Longer Hitters - How often do you really hit 3W off the deck

[mweaver84]

Agreed. If you can knock it off the tee 260-300 and don't have 300-250 remaining on a par 5, you're probably on the wrong tee box (barring a short course layout, that is).

 

My buddies don't play much and don't hit the ball 300... Which means I almost always play from the White tees. Usually a long iron into the par 5s. I carry a 3 wood still. Hit it once or twice a round.

[Ri_Redneck]

Slightly off topic but I'd love to know this - am I the only person who uses a 3w from the tee box but doesn't tee the ball up? I cannot hit fairways, hybrids or irons from a tee - it messes with my mind something rotten and make me put an awful 'upwards'swing on the ball. I just drop the ball in a nice patch of grass on the box and go. I'm certainly the only one in my playing group that only uses a tee when hitting a driver.

 

You're not alone. I was taught to play FWs off the turf and that's how I play them. Sure, I'll tap a tiny hump on the tee box sometimes, but no tee.

 

BT

[Lepatrique]

A few others have echoed this, but the improvement in (1) driver forgiveness and (2) driving irons has made the 3 wood a much less relevant club in my mind. Drivers have gotten so easy to hit I really don’t hit a 3 wood any straighter - this was not the case 10-15 years ago. And then the driving iron simply goes so much longer than it used to and it goes much straighter than the 3 wood. If my choice is a 240-250 driving iron likely in the fairway vs a 260 3 wood it’s a no brainer.

[extrastiff]

A few others have echoed this, but the improvement in (1) driver forgiveness and (2) driving irons has made the 3 wood a much less relevant club in my mind. Drivers have gotten so easy to hit I really dont hit a 3 wood any straighter - this was not the case 10-15 years ago. And then the driving iron simply goes so much longer than it used to and it goes much straighter than the 3 wood. If my choice is a 240-250 driving iron likely in the fairway vs a 260 3 wood its a no brainer.

 

I guess that just depends on what OP is calling a long hitter. Maybe he already said and I missed it. But 260 is my 5 wood, or low end 3 wood.

 

And hitting a fairway wood off the deck for me is easier than driving iron.

 

 

 

 

[Rosco1216]

If you hit your 5W 260 off the deck, you're pretty long, if you carry it 260 off the deck you are for sure. IMO "off the deck" implies that it is an approach shot, not off the tee box(tee'd up or not). Since you should easily be a 300+ hitter with the driver then you shouldn't have but maybe 1 or 2 instances in a round where you have that of yardage into a green unless you hit less than driver on a long par 5 or are playing 7400+ where all par 5s are upper 500's or more...or abnormal weather conditions.

 

On another note..does one really need 6 or 7 clubs in their bags that go 200+?

[radiman]

A few others have echoed this, but the improvement in (1) driver forgiveness and (2) driving irons has made the 3 wood a much less relevant club in my mind. Drivers have gotten so easy to hit I really don't hit a 3 wood any straighter - this was not the case 10-15 years ago. And then the driving iron simply goes so much longer than it used to and it goes much straighter than the 3 wood. If my choice is a 240-250 driving iron likely in the fairway vs a 260 3 wood it's a no brainer.

 

Since my 3 wood isn't as long as my driver, anything I hit offline goes less offline due to the shorter length of the shot. Plus, for me, I have an easier time turning the ball over with my 3 wood than my driver. We have a long par four that is a hard dog leg left with trees just off the left of the box. The optimal play for me is a driver that starts at the low point of the trees and draws hard and over the trees along the left side. If I hit my driver and manage to draw as intended, I am about 100 yards out. If the ball goes straight, I am way OB. If I hit my 3 wood, I know I will hit a draw that at least gets to the turn leaving me about 180 in. If I am feeling confident, I can challenge the corner a little more and get to about 150. If that goes straight instead of drawing, I am in the rough with about 190-200 yards in. I will also hit 3 wood on some shorter holes where there is trouble around the green and I can't go for it. But, at our course, there are a few holes that I can drive the green (can, not that I always do), depending on wind. I hit driver, wedge on a lot of holes. Hitting a 3 wood is really only moving me from a pitch with a wedge to maybe a full gap and at worst a PW or 9 iron. I'd move another set of tees back, but there is no option. At just about 6800 yards, It is actually one of the longer public options in town. Even the private courses are similar or shorter overall.

