Best 3 wood to play strictly as a driver

[elthrill]

boys, i'm about done trying to keep my driver in the bag. I rarely play courses over 6900 yards and the driver is not giving me one stroke of advantage over my 3 wood. And is costing me strokes left and right. my swing through the bag hits the ball compressed and solid, but put a driver in my hand and i'm curving it both directions and lucky to get it 220 yards. its pathetic.

So i'm committing to just playing 3 wood off the tee. Interested if there are any models of years past that are absolute bombers off the tee?

[Titleist_PT23]

Callaway X Hot 3 Deep (or X2 Hot 2 Deep)

[Divot2]

Ping G400 Stretch for the win! Honestly go take a lesson with the driver, the confidence will come with it.

[extrastiff]

nope. pick one thats 13-14 degrees and made in the last 3 years or so. they are all pretty much the same as far as distance is concerned, i have hit/built them all. if you try to bomb it ull probably overswing and $#@% up.

If you can hit a 3 wood solid but not a driver, might be useful to post a video of each swing for some tips. its just a tool dont let it defeat u :)

[the bishop]

Strictly for use off the tee I'd be partial to the 2016 M1. I still have two of those heads and will likely never get rid of them. One of the best ever IMO.

[Z1ggy16]

My LTD is about as long as the new stuff from 2018/19, but I picked mine up for $80. 14.5* , pretty low flight, low spin.

[JDMRN81]

> @Divot2 said:

> Ping G400 Stretch for the win!

This! It’s been the longest club in my bag for a reason.

 

[dcopp7]

xHot 3 deep or TM RBZ 1 or 2. Both are absolute cannons.

[puttingmatt]

Go get fit for a three wood, try all of three woods from various companies.

I use the Tour Edge CBX 119 15* . Its long, and versatile. Gives my driver

A run for its money, not a whole lot of difference in total yards. Can look at 13* offerings, which could give you as long or longer distance than a lot of drivers.

YMMV, but with some patience, you should be able to find a good 3 wood to

Replace your driver,

[JD3]

Tour edge exotics ....wide footprint like a driver, and nearly as long

[Hertsjoatmon]

I use a Big Bertha Mini 1.5 (14* model) for this purpose with a shorter shaft in it. Standard was 44", but I play mine an inch or so shorter than that with lead tape on the head to bring the swing weight back.

[Argonne69]

If you don't plan on hitting it off the deck, I'd go with a mini driver. I have an Aeroburner mini, but the Big Bertha Mini or TaylorMade Original One Mini would also work. The mini is 20 yards shorter than the driver, but its a fairway finder.

 

[Moxley]

Consider mini drivers, which are a mix of the 2 and typically play like a strong 3 wood.

 

Knowing whether it's the shaft length, loft or spin (or something else like just being a better fit) on the 3 wood that keeps it straighter would help you find something.

[elthrill]

thanks men. for me its a feel thing in the driver. my driver is only 43.75" and i was fitted for it but i just dont feel like i can get around on it. my swing is 3/4 in terms of arm position at top and i dont have much hand release in my swing and i just feel like im going to hit the thing a mile right, so i end up shutting down the face and hitting it a mile left. and its back and forth left and right all day. and my position is dead square at the top of my swing. its not an issue with my 3 wood nor my 3 hybrid. i know I could get it fixed but i dont know if the sacrifice with my other clubs would be offset with the improvement in my driver. I really like the way im hitting my wedges - 7 iron right now. Its flush.

[thigos]

> @elthrill said:

> thanks men. for me its a feel thing in the driver. my driver is only 43.75" and i was fitted for it but i just dont feel like i can get around on it. my swing is 3/4 in terms of arm position at top and i dont have much hand release in my swing and i just feel like im going to hit the thing a mile right, so i end up shutting down the face and hitting it a mile left. and its back and forth left and right all day. and my position is dead square at the top of my swing. its not an issue with my 3 wood nor my 3 hybrid. i know I could get it fixed but i dont know if the sacrifice with my other clubs would be offset with the improvement in my driver. I really like the way im hitting my wedges - 7 iron right now. Its flush.

 

I relate to this all too well. Driver used to be the biggest strength of my game. Lately I'm a double crossing snap hook machine. I absolutely love my m4 fairway off of the tee. It's larger headed and plenty long. I'm tempted to give the Original one mini driver a go, but then I'll have a day where I'm bombing driver long and straight, so decide to stay the course

[MaineMariner]

I just picked up a Rogue 3W from Callaway Pre-Owned after accidentally smashing my Big Bertha Fusion off a pole at the driving range. It feels POWERFUL. And even better, it only cost me $100 or so.

