Today, Ian is in the bay to test out if a 3 Wood still has a place in the modern golf bag. For some it will always, but with technology changing quickly and only 14 clubs allowed. It does raise the question if the 3 Wood has more or less value than a 5 wood?
00:00 INTRO
03:09 TAYLORMADE
Qi10 TOUR
3 WOOD 15° (14.25°)
04:22 TAYLORMADE
Qi10 TOUR
5 WOOD 18° (16.5°)
06:57 TAYLORMADE
Qi10 TOUR
3 WOOD 15° (14.25°)
OFF TEE
08:33 TAYLORMADE
BRNR MINI DRIVER 11.5° (10.5°)
OFF TEE
10:33 TAYLORMADE
BRNR MINI DRIVER 11.5°
OFF TEE
11:40 CONCLUSION
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Filmed at: Club Champion Toronto
Custom Golf Club Fitting Studio – Toronto, Canada
that sounded better eh that was cool thing with this five is you don’t sacrifice any distance whatsoever no no I can I can hit it as far as the 3w all right guys welcome back to the channel big test tonight Mikey boy another what’s in the bag it’s not what’s in the bag it’s not nothing about that the question I have in her mind that a lot of people are asking in the world of golf is the three-wood dead is there no need for three-wood anymore I mean I mean manyi driver serves a purpose I think uh in the bay we talked to a lot of golfers and we say what’s your favorite Club if you’re going to hit it from the Fairway and it’s a head cover five yeah more people say you know I’m really comfortable with fivewood three-wood is a bit Hit or Miss very lie dependent I’m not really that confident needs to be the right circumstances fivewood I feel great so I think from that purpose three wio gets overlooked a lot yeah off the Fairway with the long sh off the tea I think the sort of entry into the market of the manyi drivers we’ve just seen Callaway have a new Mini in the market titless have their TSR little two wood uh obviously tail are smashing it right now I mean the the amount of people who have sort of DMD or commented in the videos we’ve done recently saying many like change my game and although their tour staff have have at least tested it and hit it I know there was photos of tiger holding one but you know there’s a video of Rory hitting it and he his pra for was like man this thing’s unreal if you haven’t seen that video go to T’s website it’s fun Rory High 7s ball speed 300 yards in the car he’s like it’s a perfect little two-wood yeah so that’s the nature of this video guys have we got to a point where metalwood technology has gotten so good the fivewood is hot enough from the Fairway two wood burner mini you know mini driver um is a more suitable replacement off the te mhm do we do we still even need a three-w yeah interesting I mean find out the nice thing is or the hardest thing for me to wrap my head around is like off the deck with a mini driver because it looks so big and it looks different but I’ve watched you hit it obviously we watched some video of some guys test it looks pretty easy yeah I I don’t think I I think it’s probably like a once in eight shots nine shots I’ll hit it off the ground maybe maybe actually not even that much I I just think you know if I need to hit something off the ground three-wood length I’m turning over fivewood yeah yeah you know I’m trying to hit that kind of high draw fivewood so um let’s hit a few uh let’s let’s see what we’ve got we’re going to throw on three-wood we’re going to compare it and then either side of that we’ll see the merits of the fivewood and the mini cool all right FR 275 yards we’re starting with qi1 tour the 15 degree model y bumped down a little bit yeah one I like the one open yeah I play my five a little bit more open than that but I think this is good weight placement the weight Bridge uh right in the middle so should be should be good for 250 260 in the right okay typical fight with the 3ws that that touch left to right shape no no not I feel like maybe I’m catch a hair in the heel little face little face open High isn’t it interesting it sounded better it was I feel like a good strike there’s quite a lot of dynamic LT I feel yeah good strikes just face hanging open yeah good strike like it you feel like you had to try more to close that or I just yeah I just tried to release it hard so strike sounds so much better typical spin for you about like 35 3,800 with 3-wood honestly no in the past like I’d say a bit lower oh yeah okay bit lower than that but yeah seem to be spins 3500 255 carry no issues right out the middle R 30 8 37 4,000 spin little spinny turned over a little bit e it that sounded better eh that was lower flight on that one too that was the right launch and spin cool thing with this fivewood is you don’t sacrifice any distance whatsoever no no I can I can hit it as far as the three-w I me if anything like that’s probably a good example of what a give up it times a bit with the fivewood it might just kick up in the spin not too bad something we’ve talked about for a little while that we do in our fits Mikey if somebody needs you know a fairy wood that they need get into the ground a little bit more and like I don’t know whatever my average was there yeah so I think the biggest difference there is I feel like with fivewood I can get a little steeper onto it I catch a better part of the head I don’t gear it up as much um I just feel like for for me with three-wood