3 wood off the deck

[Scaldy]

I'm a lady golfer with a handicap of around 15 now. I hit everything in my bag consistently except for my 3 wood... off the deck.

I hit the 3 wood on the screws when it's teed up, and it feels great. But I'll top it or hit behind it when I'm in the fairway. I've tried different 3 woods and a 4 wood. I hit the 4 wood decent but my 3 wood has an extra 15 yards to give and as a lady golfer I need that distance so badly.

 

My current 3 wood is a Sldr s.

 

Thanks in advance for any help. This is my biggest frustration right now. :censored2:

[tinman]

I was never good at hitting a 3 from the deck,until moved the ball slightly foreward in my stance & got my weight to my left side on the follow through.The 3wood was a tough one for me,because I would hangback on my right side & all bad things would happen(fat,thin,topping....).The best one that works for me is a Cobra rail f(super-shallow face) ...It gets the ball up in the air.It's an oldie,but it still works...super cheap too!!!!

[Dinosaur]

I used to have a similar problem. What worked for me was to start hitting the 3W a little more like an iron rather than a sweeping motion. Not as upright mind you, but just a swing thought of coming down slightly and even taking a divot in the process.

[shortstop20]

Since I started swinging my 3 Wood a bit steeper and taking a divot, I'm hitting it much better off the deck. I was swinging it like a mini driver almost with a level plane. Simply doesn't work with a 3 Wood unless the lie is great.

[verderraul]

[quote name='Scaldy' timestamp='1411948140' post='10202037']
I'm a lady golfer with a handicap of around 15 now. I hit everything in my bag consistently except for my 3 wood... off the deck.
I hit the 3 wood on the screws when it's teed up, and it feels great. But I'll top it or hit behind it when I'm in the fairway. I've tried different 3 woods and a 4 wood. I hit the 4 wood decent but my 3 wood has an extra 15 yards to give and as a lady golfer I need that distance so badly.

My current 3 wood is a Sldr s.

Thanks in advance for any help. This is my biggest frustration right now.
[/quote]

3 wood off the deck is a really hard shot . It will not magically get better in a day or a week . As your swing progresses .... You will begin to hit it well . It's easier off the tee because you have lot of room for error . Fairway is not that forgiving .... You have to have a shallow impact to get the ball airborne. So I would say work on your swing and setup to get that shallow impact.

[Dinosaur]

although its only a band aid, have you considered trying a low lofted hybrid?

[jconroy12]

I would say a low lofted hybrid is definitely the way to go for the moment. When your swing gets better go back and try the 3w. I would not recommend hitting down on it like an iron as this creates too much spin and the hybrid would have a much better flight. A shallow sweeping AOA is what is needed for a good flight which requires a good setup, wide takeaway and smooth transition.
Secondly, I cant imagine why you have a sldr 3w as a 15 handicap. There are other 3w out there that would be better suited. I use a sldr driver and it is a great driver, bombs the ball, but wouldn't be the easiest driver on the market to hit and personally wouldn't recommend it to a 15 handicapper.

[Dinosaur]

I would 2nd the bit about the SLDR. Might be just me, but I had a hard time with the SLDR-S. Although its not the same driver as the SLDR, it uses the same shaft (Fujikura Speeder 57). I finally got rid of the SLDR-S and opted for the SLDR MINI. Much better luck, but still does not feel right. I backweighted it and that seems to help. My best driver currently is my old R7 Limited which I performed surgery on by cutting it a little shorter, lighter grip, adding after market weight. The shaft on that one is the OZIK XCON 5.5 and it feels perfect. The Fuji shafts just seem a lot stiffer. I still carry the MINI as I can hit it from the fairway.

[joey2aces]

I am not sure why one 'needs' that shot. That being said, I would simply practice it and find your groove... stance, ball placement etc. I would say you are playing the wrong tees if you need to hit 3w off the deck into greens but you are probably playing the forward tees already. To me, I would be practicing the shots you hit most and totally bag the shots you hit sparingly.

[bdcava]

I just got the SLDR S 3wood. Not loving it off the deck. It's a big head for a fairway shot IMO.

[Mob]

Lot's of good statements above. I agree with most of them. There are 3 woods that are better suited to hitting off the tee (deep faced 3 wood) and there are 3 woods that are better off the fairway. There are some that are easier to get up off the turf than others. It seems that you have ended up with a 3 wood that is going to make it harder, rather than easier for you to accomplish this goal. I agree with the swing statements above, and agree with considering a low lofted hybrid, rather than a 3 wood. Good luck!

