Looking for 5w and 3w shaft suggestions

[Andygolderson]

Hello, 

 

As there are literally tons of shafts, brands and specs out there, I was looking for some help from any recommendations I can look into and narrow down my search. (please don't tell me to get fitted, thanks. I enjoy the journey of learning more about golf equipment along the way).

I am searching for a 3w (~260yds) and 5w (~230yds) shaft. They can be different.

 

I swing my driver 117mph, I play Cobra F9 9* cranked down to either 7.5, or 8* to try to draw bias it. I'm a slicer by nature, however, I don't really have an out-to-in swing and I always use a strong grip. I therefore made my own assumption that my swing tempo isn't right for the shaft (or vice versa), or that i've got a "bad" kickpoint or too much torque. I carry between 270 to 300. (Even if i catch the center fce, it can still often go to the right)

In order to control the ball better, I recently swing back slower and release it quickly and avoid taking my hands too high or over extending the backswing. I improved my swing a lot recently.

I've just switched driver to Aldila Synergy Blue 80 Tx proto, which i'm informed is similar to a Tour Green, in which both have a mid kick point and a low torque either 2.8 or 3*. I'm getting a more consistend ball flight and less big misses right, becoming more like a cut now.

 

My self analysis indicates i'm looking for mid kick, low torque, not too heavy, x-stiff shafts.

 

Previous recent driver history:

Evenflow Blue 65 R was the first one to come with my driver. It feels great, but it's too whippy for me. (mid kick 4.6 Torque) I often sliced it a lot, but had a more aggressive uncontrolled swing then.

ATMOS fujikura 6s tour spec (Black?) mid-high bend and 3.4 torque - it was so-so and i didn't really have any good feeling about it.

HZRDS smoke black 60g 3.5 torque, which felt rediculously stiff, weird and very hard when hitting the ball. I recently found out it's for more aggresive swingers.

Earth Elements 6F5 X 69g with 4.5 torque and ?? kickpoint. I was enjoying the feel of the shaft, however, still not controllable for slicing right. This is currently in both my woods.

 

Aldila Synergy Blue 80 Tx proto is feeling really good. it's a bit heavy and I have the option to add weight on driver head to balance the feel. Results are good on dirver.

 

Based on my driver summary, i am looking to try to collect some recommendations for my FW woods. I currently play Earth Elements 6F5 shafts, cut down to standard 3w, 5w shaft size (no tipping etc). However, my main miss with a FW wood would be more of a hook, sometimes a slight push right.

I'm concerned to again replicate my driver shaft into my woods, with tipping recommendations, since currently i don't think i can offset the head weight in my woods like i did to compensate the driver feel.

I play Cobra F9 Tour FW wood heads.

 

Based on my information, does anyone have any recommendations on what i can research or try ?

 

Thanks.

[Stuart_G]

8 hours ago, Andygolderson said:

. I enjoy the journey of learning more about golf equipment along the way).

 

Then I'd suggest you read through this 3-part set of articles.  (Almost) Everything you need to know about selecting a shaft.

 

here is the link to part 1.   (links to the other two are found there).

https://www.golfwrx.com/40557/taking-the-guesswork-out-of-selecting-shafts-part-1/

 

 

 

8 hours ago, Andygolderson said:

Based on my information, does anyone have any recommendations on what i can research or try ?

 

Sounds to me like you need the heavier weight shafts to keep it "controllable".   Normally people like to go up in weight ~10 gm when going from a driver shaft to a fairway shaft but no many options for that in this case so probably best to stick with a shaft in the 80's gm range.

 

Also, if a profile works well in the driver, it typically is a good place to start for the fairways.  So the same shaft in the driver w/ just some additional tipping for the fairways might be the way to go.

 

BTW, the Tour Green is a low launch shaft, the Tour Blue is the mid-launch model - along with the Rogue Black.

[Andygolderson]

Thanks Stuart, I'll have a read tomorrow. Some online "fitting" recommendations profile me into 80g indeed. I saw maybe 2 interesting shafts.

 

Your right about my current Aldila, I was also confused about the "real" spec, given that although it's mid blue, it's reportedly equal to low tour green.

 

I think given the weight difference, low profile is more accurate.

 

I did previously match my woods in the driver shaft and seems OK. Just wondering if I need to consider optimising the fairways.

 

At the end of the day, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but I still have some curiosity.

 

Thanks for your feedback.

[Stuart_G]

18 minutes ago, Andygolderson said:

I think given the weight difference, low profile is more accurate.

 

Don't assume heavier weight means stiffer tipped or lower launching.   Some shaft OEM's do that (most notably UST) but not all do it.   I can't speak specifically to the Synergy but most of the Aldila shafts I've seen hard data on do not get stiffer or become a lower launching profile as the weight increases.

 

 

20 minutes ago, Andygolderson said:

I did previously match my woods in the driver shaft and seems OK. Just wondering if I need to consider optimising the fairways.

 

Aside: Technically optimization (at least of distance and spin/launch) is really only something that can be done with drivers.   Every other club is about finding a balance between distance and distance control that is a good fit for your game and the distance gaps in the set.   But "optimization" can mean a lot of different things to different people.

 

But IMO, shaft selection is not about optimization of the ball flight - it's more about optimizing the swing.  The focus should be on consistency, shot shape or face control, accuracy, and even the amount of confidence the feel from the club gives the player.    So those things could be the target of the "optimization" but for tweaking launch/spin, stick to the head and loft for that.

 

20 minutes ago, Andygolderson said:

At the end of the day, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but I still have some curiosity.

 

Thanks for your feedback.

 

No problem.  If that type of curiosity wasn't prevalent, this forum wouldn't exist 🙂

[iknowbagu]

11 hours ago, Andygolderson said:

I play Cobra F9 9* cranked down to either 7.5, or 8* to try to draw bias it.

 

Not to get off topic, but lowering loft actually opens the face (fade bias).

[MountainKing]

See my signature - they probably have an updated version, or you can probably buy the older version Accra at a pretty reasonable price.  It would probably fit what you're looking for, and they look kind of cool. 

[Z1ggy16]

Ventus blue 7x/8x.

[Andygolderson]

8 hours ago, Stuart_G said:

But IMO, shaft selection is not about optimization of the ball flight - it's more about optimizing the swing.  The focus should be on consistency, shot shape or face control, accuracy, and even the amount of confidence the feel from the club gives the player.    So those things could be the target of the "optimization" but for tweaking launch/spin, stick to the head and loft for that.

I feel the same. Low Launh, Mid Launch, High Launch, it all seems very swing dependant for the most part (or a marketting thing). Distance is not my problem, i need to work more on accuracy and ball control like you mention. I'll have a read today into your suggested articles, Thanks.

7 hours ago, iknowbagu said:

Not to get off topic, but lowering loft actually opens the face (fade bias).

Correct, however, the 8* selection is suposed to be draw biased on the adaptor. I doubt half a degee is doing much for me, so i'm going to start swinging away on 8 to see how that's going. I also added in 12g more weight to the driver head to counter balance the weight difference for swing feel.

The Synergy is noticeably stiffer than the Elements, but not to the point it's like a board as HZRDS. i feel more confident that the torque is lower and there is less risk to the face turning over. With elements, i can tell any shots where the face is "buckelling". (potentially a huge typo there).

7 hours ago, MountainKing said:

See my signature - they probably have an updated version, or you can probably buy the older version Accra at a pretty reasonable price.  It would probably fit what you're looking for, and they look kind of cool. 

Will have a look, thanks

7 hours ago, Z1ggy16 said:

Ventus blue 7x/8x.

👍