What is a Strong 3 Wood?
What is a strong 3 wood? A 3 wood is a golf club that is designed with a low loft angle between 13-14 degrees. This low loft angle helps golfers hit low shots with greater accuracy compare to a regular 3 wood.
Benefits of Using a Strong 3 Wood
The benefits of a 3 wood make it much easier to hit the ball off the tee and deliver an impressive shot. Expect greater accuracy and more consistency when using a strong 3 wood.
When using your driver, if you’re not able to launch the ball well off from a tee, a Strong 3-wood is a good alternative.
There are several benefits of using a Strong 3 Wood:
- Strong 3-woods are manufactured specifically to bring down the drag experienced when the club cuts through the air. This design feature helps transfer more speed to the ball from the clubhead which in turn adds more distance to the shot.
- Golfers who struggle to hit the ball off the tee can switch to a Strong 3-wood. A Strong 3-wood gives you the appropriate lift needed to hit the ball off the tee.
- Since Strong-3 woods come with a lower loft angle than 3 and 5 woods, it helps golfers greatly with low shots.
- The lower loft angle makes it easier to hit the ball into the wind.
- Strong 3-woods help achieve accurate shots and bring consistency to the game. If you are struggling with your driver to hit the ball off the tee, it’s time you switched to a Strong 3-wood.
- A Strong 3-wood helped the popular golfer Henrik Stenson with his victory at the 2016 Open Championship held in Scotland.
Is a 3 Wood better?? Read my answer
Strong 3 Wood Vs 3 Wood
Both the Strong 3-wood and regular 3-wood each come with their own advantages and disadvantages. Although it completely depends on the golfer’s handling skill, there are a few distinct differences between the two.
- The Strong 3-wood has a lower loft than the 3-wood. While the 3-wood has a loft of 15°, the strong 3-wood comes with a rough loft range of 13-14°. When you lower the loft, you’ll find it becomes more difficult to hit the golf ball.
- The lower degree of loft, the more swing speed it takes to hit the ball; and deliver a shot. A 3-wood needs comparatively lesser swing speed than a Strong 3-wood when launching the ball into the air.
- It is easier to hit the ball off the tee using a Strong 3-wood. On the other hand, it’s much easier to hit it off the deck using the 3-wood.
- A strong 3-wood brings more accuracy and consistency to your shots than a 3-wood.
- 3-wood with its higher loft angle allows for an increase in the backspin rate of the ball.
- When using a strong 3-wood, there is a higher chance of sidespin being produced. This directly impacts the curvature of the ball. The 3-wood brings a reduction to the sidespin, giving it an edge over its counterpart.
Should You Get a Strong 3 Wood?
Yes you should add a strong 3 wood to your golf bag. Many beginner golfers struggle with using a driver, but instead find using a strong 3 wood easier to hit off the tee.
Disadvantages of Using a 3 Wood
If your swing speeds are low, you will need more loft in your wood. In this aspect, a Strong 3-wood might not come in handy.
It can be quite challenging to hit a ball off the deck with a loft angle lesser than around 15-17°. Using a strong 3-wood with a loft of 13-14° can make your off-the-deck shots even more difficult.
If you use a strong 3-wood for an off-the-deck shot, it might not deliver the adequate spin rate.
Also, the club may not give the needed elevation to your ball, making it challenging to launch the ball into the air.
Best Strong 3 Woods
- Ping G400 Stretch
- Titleist TS3
- Callaway Rouge
Ping G400 Stretch
The Ping G400 Stretch Fairway wood is a Strong 3-Wood with a loft angle of 13°. It is mainly used by golfers to add an impressive distance to their shots.
A low spin rate that the club delivers gives very little room for error in your shots. This club manages to keep your golf ball low while sending it off to a longer distance right after impact.
It might not be the best option if you are hitting your ball off the deck but fits right in when you hit off-the-tee shots.
The club would be a great fit for golfers who have no problem getting the ball off the ground and high up into the air. The wider head size brings distance even to your mishits.
Features of the Ping G400 Stretch
- Low loft angle of 13°
- Wider head size
- Tall clubface
Titleist TS3
If you are a pro at hitting the ball both off the tee and off the deck, the Titleist TS3 is a good choice of club. It has a tall face that aids with great off-the-tee shots.
It offers a low spin rate that delivers longer shots. The TS3 also offers a mid-launch which makes it a tad difficult to elevate the ball off the ground and into the air.
Apart from the Strong 3-wood club, the TS3 also comes with loft angles other than 13.5°. Its loft angle ranges from 13.5 to 18°.
The club also comes with a range of lie angles right from 56.5° through to 57.5° to ensure the accuracy of each shot. It also comes with a considerably larger Active Recoil Channel of 3.0 which delivers great shots even if your ball contacts the lower part of the clubface.
