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Should you ALWAYS Hit Driver?

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ve heard this mantra (probably too many times):

Hit driver as often as you can. Hit it as far as you can… while taking penalty strokes and other hazards into account.

And yes, that last part is doing a lot of work.

Because the most common pushback I get is: “Lou… I hit my 3-wood way straighter. Shouldn’t I club down for accuracy?”

For most golfers, the answer is still no.

Not because 3-wood can’t be straighter. It often is. But because it’s hard to be straight enough with 3-wood to make up for the distance you’re giving away.

The Data

For this analysis, I looked at golfers who, within a calendar year, had:

• 200+ tee shots with driver

• 100+ tee shots with 3-wood

• Most players had 40+ rounds in the year

• Total sample: several thousand golfers

Now let’s talk about the group everyone feels like they’re in…

“My 3-Wood Is WAY Straighter”

Some golfers truly are.

• 28% had a 3-wood dispersion that was 20+ yards narrower than their driver.

• 9% had a 3-wood dispersion that was 30+ yards narrower than their driver.

That’s meaningful. But here’s the problem… for most of these players, driver was still 25+ yards longer than 3-wood.

And if you’re not bringing penalty strokes (OB, water, trees jail) into play… it’s incredibly hard to overcome giving up 25+ yards. Distance is a scoring cheat code. You don’t want to give up distance unless the course forces your hand.

Here is the “Now This Gets Interesting” Filter

I wanted to find the golfers where 3-wood might actually be a legit default option more often… so I narrowed the sample to players who met both of these criteria:

1. Minimal distance gap
   Their median 3-wood distance was within 12 yards of their median driver distance.

2. Big dispersion improvement
   Their 3-wood dispersion was 20+ yards narrower than driver.

(Clarification: dispersion here is essentially a “cone” where 95% of your shots finish inside of. A 20-yard narrower cone is not subtle.)

After applying those filters… Only 10% of golfers fit the profile. So not “everyone.” Not even close. But also not nobody.

The Real Story: It Depends How FAR You Hit Driver

When I broke it down by how far players hit their driver, the pattern slaps you in the face:

Our slower swing speed friends are far more likely to have a 3-wood that goes almost as far as driver and is much straighter. And that’s a big clue.

If you’re in that slower swing speed bucket and your 3-wood is living in the same distance neighborhood as your driver, there’s a chance your driver setup is working against you. You may need more loft on your driver than most people think is “normal”.

Also, regardless of how far you hit your driver, if your driver and 3-wood are relatively close in distance, it might be a signal that there is an issue with fit, strike quality, or launch conditions.

What Does This Mean For You?

1. Know your numbers. Don’t guess.
   Figure out your real distance and real dispersion with driver and 3-wood.

2. If 3-wood is nearly as long as driver… go see a fitter.
   That’s often telling you something is off (loft, shaft, delivery, launch/spin).

3. If driver dispersion is massively wider than 3-wood… don’t just “club down”.
   Yes, 3-wood might be the right play on specific holes when penalties are in play… But long-term, you’ll likely score better by improving driver accuracy with a proper fit & good instruction, not avoidance.

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