Do you really need a 3 wood?

[nvr3putt]

Serious question. How often do you use your 3 wood during a round? 

 

[martinbns]

I hit mine at least 4 sometimes up to 6-7 times a round.  After driver, putter and primary chipping club it's right there as my most used club.

[BYK]

Gets regular play off the tee on tight par fours, and off the turf as well 

I’d never pull it

Edited July 7, 2021 by BYK

[Neo1]

depending on the wind i use it 4-8 times off the tee at my home course. it's literally the only club in the bag that i can draw or fade on command. my favorite club for sure 

[Phabs]

Yep I do need one.  About 30-40 longer than my 2 iron.  Use it 2-3 times per round off the tee on anything over 430 and a par 4.  I try and leave as many full wedge swings as I can, 3 wood and 2 irons make that happen all day long on par 4’s. 

Edited July 7, 2021 by Phabs

[Hawkeye77]

Sometimes 7 times. So yes, I do.

[lefthack]

I pulled mine a couple months back and am playing with a few options. It was about as long as my 5 wood and less reliable.

[mackepa]

I know a lot of players that absolutely hit a 5 wood farther and more consistent due to better launch conditions. Heck, some players will hit a 7 wood better. 
 

 

[Zubs724]

nope. added another wedge 

[sivman17]

I may only use it 3-4 times in a round, but I find it to be important. I'm fairly accurate with my driver, so would only use it off the tee on very tight par 4s. Tend to use it mostly on second shot on par 5s. Helped me make an eagle on a par 5 this past weekend, so definitely won't be taking it out anytime soon. 

[nostatic]

I’m testing a 5W, but my answer has been yes as we have a lot of wind and I can hit it reasonably well off the deck. I’m accurate but not that long with driver so not uncommon for me to hit 3W as second shot on par 5 or longer par 4s. I rarely use it off the tee though.

[Jim E]

I just pulled my 5 wood. My 4 iron is almost as long. 

[llewol007]

I use my 3 wood about 4-6 times during a round. Either to play a shortish par 4 or a gettable par 5. 

[tr881430]

Definitely love a 3 wood. Fairway finder on shorter par 4's. Pretty versatile club actually. 

[00steven]

My favorite club in the bag. No way in hell I’d pull it since driver is my worst.

[46and2_aheadofme]

Apparently mine decided I did not need one.  😂  But I can only hit it off the tee, so I am debating replacing it with a 4w, 5w, or 3h.

 

 

[jomatty]

2-3 times a round at my home course.  Enough to keep it around.

[kiwihacker]

Usually once per round at my home course. Long par 3. I lost confidence using it off the fairway a long time ago and use hybrids instead for long fairway shots. I do use it when I play other courses with tight driving holes but I could easily drop it at my home course.  

[Jeff58]

One of the better questions on the board as of late. Really 3 questions - Do you, why do you, and should you.

 

I dropped the 3 wood two years ago and went Driver-5 wood. This year I have a 4 wood with the height and spin of a 5 wood. The reason is that I know where they’re going to stop.

 

IMO the main reason people carry a 3 wood is that they can’t or won’t trust their driver. The 3 wood and driver share a unique characteristic, which is that you normally hit them in situations with the expectation of infinite distance. You don’t expect it, or want it to stop. To me, that makes a 3 wood redundant, and a dedicated sand wedge a better asset.

[Stinger83]

I can go months without pulling a 3 wood out of the bag

[sbjinx]

Prob 3-5 times a round. There’s 2 short par 4 that I tee off with and on 3 of the par 5s that I try and go for the green. 

[gsrjc]

I perhaps use it 2-3 times a round playing one up from the tips. 

[A.Princey]

If you’re playing the correct tees at decent length courses, then yes….

[Buzzkill]

Does a 3 wood serve a purpose in my bag, yes!  It’s my 250 club also use a 5 wood which is good for 210.

Edited July 9, 2021 by Buzzkill

[Tree Levino]

I use it on a handful of tee shots on our course. Lots of fescue and very tight fairways. I’m pretty accurate with driver but there are a lot of runouts and I can get the 3W out there between 280-300 depending on hole so it isn’t really a disadvantage at 7,000 yards. When I play men’s league which is 6,600, Ill only pull driver on maybe 4 or 5 holes so the 3W gets a ton of play off the tee. I have considered a mini driver because we only have 3 par 5s, all of which I can reach with an iron on my second as the approach will be sub 260. So, I’ve thought of doing mini driver 4w for a bit of extra height. 

I think many people assume 3W becomes less important when you’re longer but in fact I think it’s actually more so when you’re shorter. My dad switched to 4w+7w+24* hybrid and his game has improved immensely. He doesn’t hit his driver far enough to get into trouble and isn’t all that confident hitting 3W off the tee. 

[ZA206]

Varies on the course… home course is 5 or 6 times. Other courses once or twice.

[EDT501]

I don't have mine in the bag now and have't missed it yet. I never found myself using off the tee, I prefer my driver generally or a 5 wood / driving iron if needing to lay back. I also never encounter holes where I have a three wood distance for an approach into a par 5 and find the green area friendly enough to want to approach it.

[Red5]

Need is maybe a stretch, it definitely fills a gap between my 21 hybrid and driver. I don’t usually hit it much. Good lie on some par 5’s. I don’t think I hit it much straighter than driver off the tee but it finds a bit less trouble just being shorter with less run. A short par 4 I’ll often hit the hybrid which can go 220’ish pff a tee. I use 3w off the tee when there is trouble I can’t carry with the driver basically. 

[Got941]

No 5 wood is the future.

[B_of_H]

I go back and forth on this topic.  I'm currently carrying one and only hit it a few times a round IF the wind is blowing pretty hard on a few holes.  (downwind on a tight, long par 4 or a drivable par 4, and a 2nd shot on 600+ yard par 5 if i'm in the fairway and need to hit it 250+ into the wind). I honestly think going driver, mini-driver, hyrbid would work out fine at the top of the bag most days.