Anyone play a 5 wood only for their lone Fairway Wood?

[bvanlieu]

8 hours ago, SylvesterLundgren said:

People lose me when they say “5w” but then they change the loft and throw a 3w shaft....... I guess I legit take it as you can move a 19degree 5 wood some distance because you can hit it. Not turn it into a 4w and say you play a 5w lol 

 

I too am very amused at people who game a 3w turned up or a 5w turned down. 4wood has such a good ring to it.  I fell in love with a 18d tour preferred 4w in 1987 or so as a junior and went back to in 2 years ago as the 3w from the deck just was meh for me. I do agree that the longer shafts are not helping things here either: I cut my clubs down from OEM a bit for control. 

 

A very good buddy of mine was fit into a taylormade 5w last year and he's not ego driven by any means however he kept saying he had to buy it cause he was hitting it so far. And he does put it out there very well. 

 

Yesterday on a par 5, I finally grabbed it (he's a lefty so I can't try it) and lookie here, its turned down to 17d.

 

I told him 'hate to tell you but you are hitting a 4 wood amigo'. He just looked perplexed. 🙂 

 

Embrace the 4/7 wood with pride folks. 

 

 

 

[Plotto66]

I consider a strong 5W myself. Used to have a 4W previously but I think 4W normally has 3W shaft length and a 5W normally is half an inch shorter. I.e. I found 4W harder to hit than a 5W adjusted. Today I game 3W (Ping G) and 2h (Ping G410). Considering strong 5W and a 7W instead to get sufficient height from the deck. Normally, I do not reach par 5s in two.

[bvanlieu]

2 minutes ago, Plotto66 said:

I consider a strong 5W myself. Used to have a 4W previously but I think 4W normally has 3W shaft length and a 5W normally is half an inch shorter. I.e. I found 4W harder to hit than a 5W adjusted. Today I game 3W (Ping G) and 2h (Ping G410). Considering strong 5W and a 7W instead to get sufficient height from the deck. Normally, I do not reach par 5s in two.

 

I agree some vendors they are same, others its a bit shorter: no real standard that I have observed. Standard in the golf industry would be bad for marketing. 

 

Similarly I have seen models where the 3/4w head are only a few CC different and others where it significantly different. 

 

So a 5w turned down does make sense if the smaller head suits the eye more (or 3w up on the other side).

 

With adjustable weights being in so many clubs its trivial to trim .5-1" and give it a few grams if you are allergic to lead 🙂

 

[WilCox]

For me it's simple.  My 5W is about 15 yards short of a 3W, but I hit it far more consistantly from both good and bad lies.  As a senior I no longer have the swing speed to reliably hit a 3W off the deck or the driver length where I have to be concerned about hitting into trouble very often.  I play from the 6200 yard tees and D/5W works for me.

[nickosbad]

I play a TM Sim2 Ti 5 Wood lofted down slightly so it plays at around 18'...I probably would have gone 16.5 HL if they had offered the head at retail.

 

It's primarily a tee club as my course has at least 4 holes where driver can be too much club (bunkers or narrowing of the fairway) so I needed something I could hit around 240yds consistently.

 

I originally had it playing +1/2 inch but have since gone back to standard length and it's great.

 

Modern 3 woods just go too far now and I don't miss having a 3 wood at all

[Bye]

Yes I have done this before. I had a 915 F 5 wood which I lofted down. I had a Whiteboard in it.
 

It was ok, but I find 5 woods difficult to get right as they are either very hot or go way too high. 

[rt_charger]

I agree with it if one of the following applies:

- You're a short hitter or senior, where you don't have the speed to effectively play less than a 5 wood

- You're a very long hitter playing on courses when you never need to hit more than 5w, but less than driver

- You can't hit fairway woods well, and the 5w is enough loft to be effective

 

None of these apply for me, so I use a 4w (I'll get a 7w at some point but don't need it as of now).

[dhappy42]

I can't hit a 3W off the grass and I'm hit-or-miss with my 4W so this discussion has inspired me to hunt for a 18-19* 5 wood. Any recommendations on a super-forgiving, high-launching* 5W circa 2018? I almost always by clubs 3-4 years used. (Same for cars.) I used to have a TaylorMade V-steel 5W with an NV shaft in my bag, but I gave it away when I switched from 3W-5W to 4W-7W a few years ago. I might pick another up on eBay, but I thought I'd ask here about newer forgiving 5Ws. I've been looking at Callaway Epics and Rogues.

 

 

 

[ParSave18]

Yeah this is what I've gamed for a couple years now and I don't think I would ever go back to a traditional 15* 3 wood. I play a 19* 5 wood turned down to 17*. Much easier profile to hit off the deck and the turned down loft opens the face which is a total plus for me as well. 

[dhappy42]

45 minutes ago, ParSave18 said:

Yeah this is what I've gamed for a couple years now and I don't think I would ever go back to a traditional 15* 3 wood. I play a 19* 5 wood turned down to 17*. Much easier profile to hit off the deck and the turned down loft opens the face which is a total plus for me as well. 

I'm half-embarrassed to ask... what does "turned down to 17*" mean? Bent?

 

And why not simply play a 4 wood at 17*? Shaft length?

Edited August 21, 2021 by dhappy42

[schwollo]

2 hours ago, dhappy42 said:

I'm half-embarrassed to ask... what does "turned down to 17*" mean? Bent?

 

And why not simply play a 4 wood at 17*? Shaft length?

