Does anyone carry a strong 3 wood? If so, why?

[LeoLeo99]

I have a 14.5°  Ping G that I hit very well.  Also have a 917F2 in 16.5° and 18°.  

 

The 16.5° has a larger head and is a little better off the tee but I hit the 14.5° a little better off the fairway.  I won't carry both of them at the same time.  

[Ri_Redneck]

1 minute ago, Fairway14 said:

 

Obviously players can put whatever clubs they want within their bags. This is a discussion forum and my contribution to this thread was to make points about why the strong 3-wood is not especially popular. Sorry if you interpret those points to mean "no player should carry a strong 3-wood", because that was not my intention.

In my own bag I carry a 64* wedge, a loft I am certain lots of people would believe does not make good sense. But I was struggling to play particular shots well and found the 64* to be helpful. If you guys who carry a strong 3-wood find it helps you shoot lower scores that's great.

I have no problem with general input or anecdotal experiences. For example, your mentioning that you have a 3w shot probably once every three or four rounds. This is perfectly fine and probably of use to many here. Does it apply to everyone else? Of course not.

 

It's the insinuations toward individuals that they are incapable of doing what they say they can do or suggesting they are playing from the wrong tee just because they want to play a specific club that rubs me the wrong way. Mattman simply disagreed with the opinion that the 3w+ is obsolete because he sees opportunities to use the club on the courses he plays on a regular basis. I also disagree with that assessment.

 

Lastly, I've played several medium length courses with par 5s that have a short carry to the corner or a crossing hazard and then 270-280 to an unprotected green. The perfect scenario for the use of a 3w+.

 

BT

[SoCalTitleist]

I just choke down on my driver or hit my 2 hybrid off the tee .

 

im not trying to hit miracle 3 woods to the green on par 5s

 

Edited December 15, 2020 by SoCalTitleist

[randywildman]

Ping anser 14.5stiff tour shaft.  mega blast 280, regular or of  the tee 230-260 mixed bag off the grass but solid and goes high or I can keep it low and can work it both ways if I need it too. won't leave my bag unless I find another solid ping to replace it with

Yes I pullback the driver when it's not following my plans and play the 3 wood and it's great for finding the fairway on tight par 4's

[Dan Drake]

I have a driver, 2w, & 3w in the bag.  There is a very deep rabbit hole that you can go down when discussing bag  makeup and what clubs go in there.  I have been very wrong in the past, almost always when relying on anecdotal evidence or basic perception.  
 

Keeping my strokes gained stats over the last 5 years has opened my eyes to quite a bit.  One of those things is bag setup and how a club you might only hit one shot per round can actually be more valuable than a club you might hit 3 shots per round.  
 

Bryson carries D, 2w, 3w, 2i, & 3i (loft for loft on the irons, not number stamped on the sole). And he’s the one guy on tour who probably has fewer long shots into greens than anyone.  He’s also someone who has most likely put a fair amount of thought into his bag makeup and how to shoot the best scores he can.

 

”This above all: to thine own self be true.”  

[Tiptx1122]

I have a Ryoma F2 13* which is a missile launcher, not the easiest to hit off the turf but off the Tee on those short par 4's with narrow fairways. Plus it matches my Ryoma Max Type V 9.5 driver. I do have a 2H Tour Edge EXS 220 that I use of the fairway to reach any par 5's as that is good for 230 yds.

[Myherobobhope]

16 hours ago, Dan Drake said:

I have a driver, 2w, & 3w in the bag.  There is a very deep rabbit hole that you can go down when discussing bag  makeup and what clubs go in there.  I have been very wrong in the past, almost always when relying on anecdotal evidence or basic perception.  
 

Keeping my strokes gained stats over the last 5 years has opened my eyes to quite a bit.  One of those things is bag setup and how a club you might only hit one shot per round can actually be more valuable than a club you might hit 3 shots per round.  
 

Bryson carries D, 2w, 3w, 2i, & 3i (loft for loft on the irons, not number stamped on the sole). And he’s the one guy on tour who probably has fewer long shots into greens than anyone.  He’s also someone who has most likely put a fair amount of thought into his bag makeup and how to shoot the best scores he can.

 

”This above all: to thine own self be true.”  

Yeah, I think the key thing is it’s your 14 clubs... make sure they do what you need them to do.

 

I think there also an interesting case to be made for having a traveling set with more variety and a home set built for your regular course.

 

I play less than ten rounds a year away from my home club... so every club in my bag is basically picked for my course... I added a 5 iron because I need that shot when playing the back tees to a back pin on a par 3... I could easily drop it and be fine, but it’s my 14 and I want to have that shot, even if I’m rarely using it.

[MattM97]

I carry a G410 LST 3W and play it at 13°, what the fitter set me up in and I think we found playing at a regular 15° loft the ball was balooning too much in flight. Saw it testing the Mavrik and TS3 which I both really liked especially the Mavrik just didn't fly properly. 

 

I use my 3W both off the tee and on par 5s usually on my second shot. Off the tee it's extremely long and accurate and an easy fall back for me when the driver isn't working or if I need to be very accurate my confidence is high with this club. Off the deck or rough I don't have trouble getting it off the ground and attacking par 5s.

 

So main reason was ball flight, end result was me being very happy with my club, if it did the same thing at 17° I wouldn't care.

[Ripken08]

I personally wouldn't carry a strong 3W.  For me, it's sort of a one-trick pony club in that I'd use it on tight driving holes only.  They are difficult to elevate and I rarely have second shots on long holes where I could effectively use it mush less be accurate with it.  I have other clubs that could fill the same role and be much more versatile for other shots.  I carry a normal 3W now just because I have space for it, but it rarely gets used.  I'll use a hybrid from the deck on second shots because it's almost just as long as a perfectly struck 3W and much easier to hit.  I could drop the 3W entirely and score the same.  Just my personal opinion...

[scooterhd2]

Just picked up a Mini 1.5 Bertha at 12 degrees. Turned it down to 13 after the first range session. 

 

I have a spot in the bag and have traditionally avoided 3 woods, as I hit my 17* hybrid nearly as far from the tee and with much better success from the deck. My home course has a couple of shorter par 4s where anything longer than 250 just sets up some odd partial shots, but my problem is that laying up has not been any safer than the driver. I'm equally Prone to end up in the rough or desert with the driver or 3 wood, so I am hoping the mini driver can play like a more forgiving 3 wood. We'll see. 

[cmatthews77]

I've gone back and forth over the years.  When I played a strong 3w (13.5 or 14 degrees) I primarily used it off the tee maybe as something I could more easily hit a draw where my driver I normally play a fade and also carried a 5w that I used more often off the deck.  That required a 52/58 wedge setup.  

 

But I ended up ditching the 5w - adding a low spinning 3w lofted up to 16 degrees and carrying a 50, 54 and 58 wedge setup.