 

I get what you are saying. If there is only a 10 yard difference between your driving iron and 3 wood, it wouldn't make much sense to hit it. I have about a 20-30 yard gap in mine. That's about 2 clubs.

[Fubuman]

Slightly off topic but I'd love to know this - am I the only person who uses a 3w from the tee box but doesn't tee the ball up? I cannot hit fairways, hybrids or irons from a tee - it messes with my mind something rotten and make me put an awful 'upwards'swing on the ball. I just drop the ball in a nice patch of grass on the box and go. I'm certainly the only one in my playing group that only uses a tee when hitting a driver.

No you are not the only one.

I tee my 3w up most of the time on the tee box, however, on windy days I hardly ever take driver & when it is 3w, then I don’t tee it up.

This hits low mid bullets that don’t seem to bothered by the wind at all, I use this recipe on elevated tees where I want the ball to hit the ground hot, works all the time.

[extrastiff]

If you hit your 5W 260 off the deck, you're pretty long, if you carry it 260 off the deck you are for sure. IMO "off the deck" implies that it is an approach shot, not off the tee box(tee'd up or not). Since you should easily be a 300+ hitter with the driver then you shouldn't have but maybe 1 or 2 instances in a round where you have that of yardage into a green unless you hit less than driver on a long par 5 or are playing 7400+ where all par 5s are upper 500's or more...or abnormal weather conditions.

 

On another note..does one really need 6 or 7 clubs in their bags that go 200+?

Exactly right! two times a round on average unless its my local, which has two more holes that require it if your going for the green.

 

my thoughts on the second point, I cant see why 6/7 clubs would be useful . . either way i stay at 4 or 5 clubs 200+, 4i-5w-3w-driver, some days ill drop a club in favor of a stinger 2 iron

[pinestreetgolf]

my thoughts on the second point, I cant see why 6/7 clubs would be useful . .

 

There are courses where having trajectory options in your bag is just as important as yardage options.

 

I have an extra 13* club and a 58* wedge making 17 clubs. One gets played and the other stays in the trunk, depending on the course.

[Rosco1216]

If you hit your 5W 260 off the deck, you're pretty long, if you carry it 260 off the deck you are for sure. IMO "off the deck" implies that it is an approach shot, not off the tee box(tee'd up or not). Since you should easily be a 300+ hitter with the driver then you shouldn't have but maybe 1 or 2 instances in a round where you have that of yardage into a green unless you hit less than driver on a long par 5 or are playing 7400+ where all par 5s are upper 500's or more...or abnormal weather conditions.

 

On another note..does one really need 6 or 7 clubs in their bags that go 200+?

Exactly right! two times a round on average unless its my local, which has two more holes that require it if your going for the green.

 

my thoughts on the second point, I cant see why 6/7 clubs would be useful . . either way i stay at 4 or 5 clubs 200+, 4i-5w-3w-driver, some days ill drop a club in favor of a stinger 2 iron

So a full 5w is your 260 club but the 4i is the only shorter club that goes over 200 Unless you put a stinger 2i in the bag?

[ZA206]

I'm a fairly long hitter and my 3W is one of my best clubs off the tee. I almost never hit it from the fairway though.... it's not a shot that comes up very often, normally only on very long par 5's. Most of the time (even when needed) I still won't hit it unless there is minimal danger around the green and a bad miss won't kill me. One of the factors for this is that I'm really good at hitting my 3H off the deck. The 3H is about 235-240 yards and very reliable.... the 3W is about 250-255 off the deck and can be iffy if the lie isn't perfect.