you know I can I can kind of get that you know a little bit spinny one with this at least I have the option as well with the fivewood now remember I caught a fivewood it’s a fourwood 16 and 1 half deg 18 turn 3° open and it’s at 16.5 White Bridge all the way in at the head so effectively I mean for a lot of people this is awood yeah yeah and and the numbers are three Woodes for me but being shorter as well and and being that fivewood head if you need to chop something out of the rough too you can you can turn the you can go the other way easily easily easily right so that’s I think that’s why for me off the ground it was a it was a no-brainer to go in that direction the one thing I would say I miss there is something a little bit I guess intimidating about going with a head that small right okay little fivewood head I probably wouldn’t mind it if it was a a shade bigger but okay F back to qi1 uh two or three wood and now we’re going to see how does it compare versus the mini driver yeah off the here’s the off the T option right decent strike but yeah it’s not really a great off the te option I say a little floaty yeah yeah 3700 that’s a good swing I came out a bit flatter yeah I mean that’s a little more like it’s not the ball speed cuz I caught it a little too high but like to get the spin down like that it would be better not bad or a fraction thin it was a fraction thin but I didn’t hate it I just spun it a little bit yeah yeah I don’t mind yeah it was it wasn’t bad great strike okay yeah I struggle bit of a struggle yeah definitely there’s some what looks like good strikes but it doesn’t really play out how you want it no um can see we’re off the te yeah you you don’t have a ton of confidence in the in the three-wood all right many driver so I think there’s probably some similarities to some of the strikes with the three-wood mhm and that one as in like my mess a little up on it little little low on the head but like 160 and then 105 3,000 yeah is is pretty good 10 yards technically longer in carry as well like you always talk with Peak height you know it’s still 113 yeah but it’s not 130 right and it can’t can’t float on you no definitely that’s the one is the one goodbye goodbye three-wood I’m back they fairly straight I mean thank you twist face yeah I wouldn’t want to know what a three-w would do if I hit one that far in the toe still pretty good there like you it’s a good strike Mikey left out a little bit but it’s not it’s not putting you in trouble no there’s no three-wood that’s going 2800 spin at 300 total that’s for sure little turned over would you take it I mean I probably if I was the fitting with you right now I’d say can you turn that up to 12 or or like 115 like give us some Loft back on that I think for the first time I’ve seen this thing maybe the other side of it you know I liked it at 105 let’s tweak it all right little tweak yeah back to 115 was a wee bit hot there wasn’t it that’s a bit more bit more of the flight isn’t it yeah you’ve bumped the Loft back up and yeah I just think there’s there’s so much ball speed in it that it can it can live at 3,000 spin yeah that’s the right place for it and you don’t really need a 285 carry what driver does that was pretty good definitely take that flight if I want to turn one over off the te good speed 2700 little little seconds Air flight yeah that was pure right at the middle yeah just like that little low middle which I just I feel like this little mini driers just great when you get it in that little spot that’s nice there 3100 yeah it’s a good T option Mikey more horsepower 163 ball can of got three-wood numbers probably what I used to consider three-wood numbers for me 12 and a half launch 31 something spin so yeah let’s look at the first one the we made a little change didn’t we yeah thought it was a few just a little too that spin getsy maybe a bit knuckly and a little too hard like three almost 300 we saw a couple 300 yard Mini drivers I don’t know if if you really want that in your bag don’t really like is is the dispersion Circle getting wider yeah you know that’s it’s not really not what we want so let’s let’s kind of kick into the other one yeah we should bring the Loft back up stays more on Center Line spin kicks up launch kicks up and it’s in a better window there for carry in total it’s interesting you know just putting some Loft on it though MH um actually if you look at the numbers go to select comparison uh over there and put the two burners actually wasn’t wasn’t that different no it was a vol ility of the lower Loft yeah so standard deviation spin was wider um which we certainly don’t want um and obviously ran had the tendency to run out a little bit little bit of a rward Miss with that today which certainly wasn’t liking so again just let’s go back to the the two threewoods and then the fivewood and the mini so there’s there’s the two three Woods as we probably expect a little bit less spin off the T yeah um that t one they’ll put you in could put you in trouble that’s that’s a scary thing I just don’t I just don’t love how high a hit a three would you know these days and you know I feel like I’m as comfortable as we we saw with the five we hitting that a bit lower yeah so there’s kind of where we want to