3 wood vs driver distance and swing

The first number is for lowerspeed swingers less than 85 mph with the driver, followed by medium. A good swing with a 3 wood can create greater accuracy off the tee than a driver. So, if you hit your driver 250 yds, then you should hit your 3wood about 215 yards or so. Woods, ranging from a 2 wood to a 5 wood are also used for distance, but their loft angle is slightly greater than a driver. Golf driver distance and swing speed relationship adam. A shorter shaft is stiffer, less prone to an outsidein i. They are the swing speed, driver distance, and the club you hit from about 150 yards. Apr 25, 2016 in 2003 i was 52, i retired and moved to golf paradise in florida. Too many players try to grip it too hard in hopes that they will get more distance. I am considering using a 3 wood off the tee when there are hazards that can potentially add some penalty strokes.

The lpga tour trackman data didnt have numbers listed for a hybrid or 3iron. According to golf magazine, amateur golfers use their 3 wood as many as eight to 10 times per round. Again, a driving iron will provide a golfer with a lower shot that will hit and. Mar 27, 2008 during that time, depending on where i played, i used 3 wood more often than driver because i hit more fairways with it and in some instances was getting greater distance with it than driver.

I was interested in finding out the relative swing speeds of golfers based on their handicap level, so i had my friends over at swingbyte run an analysis. Because the driver is the longest club in the bag and the most difficult to hit, its absolutely imperative you swing in the proper sequence. Assumptions based on both theory and facts are that metal headed woods are slightly to considerably longer than woods. Here are a few dos and donts to follow when hitting a 3 wood off the turf. Some of the differences between a fairway wood swing. Losing just 10 mphs off of that swing and going down to 90 will pull the distance all the way down to about 232 yards a major difference when actually playing a round of golf. Mar 06, 2012 for 2012, taylormade debuted the muchhyped rocketballz 3 wood, with promise that the 15degree version will surpass your old 3 wood by at least 17 yards. No one hits it optimal distances every time, but the chart gives you a nice goal and allows you to see what your potential distances are. Using a driving iron on the golf course advantages and. A 3 wood has a spin rate of 3655rpm, where a 5 wood is measured at 4350rpm.

The shaft length makes a big difference a longer shaft means more distance while a shorter shaft means more accuracy. Can you consistently hit the ball as cleanly with a driver as you can the 3 wood. A player who is able to swing a driver at an even 100 miles per hour can expect a distance of around 258 yards. My 3 hybrid only hits the fairway 40% of the time and is 10 yards longer than the 4 iron. Can i replace my 3wood with a 5wood without losing distance. What is a strong 3 wood and why its better than a driver. This ball should be in the frontcenter of your stance, approximately one to two inches behind where you place your driver. Plus, they can help you find more fairways if your driver swing isnt working or the. Pro golfer tiger woods notes that his swing with a 3wood isnt as long or as.

This is the most important fact to take away from this article. When it comes to hitting the ball farther, a lot of golfers realize that technique is important. This middle range is ideal for golf players with a good swing speed that ranges between 90 mph to 115 mph. Depending on the loft used, a good reference point on the average distance of a driving iron is about 1015 yards shorter than the distance of a 3 wood. Certainly we see this quite often on the professional tours. Jun 30, 2014 swing speed for the 3 iron ranged from 88. Golf digest did a test and found out that golfers with average swing speed only loose about 14 yards when they switched from driver to 3 wood. The fairway wood the 3 wood swing keep your center and push off because im 6foot1 and longlimbed, my goal is a coreoriented swing without my arms and legs running away. Just as 60 is the new 40, then 3wood might be the new driver.

My 3 hybrid only hits the fairway 40% of the time and is 10 yards longer than. See how an online golf lesson with michael can help your golf gam. And the 3 wood is 31 yards longer comparing smart distance for both. Jun 30, 2019 if you swing the club at 100mph, your theoretical limit is 260 in the air. Looking down a 200yard shot to an island green, i knocked it on and made a twoputt birdie that almost put me in a. Drivers are designed to maximize the balls carry distance, so a drivers loft angle ranges from 8 to degrees, depending on the specific brand or model of driver. Golf digest editors decided to run a few tests to see the results different swing speed golfers got from the driver vs.

An increase of 1 in the length of a club will typically only increase the clubhead speed by 1 mph. The player takes a more level swing, with the clubhead parallel to the ground as it sweeps the ball off the fairway. My top end distance may be about 10 yards short, but it appears based on game golf stats that i am averaging about 510 yards more because i hit it more consistently. To get the desired results from a fairway wood you need to use the proper swing technique.

