I think my 3W needs to go ... but now what?

[smithy23]

Depending on the course you play can be a real dilemma

FWIW ive just changed from Cobra 4WD to a M5 5WD

I carry Driver 9.75* , 5WD 19* , and then flit between a 2H at 17* or a GAPR mid at 18*

have a bit of a love hate with the GAPR !

i then branch into MP FLi hi 4# 22 and 5# 26 then 6 iron though PW with regular lofts

only carry two wedges as tried an extra one and makes me more indecisive so a 53* and 60* make up my wedges

i find the above in the long end of the bag gives me enough versatility to attack the course or play safe where i want.

Only a Par 66 so the focus is on being in the short stuff and not long and hoping the short game behaves !

good luck with the trial and error ! Also if you go down the Cobra route the rails really do help !

 

[sprcoop]

I was pretty happy with my Titleist 910F 15* 3W stock setting but just for fun I cranked it up to 16.5* and a draw bias A-3.

I should have done this a long time ago! I'll even forego a long iron on an approach and take a little off the 3W with a fade because I'm more confident.

 

Example: Sat. approach was 190yds uphill, headwind, pin back right, bunkered front right, back left. 3W hold off fade through the 10yd gap, pin high. 12 foot birdie. Yeah Baby!

[NRJyzr]

> @"Little Ned" said:

> > @zoned_post_meridiem said:

> > From what I understand, basically, yes -- a little -- though Cobra clubs supposedly have some mechanism that prevents the clubface from looking open at address. I'll see how it feels to move the 5w closer to 4w lofts; if it tweaks things too much, I'm ok going traditional 5w/7w.

>

> Exactly - that's why I ask. The Cobra F8 has the following lofts for the 7-8 F8. Does turning it down from 22.5* to 21.5D* mean that it is a 21.5* with a draw (closed face)?

> 21° / 21.5° / 21.5°D / 22.5° / 22.5°D /

> 23.5° / 23.5°D / 24°

 

 

No, the draw settings on the adapter correlate to the lie angle becoming more upright.

 

Reducing loft on adjustable clubs opens the face. Cobra has a sole design, the SmartPad, that's supposed to keep the clubhead largely at its original face angle, provided you ground the club.

 

Of course, if you don't ground the club, you'd never notice. ;)

[Little Ned]

> @NRJyzr said:

>

> No, the draw settings on the adapter correlate to the lie angle becoming more upright.

>

> Reducing loft on adjustable clubs opens the face. Cobra has a sole design, the SmartPad, that's supposed to keep the clubhead largely at its original face angle, provided you ground the club.

>

> Of course, if you don't ground the club, you'd never notice. ;)

 

I’m not sure what you mean. Sorry, if that’s a dumb response :/

[NRJyzr]

> @"Little Ned" said:

> > @NRJyzr said:

> >

> > No, the draw settings on the adapter correlate to the lie angle becoming more upright.

> >

> > Reducing loft on adjustable clubs opens the face. Cobra has a sole design, the SmartPad, that's supposed to keep the clubhead largely at its original face angle, provided you ground the club.

> >

> > Of course, if you don't ground the club, you'd never notice. ;)

>

> I’m not sure what you mean. Sorry, if that’s a dumb response :/

 

 

Which part of my post are you not sure about? Sorry, I didn't want to guess and explain something you already understood. :)

[Little Ned]

The “...if you don’t ground the club” part

[Little Ned]

> @zoned_post_meridiem said:

> I'm in a similar boat; started with Cobra 3w and 5w and kicked the 3w out last season -- I found that on average, I was longer with the 5w because of how rarely I hit the 3w well.

>

> My bag currently goes 5w/2h/4i, but I'm toying with the idea of kicking out the 2h, cranking the 5-6w down to 17.5*, and adding a Cobra 7-8 at 22.5*. At my high-ish handicap (and not a ton of time for golf), I struggle with the fact that a single wood and a single hybrid mean that I don't have a lot of on-course opportunities to hit either, so whenever I pull one, it's sometimes been a few holes since I hit it, and it feels foreign in my hand. With a strong 5w/7w, I have more on-course opportunities to hit the same kind of club.

 

Well, I ended up doing a similar thing. Like you, I the 3W was killing me. Like you, I'm a "high-ish handicap". And like you, I had a gap in my bag that I was hoping to fill.

 

So ... The Cobra F8 line was on sale, price-matched to tgw.com, then 20% off of that, and I had a gift card. So it was a good chance to take the plunge. I started with the 7-8. Then, I bought even more into the rails as I read more reviews and posts here in the forums. So, I complimented 7-8 with the 5-6 before the sales ended. I figured why not? If the rails work as well as I've heard they do, I might as well get both woods.

 

Now I just sit and wait for them to arrive!

[zoned_post_meridiem]

> @"Little Ned" said:

> > @zoned_post_meridiem said:

> > I'm in a similar boat; started with Cobra 3w and 5w and kicked the 3w out last season -- I found that on average, I was longer with the 5w because of how rarely I hit the 3w well.