kind of obviously end up a little more separation 5 miles hour ball speed clear separation and obviously spin yeah you want your fivewood to have a little bit of spin to it hey I mean yeah you that’s that is good where that is right there is is more than acceptable um but it gives the two clubs a role doesn’t it gives them a very different role three-w off the tea um three-w off the Fairway I felt like we’re just we’re just doing the same thing your consistency with the mini driver off the te is a it’s a it’s a joke how good it is that three-wood just you stand on top of with something smaller and you it just it looks tiny now and it’s probably just a little bit of a an adjustment because now I’ve hit this for a few weeks and and just it looks tiny yeah to hit it off of a tea I just can’t imagine maybe setting up in a tight t-shot or something and feeling great about it but success rate with that many drivers a lot higher yeah no this thing is is good and in honestly I think it’s good for a lot of you guys too okay guys so I think um yeah it’s part of a a bigger conversation right now we’re in a a data driven World We Are looking at Strokes gained all the time what is better off a t as a a second serve or a you know if you’re not hitting driver what’s what’s better off a t yeah something like this or a three-wood if you’re in the Fairway and you’re really not sacrificing anything what are you better off with fivewood that has a fraction more Loft more forgiveness in that sense a little bit shorter length H in the shaft or or traditional 3-wood for me in in both cases I I feel feel like I’m set up for Success now more with this and with a fivewood than I have been yeah take it to the next level you’re playing some tournament golf right if the driver a couple holes in or on the Range doesn’t feel like you’ve got it that day I mean mini driver you could te it Tee It Up or te it down and and kind of find the Fairway with it I I would feel comfortable doing that just you know squeezing a few out there and knowing that you actually don’t really sacrific that much ball speed where we’ seen that shake out 161 you know not not a million miles away from from driver territory um so you know hit it out there 260 270 you know early in the round when you’re trying to feel your way into a tournament round or um maybe just don’t feel good with your swing one day and you’ve got that as an option I think that’s going to help a lot of people with their G so something to think of obviously you know it’s a bit of a play on words saying the three’s dead obviously we’re we’re still you know thinking that’s in the bag for a lot of people um but the utilization for someone like myself with the swing characteristics I have I think I’m going to have a little bit more success because of the options I have with two Club 100% that’s a confidence booster off the day definitely okay let us know what you think guys let us know if is this making you rethink you know your options in the top end of the bag I think everybody needs to have one or two options that are really really comfortable with so not just having one and if that’s off then feel like you’re a bit lost for that day so definely yeah let us know below what your thoughts are are you tracking your data are you using Aros um you know are you going Being Fit for the top end of your bag that’s ultimately what we think you should do anyway so stay tuned for more guys we will see you again soon [Music]
28 Comments
mini driver vs chocked up 3/4 driver?
I haven’t bagged a 3 wood in a very long time. I could never justify using it over driver off the tee, and the 5 wood is much better off the turf. I think 4w/7w is a combo that could work for a lot of people.
If you’re only looking for a club off the tee try Golf Pride +4 grips. They allow me to grip down on all my clubs without changing the feel. If I need a shorter, flighted tee shot I grip down 1”-1.5” on the driver and tee it a little lower.
I'm absolutely loving my new Cleveland 3+ 17 degree Hy-wood! With the shorter stock shaft this thing is very easy to hit.
The way they have made these mini drivers in a year or 2 you will have to make a video asking is the driver dead
I’m mixing it up this year. Used to go driver , 3 wood and 3 hybrid. But took out 3 wood and replaced it with a Chucky 2 iron for a back up off the tee. Doesn’t go quite as far as 3 wood but consistency is significantly better. Also has a lower ball flight, and even though off the deck goes a similar distance to hybrid, playing a sw Scotland links course the lower and highly ball flight option is a nice tool to have.
Do you find going from 5 wood to 4 iron creates a gapping issue?
I’m all hybrids 5-2 atm. The king tecs with the stock mmt shaft fit me great and match my irons in feel so I’m not bouncing around different swing weights or flex stiffness from one shot to the next.
This is where the average golfer needs to be honest with themselves. Yeah sure we all want to play what the pros play. But reality is us average joes just don’t have the swing speed. Loft is our friend. I’ve swapped out the top of the bag. Gone are the turned up 9.5 driver, 15 3 wood and now playing 11.5 turned down, 18 5 wood turned down 3 wood shaft, 18 5 wood turned up 7 wood shaft.
