This year I am bound and determined to actually use the 3 wood I bought a couple of years ago, (Taylor Made RBZ, stiff shaft, 15* loft) rather than just carry it in my bag for no real purpose. (Similar issue with my 3 hybrid – but that’s another story) Not using this club is leaving a big gap in my line up.
My problem is that I feel the club to be awkward and have no confidence with it. I just can’t seem to get solid contact; I either top the ball, or, when I do get it to launch, I mostly produce hooks and slices thought to be impossible for a golf ball to perform.
I watched a number of videos on the subject and appreciate ball positioning and avoiding upper body movement in an effort to help “lift” the ball. One video instructor said it was the most difficult club in the bag to hit. Some advice was conflicting, such as hitting down on the ball, vs brushing.
With all of that in mind, I went to Launch on Wednesday, and worked through a couple of buckets on the 3 wood. Despite the usual topping, flubs and wild trajectories, I did mange to nail some fabulous long straight shots, rivaling a decent drive. So I know I can do it.
I was focussing in on keeping my upper body angles stable, initiation of the down stroke starting with the left leg side (I play right) and keeping the right elbow from flapping about away from my torso. One drill I did was to take short back strokes, in an effort to get a feel for good contact. On the full swings, I managed to go for stretches of 4- 5 really good shots, bracketed with strings of terrible ones. Most misses were pulls to the left. I seemed to do best with a very conscious swing thought and effort at starting my down stroke from the left side.
So, I went to Annandale yesterday to “field test” my practice, and met with similar results, The occasional really great shots, but many others, much less so. Right now, If I am to game this club, I may be restricted to using it in situations where there are few hazards and ample fairway space. Trying to finesse a 3 wood shot into a tight landing area with trouble all around would be a high risk venture – nice if it worked...but.
I plan on continuing to work on this through the winter so I can haul it out in the spring. I may even take some lessons.
However, I am sure there is some collectivity of wisdom among this august group on proper approaches to using a 3 wood. What advice do you have?
And no...I am not putting it on BST...well not just yet anyway.
My problem is that I feel the club to be awkward and have no confidence with it. I just can’t seem to get solid contact; I either top the ball, or, when I do get it to launch, I mostly produce hooks and slices thought to be impossible for a golf ball to perform.
I watched a number of videos on the subject and appreciate ball positioning and avoiding upper body movement in an effort to help “lift” the ball. One video instructor said it was the most difficult club in the bag to hit. Some advice was conflicting, such as hitting down on the ball, vs brushing.
With all of that in mind, I went to Launch on Wednesday, and worked through a couple of buckets on the 3 wood. Despite the usual topping, flubs and wild trajectories, I did mange to nail some fabulous long straight shots, rivaling a decent drive. So I know I can do it.
I was focussing in on keeping my upper body angles stable, initiation of the down stroke starting with the left leg side (I play right) and keeping the right elbow from flapping about away from my torso. One drill I did was to take short back strokes, in an effort to get a feel for good contact. On the full swings, I managed to go for stretches of 4- 5 really good shots, bracketed with strings of terrible ones. Most misses were pulls to the left. I seemed to do best with a very conscious swing thought and effort at starting my down stroke from the left side.
So, I went to Annandale yesterday to “field test” my practice, and met with similar results, The occasional really great shots, but many others, much less so. Right now, If I am to game this club, I may be restricted to using it in situations where there are few hazards and ample fairway space. Trying to finesse a 3 wood shot into a tight landing area with trouble all around would be a high risk venture – nice if it worked...but.
I plan on continuing to work on this through the winter so I can haul it out in the spring. I may even take some lessons.
However, I am sure there is some collectivity of wisdom among this august group on proper approaches to using a 3 wood. What advice do you have?
And no...I am not putting it on BST...well not just yet anyway.
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