[tinman]

[quote name='joey2aces' timestamp='1412005961' post='10205719']
I am not sure why one 'needs' that shot. That being said, I would simply practice it and find your groove... stance, ball placement etc. I would say you are playing the wrong tees if you need to hit 3w off the deck into greens but you are probably playing the forward tees already. To me, I would be practicing the shots you hit most and totally bag the shots you hit sparingly.
[/quote] Not everyone on here swings @120.I play from the whites(middle) & I swing driver @ 95-100(apply jokes here).My second shot with a 3 wood is not trying to get on in two,but trying to advance it to a gap or lob for three.That's why I need that shot.....

[Dinosaur]

[quote name='tinman' timestamp='1412023316' post='10207657']
[quote name='joey2aces' timestamp='1412005961' post='10205719']
I am not sure why one 'needs' that shot. That being said, I would simply practice it and find your groove... stance, ball placement etc. I would say you are playing the wrong tees if you need to hit 3w off the deck into greens but you are probably playing the forward tees already. To me, I would be practicing the shots you hit most and totally bag the shots you hit sparingly.
[/quote] Not everyone on here swings @120.I play from the whites(middle) & I swing driver @ 95-100(apply jokes here).My second shot with a 3 wood is not trying to get on in two,but trying to advance it to a gap or lob for three.That's why I need that shot.....
[/quote]

Truth be told, I would wager that is a lot more common than admitted to. Standing comment is "everybody on WRX hits driver in excess of 300 yds". Subtract 100 would be closer to reality.

[joey2aces]

[quote name='tinman' timestamp='1412023316' post='10207657'][quote name='joey2aces' timestamp='1412005961' post='10205719']
I am not sure why one 'needs' that shot. That being said, I would simply practice it and find your groove... stance, ball placement etc. I would say you are playing the wrong tees if you need to hit 3w off the deck into greens but you are probably playing the forward tees already. To me, I would be practicing the shots you hit most and totally bag the shots you hit sparingly.
[/quote] Not everyone on here swings @120.I play from the whites(middle) & I swing driver @ 95-100(apply jokes here).My second shot with a 3 wood is not trying to get on in two,but trying to advance it to a gap or lob for three.That's why I need that shot.....[/quote]

Not a laughing matter. My SS is 106-109. I guess it comes down to comfort in an approach shot. My comfort zone is 110-150. So my second shot is normally a 6-8 iron depending on length of hole.
To me, the game opened up when I started playing from green to tee and not the other way around.

[tinman]

I'm only talking about long par 5's(+550);other than that I don't pull out the 3.I want a wedge left to the green..so i'm playing my shots to 90-110 in.

[Scaldy]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I will try try to swing it more upright, but I won't be switching to a hybrid because I simply don't get near the same distance. Honestly, this Sldr S has almost gained me 15-20 yards over my 4 wood. When I hit it even slightly well it goes as far as the 4 wood. Combined with my new Sldr Driver I'm seriously excited about my golf game. I've never had this kind of distance before, and as a lady it makes a huge difference.

[tinman]

Keep practicing & playind around with different ball positions in your stance.You'll find what works for your swing.

[larrybud]

There's nothing magical about hitting a 3w off the deck. It's just that any swing and contact flaws that you have will be magnified. If you scoop or flip at impact, it's going to be really hard to time that right when the ball is on a tight lie. That's why you can hit it so well off the tee, because there's a larger margin of error.

[NCHACK85]

I can hit the 3wood of the deck put it took me a couple of weeks to learn everything. My ball position is about an inch from center of my chest. Hit down on it an don't be afraid to take a small shallow divot. I mainly learned because I just bought a rocket balls 19* hybrid and started to figure that out and went I did. I thought let's hit the 3 wood like the hybrid. And I use the same swing.

[that0neguy]

[quote name='larrybud' timestamp='1412104003' post='10213187']
There's nothing magical about hitting a 3w off the deck. It's just that any swing and contact flaws that you have will be magnified. If you scoop or flip at impact, it's going to be really hard to time that right when the ball is on a tight lie. That's why you can hit it so well off the tee, because there's a larger margin of error.
[/quote]

This. Even the slightest scoop or flip makes it very hard to make good contact with your 3w off the deck. And longer clubs (woods, hybrid, driver) with a more shallow AoA are more desirable to flip than a steeper iron AoA.