Absolute game changer.
What I’m saying is fitting is a must, but do it opening minded to what you need. Results on the course matter the most
i´ve had the td 300 mini on the bag for 3 years now,,,, is low spin,, great great off the tee, and a low bullet on the fairway.., but very straight which works great on my tight windy course….i´ve always had problems hitting the driver aginst the wind,,, teeing it lower meant spinnyy short outcomes……for me works great….. is a bit shorter than my driver,,,,, and i´m getting fitted next week for the 5w, in order to get a hight¡r flight on the fairway,,, to replace my 3w,,,, i´ve been meaning to do it for a while and this is the final push… thank you!!
Welcome to the club Ian. Since the last BRNR came out I have gone down the route of driver (8°), mini (13.5), 5 wood (18), 4 utility iron then into my irons. Feel like it gives me all the options. Tee clubs, forgiveness and most yardages covered.
I went from tsr3 3 wood. To a tsr2+ 2 wood and tsr5 wood. And the plus flys so straight and is easy to control for tight fairways even for a mid handicapper like me and the 5 so much easier off the deck
Bit hard to compare apple's to apple's, u hit hit up too much, u need a great lie for a 3 wood 🤷🏼♂️
3wood cleveland launcher 15 degrees from the tee and cleveland launcher 17degrees 3wood from the fairway works for me Don,t need a driver
This video screams “taylormade and corporate want us to push mini drivers to boost sales”. It just comes off weird to me.
i'm still surprised cheap package sets still have 3 wood and not 5. i love my Cobra SZ 5 wood
I go driver, 5 wood, 7 wood, 5 iron. For me and my swing speed the gaping is perfect. My confidence in those clubs is very high, so I haven’t played with a 3 wood in over a decade.
I generally like what you guys present on this channel, I enjoy the balance of tech data and fun. However, I don't think you provided much clarity in this video. It felt a bit like a Taylormade infomercial.
Were you proposing to replace a single 3w with a Mini and a 5w? Were you just beefing up your 3w to be a tee only club? At no time in the video was the 3w set up to be as powerful as the Mini (I.e set to 13.5* and weight forward), so it was never going to perform as well. With Ian's speed and skill this test didn't represent many average golfers.
I'd like to see Mike do a similar test with Driver, Mini, 3w, 5w and even 7w, to see where the gapping lands.
I expect that Driver, 3w (second tee club) and 7w might be a better fit for a slower swing speed. And probably not Qi10 Tour heads, maybe a Max head would get a run.
Got rid of 3 and 4 irons, got the Paradym 5 and 7 woods. Best decision of my golf hobby.
Question……If you want a fairway finder why not just take a 12 degree driver, reduce the shaft length to 43.5", add a few grams to the head to get the swing weight back up to D2-D4? You'll have to dial in the right shaft but I think standing over a 460cc head will be even more confidence inspiring than standing over a 300cc head. I'd like to hear your thoughts on that idea.
It's interesting how sometimes old ideas come back around. I recall about 20-25 years ago, before Tight Lies and Orlimar changed the game, when 3 woods were larger heads with deep faces. Hitting a 3 wood off the tee was a lot easier, and the perfect choice for tight fairways.
I have a heaven wood 7wood. And then a 3HL wood. Basically a 4 wood. I have way better luck with those than my Driver.
I swithed to the Mini and 5 wood years ago when the TM SLDR mini came out
I bought a 4W recently. 16.5 degree. Love it
I love the follower fittings. Any chance you have a 50 something with a high handing cap looking to get out of steel shafts and go to graphite.
If not, I would like to see something dealing with the best conversion steel to graphite.
Just put in a mini driver with Ventus shaft and returned my 3 wood. Works great with my full driver and 5 wood set up. TM truck built it on the spot for me at my CC fitting.
Honestly I feel like yea 3 wood is kinda obsolete
i play a MD 11.5 (2 wood). TSR 4 wood TSR 7 wood
Have a specific question regarding the correlation between vertical launch, attack angle, club loft, and dynamic loft. Is there an ideal amount/rule for the amount of de-lofting that supposed to take place on irons. In other words if you have a 32 degree 7 Iron is there an ideal amount of de-lofting that would show up on dynamic loft? I know you have done videos on the topic but I have been trying to correlate the trackman published data for PGA people. From what I can see on a Trackman it is around 8-10 degrees is that correct?