Looking for lower ballflight in a fairway wood - what are my options?

[gentles]

Hi folks - I'm currently gaming a 2016 deep face M2 3hl at around 17* loft, with a Tour Blue Aldila 85x. I find that it launches a touch high off the tee and I struggle to flight it down especially in the wind.

 

Question 1 - how much of this is the loft on the head, the design of the head, the shaft, or technique in flighting the ball down?

 

For gapping reasons I prefer a 4 wood loft, and I like having enough loft to get the ball out of hairy lies in the rough. I had a 14* version of the same club and it just went too far for what I need.

 

I love the shape of the head and have no issues there. I also love the Tour Blue shaft in my driver and driving iron

 

I'd prefer something that goes the same distance, just with a flatter ball flight and less spin. I'm tinkering with a Tour Edge CB Pro 16.5* with the Tour Blue shaft and it also flies a little high for my liking.

 

Question 2: Am I better off looking for a club with a lower launch profile but keep the same shaft, or try to find a different shaft to knock the flight and spin down?

 

I don't have a ton of money to drop on this experiment, so whatever I buy will be used and sight unseen. My current thinking is to try find an Aldila Tour Green 95TX fairway shaft to try instead, as the profile and weight will likely bring the flight down a touch.

 

Now I know there is a more scientific and rigorous way to figure this out of course, but does anyone have any experiences to share?

[getitdaily]

You won't get what you're after with a shaft change. A lower launch/spin shaft will get you about 1 degree lower launch and between 200 and 400 rpm lower spin. That will help.

 

But the head is called high launch for a reason...I think Taylor made has an m2 or m4 tour in the 17 degree range. That head has cg forward which will help flight the ball down.

 

Other higher lofted 3/4 woods with weight forward will help. Cobra f8+ and one of the callaway rogue/epic heads.

[5hort5tuff]

If you want to keep the head and experiment, start with a "lower launching" shaft. The tour green in the same or heavier weight would be a great start.

 

If that doesn't do the trick, I would suggest finding a head that gives you the launch you like. It doesnt have to be expensive. Something cheap like PING i25 or anser fairway woods can be had for peanuts. Ultimately the head and loft will have a more significant effect on flight.

[Ri_Redneck]

Totally agree with the above post. Look for a weight-forward clubhead and leave the shaft alone. However, a lower trajectory will very likely give you a different distance, which will affect your gapping.

 

BT

[Buzzkill]

Aldila NV shaft and cheap!

[Maximilian]

I tried to get a 4/5 wood to work for me, but had the same issues. Ball went so high, which was fine in calm conditions, but went nowhere when into the wind. Going lower loft messed with my gapping.

 

I ended up with a 17* hybrid, which is fine, but I’ll be curious to see if you find a combination that works, because I do slightly prefer a five wood over a low lofted hybrid.

[Maximilian]

Sorry if I’m going off topic in your thread, but just thinking out loud... aren’t most 4/5 wood shafts too long? They are only about 0,25 - 0.5” shorter than a stock 3 wood, but about 3.5 - 4” longer than a stock 3/4 iron.

 

I get it if it’s for someone that needs the added loft in a fairway wood and just wants to advance the ball as far as possible, but for us that use the club between three wood and long iron, wouldn’t it make sense to play a much shorter length shaft? What do the long hitters that use a 4/5 wood do?

[Howard_Jones]

Hi folks - I'm currently gaming a 2016 deep face M2 3hl at around 17* loft, with a Tour Blue Aldila 85x. I find that it launches a touch high off the tee and I struggle to flight it down especially in the wind.

 

Question 1 - how much of this is the loft on the head, the design of the head, the shaft, or technique in flighting the ball down?

 

For gapping reasons I prefer a 4 wood loft, and I like having enough loft to get the ball out of hairy lies in the rough. I had a 14* version of the same club and it just went too far for what I need.

 

I love the shape of the head and have no issues there. I also love the Tour Blue shaft in my driver and driving iron

 

I'd prefer something that goes the same distance, just with a flatter ball flight and less spin. I'm tinkering with a Tour Edge CB Pro 16.5* with the Tour Blue shaft and it also flies a little high for my liking.

 

Question 2: Am I better off looking for a club with a lower launch profile but keep the same shaft, or try to find a different shaft to knock the flight and spin down?

 

I don't have a ton of money to drop on this experiment, so whatever I buy will be used and sight unseen. My current thinking is to try find an Aldila Tour Green 95TX fairway shaft to try instead, as the profile and weight will likely bring the flight down a touch.

 

Now I know there is a more scientific and rigorous way to figure this out of course, but does anyone have any experiences to share?

 

The short answer is, you tee it way to high.

 

A DEEP FACE woods works very close to how a driver does, and your head is "special" since it has a rather low and rearward COG, so when you tee it high, you add loft, and the head twist back a little at impact and add even more, but spin should be LOW on those shots, not high.

 

The woods we normally play today is shallow face woods, and we should NOT tee them more than about 1/8" above ground to prevent skyers on the crown, so if you try to tee your ball lower, max 1/8" above ground, your launch will go down but spin goes up a bit, but then you get that penetrating low ball flight from a Deep face head, so try that off, its for free and might tell you should buy another head, its not the shaft thats your issue.

[rybo]

Try a Nunchuk. Ball flight and spin will be lower for sure! And since you are already playing an 85X it will be an easy change feel wise.

