Driver vs 3 wood distance
At tour speed a driver carries about 275 yards and a 3 wood about 243 yards, a gap of 32 yards on the published table. For a 15 handicap the gap is 25 yards: 217 yards against 192 yards. They sit next to each other in the bag, so the gap is the band of yardages between two full swings.
At tour speed
The driver row is 113 mph, 167 mph of ball speed and 275 yards of carry; the 3 wood row is 107 mph, 158 mph and 243 yards. Roll is 8 percent of carry for the driver and 6 percent for the 3 wood on a fairway landing, so the total gap is 39 yards.
By handicap
Both clubs at each handicap step on the handicap model. The gap narrows a little as speed falls, because the shorter club loses fewer yards per mile per hour.
Driver and 3 wood by handicap
| Handicap | Driver | 3 wood | Carry gap | Total gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scratch | 256 yards | 226 yards | 30 yards | 37 yards |
| 5 handicap | 242 yards | 214 yards | 28 yards | 35 yards |
| 10 handicap | 230 yards | 203 yards | 26 yards | 33 yards |
| 15 handicap | 217 yards | 192 yards | 25 yards | 31 yards |
| 20 handicap | 204 yards | 181 yards | 23 yards | 29 yards |
| 25 handicap | 192 yards | 170 yards | 22 yards | 27 yards |
| 30 handicap | 180 yards | 159 yards | 20 yards | 25 yards |
By driver speed
The same pair for golfers who know their driver speed: each club at the same fraction of its tour speed.
Driver and 3 wood by driver speed
| Driver speed | Driver | 3 wood | Carry gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80 mph | 186 yards | 165 yards | 21 yards |
| 90 mph | 212 yards | 188 yards | 24 yards |
| 100 mph | 239 yards | 211 yards | 28 yards |
| 110 mph | 267 yards | 236 yards | 31 yards |
What the gap means
A gap of 25 yards at 15 handicap means every yardage inside it is a shot for neither full swing: the 3 wood needs more than it has and the driver needs less. That is a wide gap, and a launch monitor session usually shows one of the two clubs is not doing what its number says. The free launch monitor analyzer reads a session in the browser and flags gaps over 20 yards.
Distance decides less than the pattern around it. Two clubs that carry the same number can spread very differently, and the spread decides whether a target is safe; PinFlag measures the spread from your launch monitor sessions and your logged shots and draws it on the hole.
In PinFlag
Import a session and both clubs become Measured patterns in PinFlag: on the course the aim is priced with the pattern of the club in hand, and switching clubs redraws Shot Cloud with the other pattern around the same target, so the comparison is between two real spreads on the real hole, not two yardages.
Frequently asked questions
How much longer is a driver than a 3 wood?
Do a driver and a 3 wood overlap?
Which rolls more, the driver or the 3 wood?
What is the gap for a 25 handicap?
Which golf app does this on the course?
Related
Sources
- PGA TOUR statistics
- Golf simulator and launch monitor, Wikipedia
- How PinFlag calculates strokes gained
Every figure on this page is computed from the published baselines, the same ones PinFlag prices your shots with. The scope of the figures: Both clubs are the published tour anchors scaled by the handicap and speed models stated on the page; the pattern around each carry, which decides the choice, comes from your own shots.
Get PinFlag for iPhone
PinFlag shows you this number on the course, for the shot in front of you, before you swing: any target priced with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course map, your real shots drawn on the hole, and two taps to log. Golfer is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with a 14-day trial on the annual plan through the App Store.