 

I may have this 250 yard from the fairwayshot come up maybe once every 2 or 3 rounds.

 

ZA

[deep18]

I’m 285ish off the tee and hardly ever find myself in a situation where I’m hitting 3 wood into a par 5. I’d have to be somewhere between 250 and 275 to even consider it and typically the risk far outweighs the reward. I’d rather try to chase my driving iron down around the front of the green or layup to something like 110 yards.

[extrastiff]

If you hit your 5W 260 off the deck, you're pretty long, if you carry it 260 off the deck you are for sure. IMO "off the deck" implies that it is an approach shot, not off the tee box(tee'd up or not). Since you should easily be a 300+ hitter with the driver then you shouldn't have but maybe 1 or 2 instances in a round where you have that of yardage into a green unless you hit less than driver on a long par 5 or are playing 7400+ where all par 5s are upper 500's or more...or abnormal weather conditions.

 

On another note..does one really need 6 or 7 clubs in their bags that go 200+?

Exactly right! two times a round on average unless its my local, which has two more holes that require it if your going for the green.

 

my thoughts on the second point, I cant see why 6/7 clubs would be useful . . either way i stay at 4 or 5 clubs 200+, 4i-5w-3w-driver, some days ill drop a club in favor of a stinger 2 iron

So a full 5w is your 260 club but the 4i is the only shorter club that goes over 200 Unless you put a stinger 2i in the bag?

yea my 5 wood averages 240-260 , 4 iron anywhere from 190 to 220. distances vary a lot in longer clubs cause im not great at shaping it while slamming it yet, especially long irons.

And sorry its a stinger 3 iron, typo. averages about 220-240. not psyched about the gap from 220-240 but oh well tough life.

 

Edit: I can occasionally get 5 iron to 215, and 6 iron to 210, but those swings are way harder for me to control.

[extrastiff]

my thoughts on the second point, I cant see why 6/7 clubs would be useful . .

 

There are courses where having trajectory options in your bag is just as important as yardage options.

 

I have an extra 13* club and a 58* wedge making 17 clubs. One gets played and the other stays in the trunk, depending on the course.

i mean im all for options but i thought we were talking about 14-club standard.. . ur playing 16? If i need trajectory options im gonna have to make different shapes with what i got.

[Golfer4Life]

Just put a ladies flex shaft on it and hit away, lol.....

[moony_12]

I play a 17 degree hybrid and a driving iron. They cover plenty up to 265 carry and more with roll if necessary. Anything past that would be hit and hope with a three wood anyway.

[CSmithAMG]

Last week was rare for me and I actually had 2 3W off the deck in the same round. Both were long par 5 where I had 250+ in. One was successful and one was a pretty big miss. I’d say 90% of my 3W shots are off the tee.

[radiman]

I had a situation the other day where carrying my 3 wood was a saving grace. I had a par 5, hard dog leg left, with a long carry to cut the corner. Temps were down, but there was a good wind at my back. I wound up with my driver to absolutely kill it as I have been hitting it really well up to that point. Swung out of my shoes and topped the ever living crap out of it. It bounded forward just short of a water hazard. Literally hit the drive about 50 yards. Took out my 3 wood and was able to carry all of the water along the left side and had about 100 yards left. A driving iron would have cleared the water. But, the ability to hit the 3 wood high and let the wind take it added a ton of extra distance. In this situation, the lie was perfect as the ball was sitting up in the rough. If it had been embedded even a little bit, I probably would have gone another route.

[benthegolfer]

My 3 Wood can be anything from 240-probably 280 depending on the shot I play and what the conditions are like. It is rare that I will hit it though just because I'm not playing many Par 5s that are both long enough and open enough to go for from that length. I've got the 3 wood pretty strong at 12.75 because it is primarily a club I use from the tee.