I think for most players their lowest fairway wood should be optimized for hitting off the turf. In many cases, adding loft can help get the ball in the air. Golfers are led to believe that less loft = more distnace, and for many the opposite is true. Thanks for reading, and welcome to the community!
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I think the easiest thing is to go to this page on my site. They are arranged in chronological order (newest first). I have a site re-design being done right now, so it will be more intuitive and broken down into further categories in the near future.
I think positing all my articles on here could get a bit messy, so itās best to use the archives page on the site IMO
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hi: thanks Jon. As someone who has tried to ākeep it in the fairwayā to improve the score I can attest to the information in your article. I follow a lot of you tube golfers, most of who are excellent players. One in particular strives to help weekenders improve in stages. His philosophy is that if you can break 100 you donāt need to change your swing; you need to change your strategy. Example: take a club that you can hit at least 150 yds straight off 95% of the tee boxes. Tried it. Score wasnāt any better vs the driver.
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Thanks for the feedback, and welcome to the community!
My thinking on the driver has evolved over the years as Iāve seen more and more data and spoken with a lot of coaches. While everyoneās golf game is unique, if you want to play your absolute best, you need to find a way to embrace the big stick!
There are a lot of people that I know that just fear their driver regardless of the situation. They take out the 3 wood and try to hit one in the fairway. I like how the article goes through the shot data for each club. One thing that comes to mind for me is the level of confidence someone has when they are trying to hit the club that āgives them troubleā. I have learned to not fear clubs and practice the ones that give me problems. The guy that is thinking that he canāt hit hit driver in the fairway probably never will. But with that aside- I am going to rethink club selection next time I am out on the course. I take three wood sometimes in spots that are narrow just from being told that or the slightest inclination that I need to hit the fairway āfor certainā! It really should be a decision on how far you want the ball to go. Some holes are shorter than others and you will set yourself up better with a shorter shot off the tee and vice versa. Thanks for the article!
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Thatās an interesting one because the fairway bunkers will make laying back somewhat penal as well. Based on my data, Iād be hitting the driver. I think this one could be a toss-up based on how well you do hit that fairway wood off the tee.
This speaks to the notion I covered in this article:
Bunkers really just prevent going for it in 2. Either bunker you can get it so you have under 150 in.
Iāve always hit driver, but picked up distance with my new driver (and they took out the tree on the right which previously prevented lost balls). Think Iām going to hit 3 wood for a while (unless itās soaking wet or into the wind) and see where it leaves me. If itās too far back Iāll adjust.
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The strokes gained data on fairway bunkers really surprised me as I didnāt expect them to be that penal. Thatās just skewed by my personal experience though, since my swing tends to just pick the ball I donāt feel like I have any real issues with hitting out of them.
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I think there could be a wide range of results based on skill level in bunkers, but they are penal for all levels! Between lie, stance, and dealing with the lip - they are pretty challenging!
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Agreed - in my scenario since itās a par 5 theyāre less penal since itās a forced layup to a āreasonableā distance.
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Yeah, it is so hard for me to not hit driver almost every timeā¦the mishits still go so far and are not very offline.
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Aim at the bunker on the right and fly it with a perfect little draw. Mid-Long iron into the green. Eagle party baby!!
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Interesting! I just always hit driver except on par 3 holes. From the red tees. On the course I play, one of the par 3s is about 105 yards, the other is 110 yards up a steep hill, have had luck with my #7 wood there. But I hit the driver straighter. But itās not like Iām an expert, LOL
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fade for me, which tends to be my play. if it becomes more consistent i may go up to driver but right now I hit some pulls which will end up in the thick stuff and be lost. if it was water hazard iād hit driver (then have 220 for 3rd shot), but itās stroke and distance
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I agree with this article and itās helped me so much to trust Driver because being close does result in better scoring. The only holes I choose less is when I can go OB or in water at a typical driver distance. Great article. I pass this info to friends when they pull 3 wood when itās a wide open fairway.
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Perfect, thank you! Too easy.
Hi Jon
For your three wood shot pattern whatās the distribution if you exclude the two outliers? You have one way right and one way left which seems to be substantially increasing the spread.
I also took the 3 wood out of my bag. It is rare for me to be on the green in 2 on a par 5, so I added in an extra wedge which has helped me dial in my shorter distances.
This article is pretty thought provoking to me. I do tend to be able to find the fairway better with my 3-wood but more importantly, have more confidence that if I mishit it, I know where it will end up which further keeps me out of trouble. If i hit my 3 wood pure, it goes straight or slight draw but if I miss, itās going to hook so I can pretty confidently keep myself out of trouble. With my driver, I sometimes block it out right which is a bit of a wild card on my dispersion.
That being said, a modern driver is designed to be more forgiving so it just re-affirms I need to build a swing with the driver that may sacrifice distance but increase the likelihood to go in the right direction. I normally play a draw but Iād love to have a confident block fade for instance, even if itās shorter off the tee. I also wonder if there is a shorter, more compact swing I could use that is more equivalent to the 3 wood which would be a fairway finder shot.
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