Features of the Titleist TS3
- 175cc head
- Low loft angle of 13.5°
Callaway Rouge
The Callaway Rouge’s Strong 3-wood with a loft angle of 13.5° features the Jailbreak technology. This technology includes two metal bars that connect the crown of the clubhead to its bottom.
This will help transfer more power to the ball during impact by keeping both the crown and the bottom from moving away from each other.
This club may not be a great fit for golfers with a low swing speed given the smaller size of the clubhead.
The Internal Standing Wave Technology incorporated in the club positions the CG (Center of Gravity) at the correct place at the bottom of the clubhead to induce an impressive launch.
The lightweight Triaxial Carbon Crown aids in further lowering the CG that adds to the forgiveness.
It produces a combination of high launch and low spin which adds distance to the shot. The club also comes with a range of loft angles other than 13.5°, like 15°, 17°, 19°, 20°, 21°, 23°, and 25°. The weight of the shaft ranges from 40g to 80g.
Features of the Callaway Rouge
- An array of shafts and weights
- Low loft angle of 13.5°
- Higher ball speed
- Longer shot distance
- High launch
- Low spin rate
- Higher forgiveness
Using a Strong 3 Wood Instead of a Driver
Some golfers may opt for a Strong 3-wood over a driver for various reasons, such as:
- The difference between the yardage offered by a driver and a Strong 3-wood when a golfer with an average swing speed makes a shot is a mere 14-15 yards.
Losing 14-15 yards with a strong 3-wood may not be the biggest compromise for some golfers as they are gaining on control and consistency instead.
- The perfection that a Strong 3-wood adds to the off-the-tee shots is unmatchable. It saves on the number of shots due to the accuracy and consistency it brings to each shot.
- Though the Strong 3-wood has a smaller face, the comparatively shorter 42-inch club offers a lot more control to the golfer than a driver with a 45 inches long club.
- This control delivers impressive shots by connecting the ball with the center of the clubface just before impact. This can also help the ball cover longer distances than what is achieved by using a driver.
Strong 3 wood Vs Driver
Although a driver is considered the golfers’ favorite as it offers an impressive distance to the shot, a Strong 3-wood could be the best choice for amateur golfers as it has a significant edge over a driver. There are several pros and cons concerning both the strong 3-wood and the driver:
- The difference between the yardage offered by a driver and a Strong 3-wood when a golfer with an average swing speed makes a shot is only 14-15 yards. Losing 14-15 yards while using a strong 3-wood may not be the biggest compromise for some golfers as they are gaining control and consistency.
- The perfection that a Strong 3-wood adds to the off-the-tee shots is unmatchable. A compromise of roughly 14 yards distance might seem too small to some golfers in exchange for accurate off-the-tee shots every time they take a shot.
- Strong 3-woods decreases the number of shots needed due to the accuracy and consistency it brings to each shot.
- Though the Strong 3-wood has a smaller face, the comparatively shorter 42-inch club offers a lot more control to the golfer than a driver whose club is roughly 45 inches in length.
- This control delivers impressive shots by connecting the ball with the center of the clubface just before impact. This can help the ball cover longer distances than what is achieved by using a driver.
- The driver is great at hitting off-the-deck shots. Strong 3-wood falls short when you attempt an off-the-deck with it. Most golfers barely manage to elevate the ball off the ground using a strong 3-wood.
- An amateur golfer can start off playing with a Strong 3-wood and then gradually progress to a driver.
- If the beginner starts with a driver, they may miss out on learning low launch shots.
- Also, handling a driver requires a certain amount of experience as it demands that the ball take an upward route after impact. This can only be achieved via a change in the setup and not by altering the swing.
- So, to begin with, a Strong 3-wood could be a beginner’s best bet rather than jumping the gun with a driver that requires a strong swing each time you take a shot. Strong 3-wood is more forgiving with the swing action as even a few mishits can sometimes convert into great shots.
Strong 3 Wood Vs Mini-Driver
Strong 3-wood and mini-driver have their unique places at a golf course. While amateur golfers prefer the former, the more experienced once swear by the latter. The differences between the two are as follows:
- The mini-driver has a larger head and less loft compared to a strong 3-wood. With the mini driver, the ball covers a longer distance and elevates more easily than with a Strong 3-wood.
- The Strong 3-wood has a loft range of 13-14° which is more than the mini-driver’s12°. A higher loft angle increases trajectory to the ball, thus delivering longer shots.
- If you are a golfer who finds it challenging to take off-the-deck shots using a Strong 3-wood and a consistently straight shot using a driver, a mini-driver is your best bet.
- Although the mini-driver takes the cake with the off-the-deck shots, a golfer cannot ask for anything better than a Strong 3-wood to hit an off-the-tee shot.
Is a 3 Wood better? Read my answer