Driver and 3-Wood distance...differences

[jackstraw1975]

Curious to see everyone's yardage difference between their 3-wood and driver.   I've been using the Shot Scope V3 for about a year now and according to the stats, the average distance between the two is, at most 10 yards.  Both are Epic Sub Zero models. 3-Wood has Oban Devotion stiff and the driver has a Speeder 661 Evo-II in X-flex.  3-Wood is 13 degree and driver is 9.5 degree.  Been thinking about making a shaft change on my driver as I haven't been in front of a monitor in about 3-4 years.  Would shaft flex be enough in a driver to bump yardage up another 10-15 yards?  Thoughts, if this hasn't been exhausted in another hundred threads?

 

 

[Golfrnut]

Carry

3W = 225

D = 240

 

My 3W is 42" compared to a 44.75 driver.  Today's 3W are plenty hot, so in my mind, why not take advantage of it by shorting the shaft down for more control.  Some complain about it, I choose to think of it as a positive thing.

 

Edit:

To add, a lot of the distance gaps, or lack there of, are not necessarily due to you lacking driver potential (always could be), it's that the 3Ws are achieving ball speed potentials that were once only achievable with a driver.  3Ws now, specially the lower lofted ones, can hit the same smash factors that were once only achievable with driver heads.

Edited January 25, 2021 by Golfrnut

[Stinger83]

3 wood is typically about 20 yards behind my driver 

SO driver carry 280 - 3w 260 typically. 

[MTgolfer]

Driver flies about 290 and Three wood about 20 yards shorter. I had to go with a 15° Three wood, or they would’ve been a lot closer.

[Moonlightgrm]

Carry yardages:

3-Wood 220 yards (42” shaft length with 15* loft)

 

Driver 240 yards (44.75” shaft length with 9.5* loft)

 

I play my golf at sea level. My driver swing speed is 100mph.

Edited January 25, 2021 by Moonlightgrm

[LeftDaddy]

At times I struggle with my driver and I swear I hit my 3w longer. But when my driver is “on” there is a noticeable difference. Not exactly sure how many yards, but I feel like it’s at least 30. 

[b.mattay]

About 30 yards of carry. Can be less if I tee up the 3 wood for a fraction less spin. 

Edited January 30, 2021 by b.mattay

[TLUBulldogGolf]

I see around a 20 yard difference in carry, driver carries ~285.

[Jack Pearsall]

With the newer 3 woods, he drives then too far sometimes. It is not like it used to be so he doesn't even carry one but a 18* 5 wood AND a 17* hybrid. the ball flights are different and the 5 wood goes a tad further off the grass. off a tee, he uses the hybrid as it is easier to really go after hard than the longer 5 wood, and it is easier to work left or right....

[tthomasgolfer605]

Why not go to a place like Club Champion and have them take a look? They'd figure things out. 

[nitram]

Driver carry is 277 vs 3WD at 255, 5WD at 241, and 7WD at 218. This is the average when measured in Houston on 4 different occasions.

 

OP, just looks like your driver isn't optimized and should be worth a professional evaluation.

Edited January 31, 2021 by nitram

[me05501]

I used to play with a former pro who had an interesting strategy. He set up his three wood to favor a draw and his driver to favor a fade. When he hit them straight the driver was longer, but if he wanted to move the ball around a dogleg he would choose the one that favored the appropriate shape. The faded driver and the drawn three wood traveled about the same.  
 

Your clubs have adjustable hosels so you have options like that available to you. 

[Golfrnut]

12 minutes ago, me05501 said:

I used to play with a former pro who had an interesting strategy. He set up his three wood to favor a draw and his driver to favor a fade. When he hit them straight the driver was longer, but if he wanted to move the ball around a dogleg he would choose the one that favored the appropriate shape. The faded driver and the drawn three wood traveled about the same.  
 

Your clubs have adjustable hosels so you have options like that available to you. 

Mine does that naturally, it’s just always been that way. With lower spinning driver heads, I still hit a fade longer than a drawing 3W though. Would love to hit 3W on draw holes, but the loss of 25 yards (or more if I mishit the 3W) would kill me. 😁  Of course, blocking a driver if I attempt a draw doesn’t help me all that mich either. 😁

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

20 yards, carry.

[SNIPERBBB]

Just something to keep in mind before getting crazy with shafts or heads is what is the purpose of the 3w in your bag? Is it a club you only use off the tee or for a off the deck club to reach par 5s or a mix of the two?

 

 

[LeftDaddy]

Just to clarify my above comments, on days when I feel like my 3w is as long as my driver, it is basically because of smash factor differences between 3w and driver swings that day. There are days when I can’t find the middle of my driver face...that happens less often with a 3w. I also used to believe that I hit my 8 iron as far as my 5 iron at times. And that might have been true for that day, but was again because I was generally hitting the 8 iron more pure than the 5 iron. When I’m puring both, there is a BIG gap between my 8i and 5i (and between my driver and 3w).  

