J13's WITB: Update- FUJIKURA AXIOM

[QuigleyDU]

You get an atta boy from me!

[Kale_m]

looks good! Other then that ugly ferrule job.... lol

[J13]

it's a great stick, now to the new fairway wood ;-)

It's the worst lol. Long story behind it but it's also an old F8 adapter on it as well that reads 10.5* haha. When i do my testing and switch shafts around I don't worry about adapters or ferrules much because half the time I do testing and pull things apart and tip shafts or even change shaft orientation. Basically I just slap stuff together and go. Once i find a combo that works I go back and do things like finish ferrules, take all the lead tape off, add hotmelt ect... Benefits of having my own shop :-) Don't worry she will look great and get the respect she deserves.

[Deuce78]

But is the fairway going to match? Are you trying the sim max fairway? I thought the m6 fairways were so hot, I broke faces on 2 of them and decided they weren't in the cards. I have a max fairway coming because they changed the face material and hopefully it's more durable. I was curious about the big cobra fairway, so hopefully those are in the mix. The g410 fairway is great with the right shaft. I bet an 80g orange tx would do well in the 410...

[Warrick]

Interested which fairway wood makes it in.

all new stuff, or looking at last year models also?

[J13]

Ive hit a few fairway woods so far and ideally i like to match my 3 wood with the driver so we shall see. This will be a short test as my access to stuff is limited with this covid stuff.

For me it's about looks so I don't care if it's this year or last year. Ive hit quite a few already but just got something in that could be the winner

[Warrick]

I have been playing F9 Tour fairways since release, ordered a Ventus Black for 3w this morning.

also just grabbed a new regular F9 3w head cheap off BST

i get along with the rails, look good too. I have not hit the new release fairways from cobra

[knudson81]

You need to invest in Club Conex Uni-Fit my man! It is so good for guys with multiple heads and shaft, never have to worry about length or tipping changes!.

[J13]

I'm not as concerned with the rails although i agree with you in terms of them being helpful. The 3 wood is mainly a tee club for me but i might switch up strategies this year, all depends. I'm thinking maybe with the new forgiving driver I can be more aggressive on tighter holes and not rely on a smaller headed wood.

 

I don't disagree it's just the up front investment that gets me.

[Cruisin1966]

So, no more lead tape, hot-melted as desired?

[J13]

Lead tape is gone now in the driver. Added hotmelt (about 3.5g’s) to the face and in the toe. Sound is a little better as a result.

[J13]

Fairway wood testing :

 

Tested and or testing

Titleist ts3Taylormade SIM lineCobra SZ line (excluding tour as it's just way to small for my liking)Mavrik if i can get it

[QuigleyDU]

What are you looking for in a fairway wood?

[J13]

For me, 3 wood is mainly used off the tee so something with a deeper face is more attractive to my eye. That's why Ping is not in the mix. I tried the G410Lst 3 wood and still a no go.

[QuigleyDU]

Cobra tour big my friend..

[J13]

It's on the short list

[J13]

Update:

After hitting lots of different options over the last 2 months I believe we have a winner for 3 wood. Played another round this morning and things went very well so I will peel off the lead tape and hotmelt her up. Have a lot going on this afternoon but I'll post a pic today or tomorrow.

 

 

Also another shiny toy on the way with some shafts. More on that to come.

[J13]

3 wood winner is ...

Cobra Speedzone Big Tour 3 w/ Tensei Orange 80tx.

 

Quick rundown:

Trajectory off the deck - Mid

Traj off tee - Mid/high

Spin - Low (hovering in low 3000s for me off the tee

Feel/ Sound - Solid (no ting) and even better after i added melt in my shop

Distance - Good, what you would expect from a modern 3 wood

Forgiveness - Solid, it's a players 3 wood so think SIM Ti, Cally Mav SZ, ect.. Provides better help for those who need a deeper face like myself.

 

Size : They call it Big Tour 3 but it's definitely not a mini driver. It's very much a 3 wood. The footprint is very similar to the standard Mavrik or Sim TI but with a deeper face. I posted a pic with a ball so you can see it's a normal sized 3 wood. I guess Cobra calls it a big tour 3 because their Tour fairway woods are so small (smallest out of any OEM). Regardless if you are looking for a mini driver this isn't it.

 

There are some very good 3 woods on the market right now and the Big Tour 3 checked off a lot of boxes for me.

 

The reason it won for me was:

I like to match my driver if possible but I won't play something that doesn't workThe deeper face is amazing and hard to find nowadays. It looks amazing behind the ball and I can really go after it and not worry about over spinning it

Other fairway woods that I liked:

Taylormade SIM Ti - Great fairway wood, big fan and could have easily put one in the bag

Cally Mav SZ - Great feel and sound, again I could easily have played it

 

 

 

 

[QuigleyDU]

Good choice.

[boggyman]

Got me real interested in this club now more than ever , I use a 3 mainly as a tee club myself.

[wam78]

Cobra is killing it with woods! Some of the best looking on the market. Nice choice! I absolutely loved my f8+ 3 wood and wish I kept it.

[BostonWRX]

Did you try out the Miura TC-201s when you were on the iron hunt?

[J13]

I did test some miura's but not the TC-201's. Miura's obviously feel great but i love the shaping on the topline and toe section. Honma won out because it had everything I liked and I had a hookup for heads only which made it an easy decision.

 

 

Cobra - Cobra has consistently improved over the last several years with the F9 truly being equal to other woods on the market in my testing. The new SZ line has been remarkable for me. I have to admit it's nice to see Cobra bag in my bag. Haven't seen a Cobra headcover since the old Pro D days.

[J13]

With golf officially open in Maryland it will make testing much easier. Last toy of my 2020 bag is underway, pics will be posted this week as it's currently under the knife in surgery. It's getting a little nip, tuck and melt ;-)

[J13]

Quick update:

 

Tried the Super Hybrid with a Tensei Orange 90TX and although it was a cannon it didn't fit the back the way I had wanted. I've decided to add another driving iron as they give me more options with flight so a new build is on the way! Grabbing another Callaway Xforged UT and will add an MMT 125TX with Melt.

[DNice26]

Hey J, hope you are well. I know you mentioned building numerous Mav SZs. Curious, are you finding that most guy want the weight a bit more toe side? The driver seems fairly neutral with a tinge of draw bias to me. What head weight do you seem to find hits the sweet spot for say a 44.75" build? Assuming a shaft that isn't very high balance.....i.e. a standard type shaft.

 

Cheers!

D

[J13]

My Cally 24* UT is so good i had to grab a 21* as well. It went in for surgery today and made it out alive haha

 

[J13]

Most want the melt in the toe side of neutral as most playing the SZ are better players who hate left. Hard to say with the amount of hotmelt but most are in the 4-8g range depending on length, shaft weight, balance point, and often forgotten grip. Again there are so many factors at play here down to the amount a wraps someone wants under the grip.

[Warrick]

So, you are only playing the 737 from 6-P?

[J13]

Playing the 737V 5-PW. The Cally UT 21 and 24* for the 3 and 4 iron spot. My club has some elevated greens on par 5's so the UT's are more beneficial for me as they get the ball up in the air.