> >

> > My bag currently goes 5w/2h/4i, but I'm toying with the idea of kicking out the 2h, cranking the 5-6w down to 17.5*, and adding a Cobra 7-8 at 22.5*. At my high-ish handicap (and not a ton of time for golf), I struggle with the fact that a single wood and a single hybrid mean that I don't have a lot of on-course opportunities to hit either, so whenever I pull one, it's sometimes been a few holes since I hit it, and it feels foreign in my hand. With a strong 5w/7w, I have more on-course opportunities to hit the same kind of club.

>

> Well, I ended up doing a similar thing. Like you, I the 3W was killing me. Like you, I'm a "high-ish handicap". And like you, I had a gap in my bag that I was hoping to fill.

>

> So ... The Cobra F8 line was on sale, price-matched to tgw.com, then 20% off of that, and I had a gift card. So it was a good chance to take the plunge. I started with the 7-8. Then, I bought even more into the rails as I read more reviews and posts here in the forums. So, I complimented 7-8 with the 5-6 before the sales ended. I figured why not? If the rails work as well as I've heard they do, I might as well get both woods.

>

> Now I just sit and wait for them to arrive!

 

Excellent. I'm currently waiting for a F8 tour length driver to be delivered. It's good stuff, and usually comes at a nice discount if you buy a generation or two back.

[mtnbiker5]

Unquestionably ditch the 3 wood and get fitted properly for 4 or even a 5W. I switched last year and never looked back. The few yards I might have lost are minimal at best and the 4W is almost my favorite club I hit in the bag now. Love it.

[RacineBoxer]

3W is a hard club to hit, no doubt. There is probably a strong argument to be made that if you're >10 handicap or <95 mph driver swing that chances are you won't hit a 3W well enough to bother carrying it. Without enough clubhead speed you won't hit it really any further than a 5W. For those on the other side of this equation the 3W is a strong weapon which is why you see almost 100% utilization in PGA, LPGA and CPGA tours. I just got refitted for 3-5 woods, with a 100-103 mph driver swing speed I get about 230-235 carry and 255 total with the 3W and then 220-225 carry and 235 total with the 5W. 20 yards gap feels good to me. But when that gap shrinks to around 10 yards it starts really making no sense to carry both IMO. And obviously you have to practice enough to make solid contact consistently. It's really the same problem as carrying a 3, 4, 5, 6 iron. At some point a lack of clubhead speed turns into your yardage gaps evaporating into almost nothing. I dropped the 4 iron in 2018 for this reason.

I do really love the 4W and 7W option for a lot of golfers.

[NRJyzr]

> @"Little Ned" said:

> The “...if you don’t ground the club” part

 

 

The SmartPad on the Cobra woods is designed to keep the face in a constant face angle when you rest it on the ground, allowing the ground and turf to determine the alignment. It should remain reasonably close to the same, regardless of how you set the adapter.

 

If you don't ground the club, hovering it and aligning it visually, the SmartPad won't do anything, it's not in contact with the turf. Doesn't matter if it's there or not. However, the result would be the same as if you grounded it and used the SmartPad; your alignment will be the same no matter how the adapter is set. Depending on each golfer's personal ability to align the club, of course. ;)

[kfurno]

Just took my old Nike 3wd out, figures it wasn’t adding much to my bag. Replaced with a mizuno fli-hi 2 iron at 16.5* with graphite project x 6.0 lz shaft. This thing is awesome, much easier to get off the ground than I thought and way more controllable than my 3wd and hybrid even. It’s a piercing laser off the tee as well, I recommend 100%!

[DaveGoodrich]

The idea that slower swingers won't be able to launch a 3-wood off the deck, and that a 4 or 5 wood would be better, is an over-generalization IMO. It depends on the individual's swing, and the intended use. I have a low 90's driver speed. For me, a 3 wood is pretty much an "as long as possible off the deck" club, which I mostly use for unreachable par 5's. I have no problem launching a 13* fairway wood off the turf to get maximum total distance. It gets up in the air, but still rolls out, so I'm rarely trying to use it to carry onto a green. I carry a 17* hybrid as well, which is what I use for long approaches into greens. A 5 or 7 wood might serve the same purpose for someone else.

 

If you have to take out a fairway wood to put another club in your bag, consider bending your iron lofts to 5 degree gaps. This will give you another spot in the bag so you can have a fairway wood, **and **that extra wedge, driving iron, etc.

[ChipNRun]

> @Golfingfanatic said:

> I replaced my 3 wood with a 4 wood and the difference has been remarkable. I feel like the shorter shaft and the additional loft helps me a lot off the deck.

 

Ned... The average golfer finds 4W easier to hit - and carries just as far - as a 3W. A couple extra degrees of loft really makes a difference. And, some find the 5W works even better. Test things out at local demo days, and see what works best.

 

And, let us know how things work out.