect lie, and hit down on a deck shot if you don't live in fluffy florida grass. The 5-woods have evolved to have "stopping power", and sure enough, there are grooves in the centre of a 5-wood where none are on the 3-wood.

I think I'm missing something here. I think that some sort of 15ish fairway should exist with the characteristic lower spin and no grooves of a 3-wood, but the thin face height of a 5/7-wood. I don't want a "second driver", I want a fairway that I can get "under the ball" and play from a harder (non-pga) fairway, and get some roll and distance.

Is this just not a thing? Am I alone in this? Maybe I just think the crown is too high on 3HLs? What are your thoughts?

Look to TEE and the new Titleist 3 Woods. I am pretty sure they will fit what you are looking for as the have a much shorter face and less behind the ball. The spin is pretty low in my opinion on both. Also look at cobra as I found the rails allowed me to “dig” a bit more running through the ball and so playing from a tight harder fairway I was able to get the ball a bit lower on the face. I for some reason do not get along with taylormade or callaway woods from the turf but from the tee they rock. Whereas the opposite is true for Ping. I would just try all the brands as to me they all have very different turf interaction.

Look at the Ping G400. It has the most shallow face making it real easy to hit off of the deck

The Adams Tight Lies series from 2014 (I think) are silly easy to hit off the turf. I think the super shallow face is what does it. You can find them for like $50 on eBay.

Agree with tight lies & later versions(tight lies 2 & titanium?)

So what you're saying is we went from tall persimmons you had to hit down on off the deck, to titanium shallow FWs, to... tall titanium persimmons you have to hit down on?

This industry...

A lot of it can be mental. A shallow face "looks" like it would be easier to launch off the grass when looking down at address. Visualization becomes reality.

TL 2 for an older choice, Any TEE CB is going to be a cannon and fairly compact. And I agree with the poster above on the G400... Perfect for off the deck.

Titleist 906f4 is what you seek

Ping G400 fwy wood is very thin...flat bottom too which is amazing.

I re read your post several times.

Going to be a bit of an oddball here. Have you considered the reason you hit the 5 wood well off the deck is because you hit down on it? Also the grooves help with flight. The shallow face woods may look easier to hit, but they’re not really easier. In fact here in Swampville Houston they can be a problem with fluffy lies. I don’t even think they are that great off the tee.

I think what’s needed is grooved 3 woods and face heights back to what they used to be. Or at least close. I use a 3 wood(strong at 13.5*) with prob a 55 mm face height and it has grooves. Stainless steel. I hit it off the deck and on tee better than any of the new shallow face woods. Btw I also hit it off of a deadpan like area at one range, works fine.

I understand your preference for the shallow face but I think possibly the lack of grooves is more the issue.

You might want to try ebay for older 3 wood heads that fit your profile. I may get get blasted for this but I’m not sure titanium is the answer for 3 woods like it has been for drivers. At least for now anyway. One man’s opinion who has tried it all with 3 woods.

I re read your post several times.

 

Going to be a bit of an oddball here. Have you considered the reason you hit the 5 wood well off the deck is because you hit down on it? Also the grooves help with flight. The shallow face woods may look easier to hit, but they're not really easier. In fact here in Swampville Houston they can be a problem with fluffy lies. I don't even think they are that great off the tee.

 

I think what's needed is grooved 3 woods and face heights back to what they used to be. Or at least close. I use a 3 wood(strong at 13.5*) with prob a 55 mm face height and it has grooves. Stainless steel. I hit it off the deck and on tee better than any of the new shallow face woods. Btw I also hit it off of a deadpan like area at one range, works fine.

 

I understand your preference for the shallow face but I think possibly the lack of grooves is more the issue.

 

You might want to try ebay for older 3 wood heads that fit your profile. I may get get blasted for this but I'm not sure titanium is the answer for 3 woods like it has been for drivers. At least for now anyway. One man's opinion who has tried it all with 3 woods.

I play off of a lot of hard pan, or "fairways" that are basically hard ground with the slightest depth of grass and no give. Since it's all former riverbed, lies undulate, so it *seems* like the 5 gets lower.

So the question back to you, and thank you for taking a run at this... can it be that I'm just hitting 3-wood lower on its face because the face is larger? I agree it can be mental, but you know that feeling when you get away with a driver off the tee that's off the bottom half, and it runs like hell and you breathe a sigh of relief... that feels like the best shot I've got on a 3 wood. It's pretty clear I can get a 5 in its spot.

Reckon it's just too low an AoA?

I re read your post several times.

 

Going to be a bit of an oddball here. Have you considered the reason you hit the 5 wood well off the deck is because you hit down on it? Also the grooves help with flight. The shallow face woods may look easier to hit, but they're not really easier. In fact here in Swampville Houston they can be a problem with fluffy lies. I don't even think they are that great off the tee.

 

I think what's needed is grooved 3 woods and face heights back to what they used to be. Or at least close. I use a 3 wood(strong at 13.5*) with prob a 55 mm face height and it has grooves. Stainless steel. I hit it off the deck and on tee better than any of the new shallow face woods. Btw I also hit it off of a deadpan like area at one range, works fine.

 

I understand your preference for the shallow face but I think possibly the lack of grooves is more the issue.

 

You might want to try ebay for older 3 wood heads that fit your profile. I may get get blasted for this but I'm not sure titanium is the answer for 3 woods like it has been for drivers. At least for now anyway. One man's opinion who has tried it all with 3 woods.

 

I play off of a lot of hard pan, or "fairways" that are basically hard ground with the slightest depth of grass and no give. Since it's all former riverbed, lies undulate, so it *seems* like the 5 gets lower.

 

So the question back to you, and thank you for taking a run at this... can it be that I'm just hitting 3-wood lower on its face because the face is larger? I agree it can be mental, but you know that feeling when you get away with a driver off the tee that's off the bottom half, and it runs like hell and you breathe a sigh of relief... that feels like the best shot I've got on a 3 wood. It's pretty clear I can get a 5 in its spot.

 

Reckon it's just too low an AoA?

Well i dont want to get into the mechanics of what might be happening as I am not a teacher. Don’t want to steer you the wrong way. Lots of times for me it happens when playing the ball too far forward. It could be something that simple.

Back to the club. Lots of shallow face woods have a flat bottom that seems too restrictive.

Shallow face.

No grooves.

Small footprint.

Hot face.

----------> Wishon 929HS 3 or 4 wood.

Orlimar TriMetal

Love a bowl bottom.

Shorter face = lower cg, which means higher launch from the same loft.

This is especially true on hard ground which keeps the club cg up relative to the ball cg.

I almost never hit a 3-wood into greens.

It's mostly for "as long as possible" layups on unreachable par 5's, and occasionally off the tee. Total distance, not carry, is what I want. So I am not looking for high launch.

For me, the V-steel gives the best of both worlds, with taller face for lower launch, but with a leading edge and sole design that allows a downward strike when the lie demands it.

Orlimar TriMetal

That was a great club.

If shallow faces were good, we'd all still be playing Orlimar Trimetals. Give me a deep faced 3 wood all day.