[Mario Good Times]

Get a atmos Black or motore speeder tour spec it will lower your woods ball flight

[mwink822]

Combination of things, tee the ball lower; go for a head with a more forward COG, and go for a shaft that's more tip and mid stiff. Some of the lower launching heads are the Titleist Fd and F3, Cobra F8+, Taylormade Tour heads, and the Callaway Sub Zero heads. Shaft wise, a Kiyoshi Black, HZRDUS Black, HZRDUS T1100, Tensei White, or Tour AD 9003 are all good low/low profiles.

 

If you don't want to go the avenue of a new head, you could possibly lower launch and spin a little bit by having some hot melt added closer to the face and going to a low/low profile shaft.

[gentles]

Thanks to all the good responses so far - at the moment i'm thinking that I'm probably going to need to change the head to get a substantially different flight. I like the feel of the shaft, and am a bit hesitant to go to something drastically different from it given I like it in my driver and 3i. Good top have some tinkering options for the winter!

 

Combination of things, tee the ball lower; go for a head with a more forward COG, and go for a shaft that's more tip and mid stiff. Some of the lower launching heads are the Titleist Fd and F3, Cobra F8+, Taylormade Tour heads, and the Callaway Sub Zero heads. Shaft wise, a Kiyoshi Black, HZRDUS Black, HZRDUS T1100, Tensei White, or Tour AD 9003 are all good low/low profiles.

 

If you don't want to go the avenue of a new head, you could possibly lower launch and spin a little bit by having some hot melt added closer to the face and going to a low/low profile shaft.

 

Couple good ideas here too - might look into those heads, thanks!

 

 

The short answer is, you tee it way to high.

 

A DEEP FACE woods works very close to how a driver does, and your head is "special" since it has a rather low and rearward COG, so when you tee it high, you add loft, and the head twist back a little at impact and add even more, but spin should be LOW on those shots, not high.

 

The woods we normally play today is shallow face woods, and we should NOT tee them more than about 1/8" above ground to prevent skyers on the crown, so if you try to tee your ball lower, max 1/8" above ground, your launch will go down but spin goes up a bit, but then you get that penetrating low ball flight from a Deep face head, so try that off, its for free and might tell you should buy another head, its not the shaft thats your issue.

 

Thanks for this detailed response. I find it launches high off the turf too, but will try this out off the tee in any case. Thanks!

[Ri_Redneck]

Sorry if Im going off topic in your thread, but just thinking out loud... arent most 4/5 wood shafts too long? They are only about 0,25 - 0.5 shorter than a stock 3 wood, but about 3.5 - 4 longer than a stock 3/4 iron.

 

I get it if its for someone that needs the added loft in a fairway wood and just wants to advance the ball as far as possible, but for us that use the club between three wood and long iron, wouldnt it make sense to play a much shorter length shaft? What do the long hitters that use a 4/5 wood do?

I play a 20* FW between my 3w and 4i. 3w is 43", 7w (20*) is 41.5. 4i is 38.5 I believe.

 

BT

[Maximilian]

Sorry if I’m going off topic in your thread, but just thinking out loud... aren’t most 4/5 wood shafts too long? They are only about 0,25 - 0.5” shorter than a stock 3 wood, but about 3.5 - 4” longer than a stock 3/4 iron.

 

I get it if it’s for someone that needs the added loft in a fairway wood and just wants to advance the ball as far as possible, but for us that use the club between three wood and long iron, wouldn’t it make sense to play a much shorter length shaft? What do the long hitters that use a 4/5 wood do?

I play a 20* FW between my 3w and 4i. 3w is 43", 7w (20*) is 41.5. 4i is 38.5 I believe.

 

BT

That sounds like a good setup! I’m guessing you cut the shaft on your seven wood? Did it lower ball flight and spin? Did you add weight to the head?

 

Cheers,

M

[wkuo3]

If you like everything you have now except wanting to lower the ball flight, either get a non HL model and/or a 15° head.

[Ri_Redneck]

Sorry if I'm going off topic in your thread, but just thinking out loud... aren't most 4/5 wood shafts too long? They are only about 0,25 - 0.5" shorter than a stock 3 wood, but about 3.5 - 4" longer than a stock 3/4 iron.

 

I get it if it's for someone that needs the added loft in a fairway wood and just wants to advance the ball as far as possible, but for us that use the club between three wood and long iron, wouldn't it make sense to play a much shorter length shaft? What do the long hitters that use a 4/5 wood do?

I play a 20* FW between my 3w and 4i. 3w is 43", 7w (20*) is 41.5. 4i is 38.5 I believe.

 

BT

That sounds like a good setup! I'm guessing you cut the shaft on your seven wood? Did it lower ball flight and spin? Did you add weight to the head?

 

Cheers,

M

 

Every club I have is reshafted, cut to my preferred length and weighted to my preferences using hotmelt or polyfill. I play most everything around D6. 7w shafts are Rip Beta 80 S, Speeder 757, Red Tie 8Q3, Fubuki Alpha 80 S, Motore Speeder TS 8.3. Yeah, I have too many clubs.

 

BT

[Cwebb]

Try a lower loft and a "slower face". Go back to a design from several years ago, that didn't have a max "spring face"

[Z1ggy16]

Lower lofted head or a head with DNA which would produce a lower flight, ie something with the CG closer to the face. I've found shaft plays minimal role in the peak height for me, but does effect timing a bit which could influence other aspects of delivery.