My issue is that im getting more distance off the tee with my 3 wood 275280ish than my driver. Next drive caught it a little fat fairway hit 220 metres. My maximum carry with the hybrid is 195 yards, and my 3wood carry distance starts at 210, but the circumstances are important. With the driver, for every 1 mph you add to your swing speed you stand to gain around 2. The measurement of swing weight is expressed in a letter af and number 09 combination. There were some distance issues with the two offcenter shots i hit 178 and 191 yards carry which ended up short of the normal distance i usually carry my 3 iron. After a while i went to a 3 wood which was too much. Why do i hit my 3 wood about as far and straighter than my. Hybrids on the other hand have a range between 18 to 27 degrees. The spin rates were right around 4000 rpm, except for two i hit thin, which is understandable when hitting a 3 iron. Some golfers may opt for a strong 3 wood over a driver for various reasons, such as. With those figures, what sort of distance gain could. I dont use a driver either, what i use is a 14 degree strong 3 wood with a slightly oversized head for 3 wood standards.

Obviously youll hit more club on your approach shots using a 3 wood. The degree of loft is also lower in fairway wood clubs than hybrids. So when you perfectly strike one off the tee versus off the ground. With players in the 05 handicap range, drivers are topping out at about 95 mph and 7 irons are about 75 mph. I have recorded shots with my driver over 300 yards, and also with drives well under 200 yards. Many golfers use a 3 wood when they have a long shot from the fairway, and some players also use the club on the tee box in place of a driver. Woods, hybrids and long irons what combination is best. There is no wrong golf club distance, there is only your distance. Hi all, i am a fiftysomething bogey golfer who doesnt own a driver.

For 2012, taylormade debuted the muchhyped rocketballz 3 wood, with promise that the 15degree version will surpass your old 3 wood by at least 17 yards. Woods, hybrids and long irons what combination is best for. We think most people will hit their driver 2030 yards farther than their 3 wood off the tee, says tom olsavsky, senior director of product creation at taylormade. Some better golfers use their drivers off the fairway when they need a. A swing weight measuring machine image via golfsmith example, a golfer must then exert more force to swing the golf club. One persons 5iron distance is another persons 3 iron distance is another persons 7iron distance. A good swing with a 3wood can create greater accuracy off the tee than a driver. If hitting 3 wood means the difference between being in the fairway or the rough than those 14 yards arent very useful. Turn your 3 wood into a secret weapon the left rough. Nov 28, 2018 weve looked into this question quite a bit at ping and found that regardless of swing speed, the vast majority of players are clearly better off with a higherlofted driver than a fairway wood. For example, a golfer in the 30 handicap region had a swing speed of 88 mph versus 95 mph when you get to single digits.

Learning how to hit a 3 wood off the deck can be a game changer for. Youre looking for distance on this shot, but the extra loft of a 3 or 5 wood may give you a better combination of loft and carry than youll get from your driver. As someone already said, test the new driver in the lunch monitor against your 3 wood. To make a long story short, at 67 years old, i am now at a chokedup driver.

The distance gapping turned out great for me and i now have more scoring clubs with tighter gaps in the bottom of my bag. For swing speeds below 100 mph, 1517 degrees of loft will provide the best combination of high initial launch with optimal spin, the perfect scenario for maximizing distance. In recent years, the larger golfing public is also beginning to recognize the importance of getting custom fit for their driver in order to maximize driving distance and their overall average golf swing speed. We all know that there should be a compromise between distance and accuracy to be able to choose the right club. The average golf ball spin rate is 2686 rotations per minute rpm when using a driver. Perhaps a little more loft on the fairway wood could improve trajectory and help you hold greens.

This is because shortening a club decreases the arc of the swing. The average yardages for each golf club depends, and it varies widely from golfer to golfer. If you hit your 3 wood as far as your driver, thats probably a good indication you need to take a look at both clubs, and possibly create more separation between the two. While the 3 hybrid launches the ball high in the air, the 3 wood helps in achieving the smooth second shot from the fairway. If hitting 3 wood means the difference between being in the fairway or the rough than those 14.

It can also be a weapon on the fairway, giving you more distance than a hybrid or iron and setting up a short approach to a par 5. And in many cases, that means we pull out a 3wood for the most possible distance. What kind of a dropoff in speed do you usually see when someone hits their driver off of a tee vs. A question i often get asked is should i be hitting driver or 3 wood off the tee to hit more fairways. With my 3 wood my actual typical distance is 215225. The difference between the yardage offered by a driver and a strong 3 wood when a golfer with an average swing speed makes a shot is a mere 1415 yards. Try a driver with a higher loft and youre likely to see improved distance. For players who pound the ball with nearly prolike distance, giving up 20. They are even lighter to allow you to create as much swing speed as possible. This video sees me explain possibly why your 3 wood goes as far as your driver off the tee. However, we build all our woods higher than a 5 wood the same length as the 5 wood. Hip rotation one of the biggest mistakes recreational golfers make is sliding the hips laterally instead of rotating them in a counterclockwise direction to the left for a righthanded player.