[avrag]

I believe there is no other shot in golf, for which it is as important to really activate your lower body. For me, it is always images of great players's swings. If I manage to really get a vivid image of McIlroy's swing in my mind, wtih the hip action he has, I can hit great 3wood shots from the fairway. Mind you, I stil don't swing it anywhere close to how he does it, but with this image in my mind, I can do quite well.

[The Pearl]

[quote name='Scaldy' timestamp='1412043883' post='10209799']
Thanks for all the tips guys. I will try try to swing it more upright, but I won't be switching to a hybrid because I simply don't get near the same distance. Honestly, this Sldr S has almost gained me 15-20 yards over my 4 wood. When I hit it even slightly well it goes as far as the 4 wood. Combined with my new Sldr Driver I'm seriously excited about my golf game. I've never had this kind of distance before, and as a lady it makes a huge difference.
[/quote]

Is the club properly fitted for you? You might want to find a good fitter. A shorter, properly weighted club might help your case.

[RoverRick]

Don't feel alone, the 3 wood off the deck is probably the hardest club to hit off the deck. The main reason is because you are already at such a distance from the green that you feel like you have to kill the ball. So you give it a little "extra ump" during the swing, which more often than not leads to disaster. The only way to keep this from happening ever again, is to leave the 3 wood in the bag unless hitting off a tee, or if it is sitting in the first cut looking like it is teed up.

Since you don't want to do that, before pulling out your 3 wood, pull out a 5 or 7 iron, and make a few full swings with that. Then pull out your 3 wood and try to copy that same tempo. It is cliche but you have to let the 3 wood do the work. You have to hit the ball then the ground and at least disturb the grass, not take a huge divot. The 3 wood is a powerful weapon but it requires a precise strike on the ball. You have to have a great lie, and you have to not overswing. Even then, you will probably have only half of your 3 wood shots go as far or farther than a 2 hybrid or 5 wood.

Currently in my bag, I have an R11 14* 3 Wood and a Rescue 11 18* 2 Hybrid (5 wood shaft). I use the 3 wood off the tee, and occasionally from the fairway, but usually only if I want a left to right ball flight. My 2 Hybrid goes almost as far but has a predominately right to left flight. I can hit the 3 wood right to left, but it is easier to hit a cut with it than a draw off the deck.

[Dinosaur]

I don't have a lot of trouble with my 3W (RBZ) as I used to. Prior to the RBZ I used an Olimar tri-metal 15 deg. Very low profile, easy to get airborne, but out of deep rough you are more than likely to sweep completely under the ball and have a short pop fly.

[LaggingBehind]

I find I have to focus on hitting down more than with my irons. My swing thought is usually the feel of hammering it ~45* into the ground, this helps me get the face of the club on the ball first and divot after.

[dornstar]

I personally think that the most important thing to do with a 3 wood off the deck is to complete the backswing. For a lot of people when they get that club in their hand, they want to hit it hard and don't really complete the swing. I try to slow down the transition and focus on ball first contact. The length and design of the club will do the rest of the work.

[mtn1414]

I recently bought a Ping i25 3 wood and was having the same problem. I think I've figured it out - I have to really concentrate on making a smooth swing with good tempo. As soon as I overswing the club, I top the ball or have a similar disaster. Now before the shot, I tell myself to make a good swing and let the club do the work. It's really changed the outcome and I feel like I'm barely swinging. Was on the fringe of two par 5s last round hitting 3w.

[avguy]

The lowest lofted club used off the deck is the toughest slot in my bag since I started golf in the late 70's!

 

That being case, I have favored hybrids of either 17 or 18 degrees, especially the ones with a larger front-to-back stretched out and low head. I think of striking these longer shots (which are almost always par 5s of straight views) like skipping a stone fast across a lake. I am a scratch rock skipper, btw ;) .

 

So, I recently checked the old inventory out in garage & stuff to find I have accumulated four 3Ws. With the rock skip in mind, I never would consider the RBZ TM ts (13.5), or my TM R11 ti. Both have taller faces, and tons of interference on the soles with either a slot or angle plate adjusters.

 

My TEE XCG-V is too tall in the face for a lot of confidence, but could work. The magical club that did after a couple of range sessions experimenting with ball placement was my oldest 3W, a player's club design. The Mizuno MP ti 15, Fubuki S shaft. The head is super low, and the bottom is a shiny & swift thru the grass skipper. I was shocked how crisp and solid I could strike this with a good lie. But that is the one caveat - those hybrids cut thru anything outside of perfect lies better (TM SF 2.0 & Mizuno JPX-800).