Here's a not so hypothetical question for you......

i can't use a driver, it gets me into trouble and racks up my score. how do you hit the 3 wood? if it's on the fairway most of the time then just leave the driver at home, your score will be better for it!

you obviously know the answer already!
there is no point in having 'unreliable' clubs in your bag, if the truth be known i would be best off leaving the driver out of the bag, its not unreliable but i hit my 3 wood further most days.
only carry what you score well with!

If this works for you then that's great - stick with it.

However, I think if you want to start trying to hit lower scores you are going to need more distance off the tee in order to leave you with much shorter 2nd shots. With the shorter 2nd shots you are more likely to get closer to the pin and more consistantly.

Let me give you an example. Lets assume we've got a 400 yd par. If I only had 3-PW in my bag then the clubs I would have to use are;

- 3 iron off the tee which will get me 205yds

- 2nd shot will have to be a 4 iron to get the remaining 195 yds.

Pulling these 2 shots off well is pretty difficult.

If I had the driver in my bag then the shots would become;

- Driver off the tee getting me 250 yds

- 8 iron with with my 2nd shot for the remaining 150yds.

So for me - scenario 2 is likely to be getting me lower scores.

A sharp short game will reap you far more rewards than a sharp long game.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go hit my driver some more.

What course are you playing? And which tees?
If it is a tight course with lots of trouble and the 200 yd 3i off the tee puts you in play with a reasonable length into the longest par4's, then you are playing smart. If you are playing the forward mens tees, this is also a good choice.

This implies to me that you have a dispersion problem. It is concievable that your 3i and driver have the same probable dispersion, since the driver goes further it gets you into more trouble.

Food for thought:
Do a "thumbs up" with your arm fully extended infront of you. When you look at your thumb it is covering about 2° of your field of vision. I know "so what". Now think of how many thumbs side by side it would take to cover your normal dispersion of your 3i - both sides of your target.

Here is the fun part (well I find it fun anyway).
Now multiply the number of thumbs by:
2 for 50yds out,
4 for 100yds out,
6 for 150yds out,
8 for 200yds out,
10 for 250yds out,
12 for 300yds out,
To give you an estimate of the width of your landing area.

For example, 200yd 3i with a 6 thumb dispersion (3 on each side of target) results in a landing area that is 48yds wide - ok for most open fairways but problem for tight 30yd wide holes. Driver of 250yds you are looking at a landing area that is 60yds wide.

Charles

Thank you to all who have responded thus far......

Love your "Thumb Dispersion Theory" (if I can call it that) Charles, will try it at the range at my course before my round on Saturday.

To answer your question Greg, I play at a public course in local parklands. Bundoora Park Golf Course, in the middle of Bundoora Park. Because it's a public track, managed by local council, it's not all that tight, but it is well treed. Plenty of wood about the course should you miss a fairway. A creek also winds its way around the perimeter of the course, coming in to play on 4 or 5 holes. Again being public, it is not all that heavily bunkered, with only 5 on course, all on the front nine. My guess is, more bunkers, more staff hours keeping them raked. The public certainly don't do it. At just under 6,000m from the plates, it's not overly long either. I'm generally considered one of the longer hitters at my club. For me a 3 iron is generally 200-220m so I'm not usually too far away, 7I and shorter for my approaches to the par 4's and 2 good strikes will usually get me there or thereabouts in two on all 4 par 5's.

And I certainly agree with you Qassim, the shorter the approach shot, should see you hopefully the closer to the flag.

The response I got from my ex trainee pro mate was pretty much that the longer the shaft, the harder the club is to hit consistently straight.

And Pedro, yes I also agree with you, the scoring is ultimately what our game is about isn't it. That and enjoying yourself whilst playing.

Bottom line, I'm leaving the woods at home again this week and I might take some time to go and browse the racks at my local golf shop and maybe have a crack on the simulator and see what my numbers are.

For now, we'll play to score well...

Cheers

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Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe....

I thought of something else ... my thumb method assumes that the dispersion is caused by a push or pull ... put any side spin on the ball and the "thumb" dispersion would increase with longer shots.

I have played in a number of three club comps where one is club a putter, the scores tend to be remarkably good. Maybe it makes you play a less risky game where you have to focus more on course management and play for the percentages.

In a friendly game last year I played all the par 4 & 5 with a 7 iron and managed to par quite a few and bogy the others. Some of the approaches were 7 iron bump and runs or long chips but it seemed so easy. Why don't I do it then

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

Yes, by having a driver and 3 wood in the bag and teeing offf with a 3i people will think you are playing smart and know what your doing.. By not having them in the bag people will think that your too cheap to buy a proper set of clubs.

I never used to take driver, but now I simply can't get enough!

How far do you normally hit your 3I?

Cheers

Darran

I had another thought on this.

Many people say they prefer their 3 wood to their driver as they play more consistently with it even though it has a small head and a fairly long shaft. As the driver tends to have a much bigger head one would think it would be easier to use and more forgiving, other than the shaft is a little longer.

This leads me on to thinking that the reason the 3 wood is preferred is the additional loft creates more spin and height so the effects of side spin are not as severe, also the shorter shaft is easier to control.

Does this mean that most golfers are playing with drivers that have too little loft and too long a shaft. If they had drivers with shorter shafts and more loft they might like them and would also benefit from the larger head size with it's off center hit forgiveness.

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

Yes.

I had my shaft reduced to 44" and am hitting the ball much better. I also suspect that an extra degree or two loft would help too.

Yes is the correct answer, by and large. There are rumours circulating around the net that Tiger has shortened his driver to 44" or 43.5" and simply didn't tell anyone in an effort to keep it in the fairway. The OEMs have been building longer drivers and more upright in an effort to 1) get you to stop slicing and 2) give you more clubhead speed and theoretically more distance. However, with the more upright lie we now get pull slices and inconsistant contact due to the extra length. Now, the stronger you are and the slower you swing the more length you can handle - you can physically handle the forces pulling on the club.

The other issue is loft (and I'm not talking about Lack Of F***ing Talent) - almost universally, the loft stamped on the bottom of your OEM clubhead is 2° strong of the loft you'll find in the middle of the face. In fact, I had a guy in the shop the other day for a spec-check. He had a Wishon 949MC driver that he said was handpicked to 8°. He then said that he put a protractor to it and swore the loft was 10°. So I slapped it in my gauge and sure enough, loft of the middle of the face was 9° - just like it was stamped on the bottom. So I let the client have a little rant about how Wishon was no better than the next guy. Then I measured face angle, and kept the numbe to myself. Next I measured his Cobra L4V X (stamped 8°) that was 10.5° in the middle of the face, and measured it's face angle as well.

Then I proceeded to inform him that the Cobra was square - so it's loft at impact at the middle of the face was 2.5° more than what he thought he was hitting. Then I told him the Wishon was 1° open, giving him an effective loft of 8° at impact, just what he asked for.

So, long story short, your 10.5° OEM driver does have 10.5° of loft - about 1/4" off the bottom of the face. Where you're hitting it best is probably closer to 12°.

But, it says 10.5 on the bottom - so you seem like the Tour beast!

It leads me toanother favourite story - I shaft up an Aggressive nRAGE 65 S for a guy. As I'm profiling the shafts, I notice I've got a 65 S that actually profiles with the R's. So I put a little tape on it and set it aside. Later, I get the first guys' buddy come in, wanting the same shaft his buddy has. I take some specs and know that the S is too much - but he insists he hits S flexes only. So I give him this 'special S', and send him on his way. He absolutely loves it. See? I can play the OEM game, too. LOL

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True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
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A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.