 

I also play with a 42-inch shaft as that feels way more comfortable to me. I prefer a 3W like the Rogue that allows me to tinker with the weight to bring up the swingweight without having to resort to lead tape.

[gambit]

> @dcopp7 said:

> xHot 3 deep or TM RBZ 1 or 2. Both are absolute cannons.

This...

[Golfingfanatic]

M2 DF T3 13.5°

M3 T3 13° (can be adjusted to a lower loft)

[setter02]

So many options in this category and the quality of offerings from within the last 5 years from the OEM's is there, near and dear to my heart as I rarely hit driver and hit woods all the time off tees. You could go from an 11.5* TEE to a 12*-14* mini driver all at very good pricing. RBZ, Stg2, XHP (personal fav till I caved 2 faces), X2HP 2/3 Deep, TEE, Adams Super LS. Last 'new' head I purchased was a '16 M2, fine head, but nothing better than anything I've mentioned.

[Barfolomew]

I play a 43" driver for control....

 

Which club do you think is more forgiving and goes further off a tee:

 

43" club with a small 3 wood head or a 460 driver head.... yeah baby its just logic man

[cgasucks]

Either you get a mini driver or a strong 2 wood...that's my suggestion.

[Richsgbox]

What 3w are you gaming now? Sometimes a simple ball change and shaft change can be comparable to throwing new $ on a new 3w to gain a little more distance. That said, M5 is a beast and my friends flash is long. Take a look at a TM mini driver. Im intrigued. Curious to know what you end up with.

[Joelsim]

Original One Mini Driver.

[Moxley]

> @Barfolomew said:

> I play a 43" driver for control....

>

> Which club do you think is more forgiving and goes further off a tee:

>

> 43" club with a small 3 wood head or a 460 driver head.... yeah baby its just logic man

 

Head size is one factor but so is loft, the higher loft on the 3w will give more forgiveness on a variety of mishits.

[muniman]

I agree with the Tour Edge Exotics choices from previous posters. My CBX 16.5 has been a lifesaver for me. I just bought a CBX 13.5 just to see if I can eek out a few more yards.

[cmagnusson]

In addition to the XHot Deep and LTD that has been cited already, don't sleep on the Ping Rapture. Both the V2, or even better yet the OG version. Absolute rocket launchers.

[geochitown]

I found that the Tour Edge EX9 long from a few years back is pretty amazing (13*), and it has an adjustable hosel.

I put in a different shaft and play it at 42.5" and it's been really amazing for shorter courses for me.

I don't play as often as I like, so having a shorter shafted wood makes it easier to make good contact on the face.

[geochitown]

I think there is an Rapture in Buy,Sell and Trade, and I saw someone selling a 2deep there as well.

[mogc60]

The rapture is a cannon...

[seasonedcarnivore]

I also typically play shorter courses (SS>115mph) and for most of my life have been a streaky and mostly poor driver of the golf ball.

To compensate, I have always used a 13* 43"+ 3 wood 70 percent or more of the time from the tee with decent success. However, I recently stuck an old x100 3 wood shaft into a TM tip adapter and put it in an SLDR with really promising results, tight dispersion, and the wieght and length gave me the confidence to prefer the club over my 3wood (3deep). After some additional tinkering and late night ebay purchasing I have assembled an r15 430 head playing at 12 degrees (standard loft/lie setting) with a 103g steel shaft at 44". The larger club head, heavier and more stable shaft, and larger sweet spot has made this club a more accurate and more forgiving driving club as compared to previous strong 3 wood. I also set the weights with one on heel and one on toe for max stability and forgiveness. I have gained about 15 yards over my 3 wood with tighter dispersion. I still keep a longer, lower lofted, low spin, fade biased bomber in the bag for par 5's, wide open par 4's, and dogleg rights.

 

Main point, a smaller headed (though bigger than the mini drivers on market) driver will create faster speeds over a larger face area. A shorter heavier (steel is great) shaft with a higher loft will create the accuracy you desire with a 3 wood, and possible even better when compared to a 43.5" lightshafter "bomber" 3 wood.

 

I am starting to build some of these fairway finding gamer clubs for friends so DM if you want one for yourself!

 

Best,

 

Colton