I recently conducted 24 junior golf assessments with new students utilizing Trackman technology to determine their average carry distances and swing patterns. During the initial assessment, each junior golfer was posed this question: “What’s your favorite and least favorite club in your bag?” While a large majority of the junior golfer’s favorite clubs were their driver (they like hitting bombs too!), their least favorite club might surprise you.
Junior golfers hate their 3-woods. 23 of the 24 junior golfers assessed said it was their least favorite club! Furthermore, over 50% of the junior golfers assessed carried their 3-wood a shorter distance than their next longest club. It made me wonder, why do golf club manufacturers insist on packaging 3-woods in so many boxed sets if those with slower clubhead speeds (who these boxed sets are marketed to) have difficulty hitting them.
Some thoughts regarding 3-woods:
- You ever notice that good golfers hate updating or switching out their 3-wood? Seems like once their find a good one, they keep it around for a long time. That’s because they are so hard to hit solidly – especially when the ball is sitting down in the turf. 2022 Masters Champion, Scottie Scheffler, just updated his 3-wood this year from a Nike 3-wood he used throughout high school and college golf!
- Think about your most recent 3-wood shots. How many of them ended up carrying the desired distance, and did they travel towards your target? We all remember that one 3-wood that we flushed, but out of your last 10 3-woods, did you hit even 2 of them as expected?
- There is significantly less clubface on a 3-wood versus a driver – and 3-woods have a far shallower face than an iron. A very hitting area and small sweet on the 2nd longest club in your bag results in frequent mishits.
- If a 3-wood is going to retail for $300+, and it underperforms, wouldn’t an additional wedge in your bag be a better value to your set composition? Or an upgraded putter? Or some golf lessons?
There are 3 groups of golfers that should hang on to their trusty lower-lofted fairway woods (15 degrees and below):
- Scratch Golfers | Only skilled golfers create enough clubhead speed and can zero out their Attack Angle which results in consistent launch patterns with a fairway wood off the ground. Those with a steep angle of attack lose the necessary Effective & Spin Lofts in order to keep the ball in the air. Those with a positive angle of attack frequently strike the ball low on the face, or drop kick the ball, resulting in diminishing distance returns.
- Golfers with Steep Angles of Attack | Those who have a negative (steep) angle of attack require the additional static loft of their 3-wood, in comparison to their driver, to launch the ball high enough to keep the ball in the air and decrease dispersion. It is not uncommon to find golfers (assuming right-handed) who have a far left Club Path, coupled with a slightly less left Face Angle who would prefer hitting a 3-wood off the tee as opposed to their driver.
- Golfers with Significantly Closed Face-to-Path Ratios | While it’s more rare, you occasionally see those with a far right Club Path and a far less right (or even left) Face Angle who prefer a 3-wood. This is because they are effectively lowering the loft of their driver to the point where the effective loft is far lower than the static loft listed on the club.
If you are a mid-to-high handicapper, and find that your 3-wood is far more accurate than your driver, you may want to jump on a Trackman for some diagnostics. If your Attack Angle with the driver is at all negative, or your Face-to-Path is excessively closed (greater than 5 degrees), don’t give up hope on your driver – visit your local PGA golf professional! They can bring your driver out of the dog house.
Everyone else, you might want to find an appropriate trash receptacle for your 3-wood, because the junior golfer you know doesn’t want it!