Thread by Jon Sherman

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You are standing on the tee box and thinking, "I have to hit a fairway here."

So you reach for your 3-wood instead of driver, assuming it will go straighter.

Was that the right decision?

Let's explore and change some minds 👇
Most golfers plan tee shots thinking about hitting the fairway only.

But there is more to consider:

• Distance (proximity on your next shot)
• Where is the big trouble?
• Is the rough that big of a penalty?
• Are shorter clubs straighter?
.@shotscope did an interesting analysis of their database of millions of golf shots from golfers of all levels.

Here is how many strokes golfers typically lose when they miss fairways:

• Light rough: .3 strokes
• Trees: 1.1 strokes
• Fairway bunkers: 1.4 strokes
@shotscope Successful tee shots are not just about finding fairways.

They are more about avoiding the *big* trouble.

Hitting it farther into the light rough is still a good shot.
@shotscope As soon as you take a shorter club, you leave yourself further away from the hole on your approach shot.

That is costing you strokes, all things being equal

30 yards of distance can be worth upwards of 1/3 a stroke for many golfers.

So you better be able to hit it straighter!
@shotscope Here's where things get interesting...

Across all handicap levels, Shot Scope found that 3-woods were not materially better at hitting fairways 🤯
@shotscope I did my own testing with a driver vs. 3-wood on a launch monitor and found the same for my swing.

With 3-wood:

• My overall dispersion was wider
• I hit fewer fairways
• I lost 31 yards in distance

Not a good combination!

Short and crooked isn't successful off the tee.
@shotscope Why would this happen?

Let's talk about clubhead design.

Drivers and fairway woods have entirely different purposes.

I spoke with my clubfitting guru @WoodyLashen to understand more...
@shotscope @WoodyLashen Fairway woods are not designed to be hit exclusively off the tee.

So they are built much differently and have tradeoffs in design.

There are two major factors at play here:

1) They have smaller heads
2) Much less MOI compared to a driver (a measure of forgiveness)
@shotscope @WoodyLashen The smaller head is the biggest issue.

Impact location becomes a huge problem with a longer shaft (43") and a tinier head.

Heck, this was me a few days ago when I hit my 5-wood on a 235-yard par 3 #wormburner

The ball barely made contact with the bottom of the face
@shotscope @WoodyLashen And this is where our friend's MOI (moment of inertia) and gear effect show up.

When you miss the center of the club with a fairway wood or driver, the face will twist.

You will lose distance & accuracy.

Here's an example of how horizontal gear effect works.
@shotscope @WoodyLashen Because a driver typically has 2x - 3x the amount of MOI than a fairway wood, it will "resist" twisting more when you miss the center.

The result is shots that travel a bit straighter and farther (within reason, of course).

Golf OEMs have made drivers very forgiving!
@shotscope @WoodyLashen These two factors explain why many players struggle to hit a fairway wood straighter (and farther) than a driver off the tee.

You're probably thinking to yourself, "But I'm different! What about Henrik Stenson??!!!"

You could be right. But most golfers assume and don't test.
@shotscope @WoodyLashen I have found two methods to help figure out your accuracy off the tee, so you're not guessing:

• Launch monitor testing
• Tracking your shots on the course
@shotscope @WoodyLashen If you have access to a launch monitor that can plot your shot patterns, it's a real eye-opener.

You can hit a series of drivers and fairway woods and get a visual representation of how your distance and dispersion change with each one.
@shotscope @WoodyLashen Or you could track your shots on the course.

Systems like Shot Scope & Arccos will automatically tag your shots & give you analysis on fairways hit & other patterns with each club off the tee.

We have a special deal on Shot Scope here:

pgoffers.samcart.com/products/shot-scope-v3
@shotscope @WoodyLashen So rather than guessing, prove to yourself what club makes the most sense.

I played golf for years, defaulting to shorter clubs off the tee, and didn't understand it was costing me strokes.
@shotscope @WoodyLashen So remember:

• Distance costs strokes
• Shorter clubs aren't always straighter
• Your main goal is to keep it in play, not hit fairways only. Avoid the *big* trouble.
• Test and verify!
@shotscope @WoodyLashen If you liked this analysis, you will love my book, The Four Foundations of Golf.

It will be out on Amazon in a few weeks.

I have an entire section devoted to helping you make better strategic decisions with every club in the bag.
@shotscope @WoodyLashen Also:

• Read 400+ articles on my website: practical-golf.com

• Sign up for my newsletter: eepurl.com/bd-5V1

• Listen to our podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sweet-spot-golf-podcast/id1552917994
@shotscope @WoodyLashen I hope you've found this thread helpful.

Follow me @practicalgolf for more.

Like/Retweet the first tweet below if you can:

Alternative idea:

When it makes sense to lay back because of a penalty area, etc…

Sometimes I’ll just swing my driver at 75% - 80%. I’ve proven to myself that shot will go straighter than a fairway wood on average.

*not for everyone
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