[Club Champion]

On 1/30/2021 at 2:17 AM, tthomasgolfer605 said:

Why not go to a place like Club Champion and have them take a look? They'd figure things out. 

@jackstraw1975 We agree with @tthomasgolfer605's recommendation, and we'd be happy to have you in to work on your driver and wood distance!

[Pepperturbo]

Driver - 245+ carry

4wd - 230+ carry

[RichieHunt]

Last I checked, Driver Carry was 282 yards and 3-wood carry (off the tee) was 258 yards, off the deck the 3-wood carries about 248 yards.

 

It's not flex as much as it is the 'bend profile' along with the weight distribution and torque.

 

From a distance perspective, you're basically looking for the optimal combination of hang time and spin...trying to get the most hang time with the lowest spin.  Accuracy and consistency are about a multitude of other things.

 

 

 

 

 

RH

[hoselpalooza]

'bout a 30y difference in carry for me with 3-wood and driver, maybe a little more. keep in mind i'm in denver, so these numbers are inflated. 3-wood carry off the deck is 275y-ish for standard length at 13º loft. driver carry is 305y-ish at 46.5" and 8º loft. 

[SRM155]

On 2/1/2021 at 11:35 AM, Club Champion said:

@jackstraw1975 We agree with @tthomasgolfer605's recommendation, and we'd be happy to have you in to work on your driver and wood distance!

Hey there, I found this thread because I’m so frustrated with my driving and my avg 3W goes at least as far as my avg drive. Both my driver and 3W are TaylorMade M2. I have a Mitsubishi Diamana Kai’li x5ct S flex Rayon in the 10.5 degree driver and a Mitsubishi Chemical KuroKage 60g S flex in the 15 degree 3W. Here’s the thing—I carry my 4 iron 220, 5 iron 205, etc, so I can’t imagine I have slow swing speed, yet my driver goes anywhere from 240-275, and my average when I am hitting it well is only about 255-260. Yet I hit my 3W 250-255 avg, 270 when I get a good one. Do you think I need a different shaft in the driver, maybe the one I’ve got in the 3W? Or do I more likely just suck with the driver? I’m sure my smash factor is horrible. I’m just insanely frustrated at my driving distance and given that I am a +.6 playing 6900-7200 yard courses, I think I’d take several strokes off my average score If my driver went as far as I think it should be going. But forking over another 500 bucks is a tough pill to swallow if I don’t have any kind of guarantees. 

[darom86]

Anyone ditch the three wood completely for a two driver setup like one at 47" and one at 44 or 44.5"?

 

Been thinking the three wood isn't really needed off the tee - I don't think it is much straighter than my driver and it is shorter off the tee.  

 

Only think giving me pause is the ability to hit 3 wd off the fairway into par 5s 

[phizzy30]

Probably be better off with moving to a 15 degree head for 3 metal even 16.5, 4 metal to increase distance gap since it's so close to each other.  As for change in flex, it could increase distance or backfire and you could lose distance. 

Edited April 3, 2021 by phizzy30

[thezinfan]

On 1/25/2021 at 9:56 AM, jackstraw1975 said:

Curious to see everyone's yardage difference between their 3-wood and driver.   I've been using the Shot Scope V3 for about a year now and according to the stats, the average distance between the two is, at most 10 yards.  Both are Epic Sub Zero models. 3-Wood has Oban Devotion stiff and the driver has a Speeder 661 Evo-II in X-flex.  3-Wood is 13 degree and driver is 9.5 degree.  Been thinking about making a shaft change on my driver as I haven't been in front of a monitor in about 3-4 years.  Would shaft flex be enough in a driver to bump yardage up another 10-15 yards?  Thoughts, if this hasn't been exhausted in another hundred threads?

 

 

Not sure if its been mentioned but standard 3w loft is 15 degrees.  So you have a very hot 3w, practically a 2w. 

[KevCannon]

Others have said this already but, the fact your 3 wood is 13 degrees loft is a big factor in this, especially off the tee which i assume OP is referring to. The quality of strike and consistency of strike location on your 3 wood is likely better more often, probably because of the shorter shaft length. I game a Callaway Epic Flash sub zero 15 degree fairway wood and I can attest to how hot the faces are on 3 woods these days, it’s incredible. A 13 degree version of an Epic sz 3 wood off a tee would give launch conditions similar to a driver, meaning ball speed and lower spin. If you used a 15 degree 3 wood I think the gap would be closer to 20 yards instead of the 10 yards you are seeing now.

[EatingASalad301]

My 3 wood is weak, 15*. My driver is 8*. It's around a 25-30 yard difference for me. It's really based in lofts, and your general specs.

[Jackal66]

I only get 15 yards difference in carry.

Somtimes my 5 wood is the same as my 3 wood, but with no rollout.