The driver is engineered to be hit with more of a neutral attack angle, where as the 3 wood needs to be hit a descending blow to access the center of percussion on the face. There are three basic numbers that you will need to understand to find the right woods, irons, or hybrids. Should i play a fairway wood or driver off the tee. Using a swing speed chart to approximate your distances. I tee off with an old powerbilt grand slam 15 degree 180cc 3 wood. We took driver and 7iron swing speeds around 800,000 shots total and separated them by handicap level. This angle provides the golfer with distance, with a little more loft than a driver. In 2003 i was 52, i retired and moved to golf paradise in florida. A couple years ago i did a driver fitting on a trackman and had clubhead speed usually around 107108.

According to golf magazine, amateur golfers use their 3wood as many as eight to 10 times per round. The ideal 3 wood ball position is to have it directly below the logo of your shirt. Golf digest did a test and found out that golfers with average swing speed only loose about 14 yards when they switched from driver. This was done because there is such a large variance of wood hybridiron club choice to fill this distance slot from player to player. I also have 3 wood shots maxed around 250 and some as low as 80 yards.

When it comes to price, distance, and forgiveness, this is the perfect combo for senior ladies. The quality of the hit is very important as it relays clubhead speed into ball speed. Nov 01, 2007 because the driver is the longest club in the bag and the most difficult to hit, its absolutely imperative you swing in the proper sequence. According to studies done, if you hit your driver properly, and you hit the 3wood properly, also, youll hit your 3wood about 85% as far as your driver. There are limitations to the data gathering, calculations, etc. A 3 wood can be a golfers best friend from the tee, like on a narrow par 4. Brooks koepkas taylormadde m2 tour 3 wood has a loft of 16. As for my 15degree fairway wood the equivalent of a 3wood, the best i ever hit it was on the par5 18th hole in the final round of the ana inspiration last april. Choosing one of these clubs over the other is not just about distance. The driver and 3wood each hit tee shots that led to five gir, and three.

My driver swing speed is between 9598 mph and carry 230 yards with a. The 3 wood is also sometimes called as the fairway wood as they are normally used when the golfer has to hit the ball from the fairway, which usually is the second shot of the game. Choose a driver with higher lofts if your swing speeds tends to be low. Talk to your local club fitter about shortening your shaft length to make the club even more forgiving for you. Taking a smooth swing with a 3wood and hitting the ball solid is a better idea. If your swing speed with a 3 wood is over 100 mph, the loft of your 3 wood should be between 15 degrees. So if you hit your 3 wood 200 yards, you can expect your driving iron to reach around 185 yards if wellstruck. I generally get about 210ish carry distance and about another 10 yards roll. Beginners tip drop the driver3 wood this is a reaction to a lot of negative reaction to the larger putting hole claiming that most beginner issues are from the fairway and not the green. With the fairway wood, the ball is played forward in the stance, generally about 3 inches inside the left heel for a righthanded golfer. Rather they listed a 7wood carry distance of 174 yards. Lets face it, somedays, your driver swing just isnt there. So i pick up my new 3 wood over the weekend and play 9 holes on sunday morning where i deliberately left the driver in the bag.

They found that those players with a faster swing over 105 m. Drivers are designed to maximize the balls carry distance, so a driver s loft angle ranges from 8 to degrees, depending on the specific brand or model of driver. Buying guide for golf fairway woods must read before. Here are my gps verified distances, and results, with the 3 wood. I think from these claims, im suspecting a lot of beginners are going about navigating the course the wrong way. Weve looked into this question quite a bit at ping and found that regardless of swing speed, the vast majority of players are clearly better off.

Buying guide for golf fairway woods must read before you buy. As the swing changes so do the clubs part 1 the heavier and stiffer club setup update part 2. Shots played by 3 wood have a greater distance carry than that of a. This weekend i did a 3 wood fitting off the ground on a flightscope and it was showing clubhead speed around 95. Tigers 3wood swing off the tee has a couple of advantages over the driver swing when it comes to the ability to hit the ball straight. The loft of a club or a driver can range anywhere between 7 degrees to 20 degrees. Most manufacturers will create clubs with a swing weight in the d0 to d2 range. A hybrid, or a utility club, is a morph between an iron and a wood whose club head is designed in a way that promotes consistent shots with good ball trajectory. Why your swing speed should determine hitting driver or 3wood. This chart lists the expected average golf club distances for each club based on varying swing speeds for men and women. The dreaded driver many of us dream of hitting our driver long and straight consistently but the truth is that for many of us, hitting a driver is our worst nightmare. The sole of the 3 hybrid is designed in a way that gives good results on perfect swings. Dec 20, 2017 this video sees me explain possibly why your 3 wood goes as far as your driver off the tee. Im hitting my driver just as far as my 3 wood golf clubs.