It means he lofted down from xxx degrees on an adjustable fairway wood (ie 18.5 degrees lofted down to 17)

 

he not want to play a 4 wood at 17 degrees because of the face angle. May prefer an open face to help fight against hooks

[mantan]

On 8/20/2021 at 5:06 AM, bvanlieu said:

 

I too am very amused at people who game a 3w turned up or a 5w turned down. 4wood has such a good ring to it.  I fell in love with a 18d tour preferred 4w in 1987 or so as a junior and went back to in 2 years ago as the 3w from the deck just was meh for me. I do agree that the longer shafts are not helping things here either: I cut my clubs down from OEM a bit for control. 

 

A very good buddy of mine was fit into a taylormade 5w last year and he's not ego driven by any means however he kept saying he had to buy it cause he was hitting it so far. And he does put it out there very well. 

 

Yesterday on a par 5, I finally grabbed it (he's a lefty so I can't try it) and lookie here, its turned down to 17d.

 

I told him 'hate to tell you but you are hitting a 4 wood amigo'. He just looked perplexed. 🙂 

 

Embrace the 4/7 wood with pride folks. 

 

 

 

 

I did it only because PING stopped making 4-woods. My G20 4-wood was one of my favorite clubs.  Then adjustability hit and all you could get was a 3/5 wood and adjust it.  I use my 'turned down' 5W and it plays the same distance as the old 4. In fact, iff someone asks what I hit, I tell them it was a 4-wood out of habit.

 

I get it though.  Golf manufacturers can streamline their inventory and cover almost everything from a strong 3W to almost a 7 wood with two SKUs.

 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by mantan

[Billfitz]

18 hours ago, dhappy42 said:

I can't hit a 3W off the grass and I'm hit-or-miss with my 4W so this discussion has inspired me to hunt for a 18-19* 5 wood.

 

I went from an TM R11 19 degree 5 wood to a Cleveland Launcher 19 degree hybrid. It's great off the fairway and even cuts through the rough. You can find last years new now for $139. I also got a 16 degree to replace my R11 16 degree 3 wood, which I had no consistency with off the deck. Even my mishits go straight, and a lot longer than it seems like they should.

[SylvesterLundgren]

On 8/20/2021 at 6:06 AM, bvanlieu said:

 

I too am very amused at people who game a 3w turned up or a 5w turned down. 4wood has such a good ring to it.  I fell in love with a 18d tour preferred 4w in 1987 or so as a junior and went back to in 2 years ago as the 3w from the deck just was meh for me. I do agree that the longer shafts are not helping things here either: I cut my clubs down from OEM a bit for control. 

 

A very good buddy of mine was fit into a taylormade 5w last year and he's not ego driven by any means however he kept saying he had to buy it cause he was hitting it so far. And he does put it out there very well. 

 

Yesterday on a par 5, I finally grabbed it (he's a lefty so I can't try it) and lookie here, its turned down to 17d.

 

I told him 'hate to tell you but you are hitting a 4 wood amigo'. He just looked perplexed. 🙂 

 

Embrace the 4/7 wood with pride folks. 

 

 

 

Most definitely, if it fits the loft gaps or speed gap then do it.  Lol 

it’s just when people aren’t aware and get boastful. 
one it’s good your confidence is up on your striking (I personally believe in personal ability over club tech) but let’s just call it on the loft not the number of the club lol 

 

[golfer20]

Senior with slow swing speed. 12 degree Driver 3 wood lofted up 16.5 and 7 wood 21 so basically 4 wood 7 wood. 

[Ben Berube]

On 8/17/2021 at 2:31 PM, VanTheMan0519 said:

Y’all did your job. Ordered a Ping 425 5 wood. 

Ive never hit the 410-425 but had a 400 5w staring this uear and it was $$$. Im not a Ping guy anymore. TMag last several years but I really had a hard time losing it beause it was great off the tee and deck. But I have a Sldr Mini driver as my 3w and Im a surgeon with it. Now added a M2 5 and 7 wood even though the 5w goes as far as the Mini lol. 

Anways enjoy and thanks for asking. Love reading these! 

[JeffJ1014]

On 8/19/2021 at 9:00 AM, JeffJ1014 said:

Always found that 3 woods just never fit a shot yardage I'd need on any of the courses I play.  260-270yds from the fairway just never comes up for me and the dispersion off shorter tee shots with my Mavrik SZ 5 wood is just so much tighter, so I sold my 3wood and haven't missed it at all.  Added a super hybrid between the 5wood and my set 4 iron and haven't looked back.

So I played a course this weekend where I had ~260 into par 5 greens with no hope to reach.  Being the WRX'er that I am, I hereby rescind my previous reasoning and have a matching Mav SZ 3wood en route to my house.  

[Seattlegolfnut]

Just caught up on this thread.

Reading all 3 pages reinforced how interesting and complex the 15-23 loft range has become with so many different options: driving irons, utility irons, “regular” irons, hybrids, or FWs; and then loft the heads up or down! I’m convinced there is a club head and shaft combo out there that is nirvana for each of us.

 

Many have figured it out, but some need to get egos out of the way and play whatever gaps the best and performs the best regardless of what number is stamped on the bottom. I finally did, but struggled through many years of ho-hum golf with a really unpredictable long game. The short game kept me in single digits.

 

If I had a time machine, I would go back to my younger self and tell that golfer that you don’t have to carry a driver, 3W, 2 iron because that’s what the pros play. Throw the 2 iron in a lake right alongside the many golf balls it put there, and while you’re at it, ditch the 3W and the 3 iron too. 🙂

[Thrummyfox]

20 minutes ago, Seattlegolfnut said:

Just caught up on this thread.

Reading all 3 pages reinforced how interesting and complex the 15-23 loft range has become with so many different options: driving irons, utility irons, “regular” irons, hybrids, or FWs; and then loft the heads up or down! I’m convinced there is a club head and shaft combo out there that is nirvana for each of us.

 

Many have figured it out, but some need to get egos out of the way and play whatever gaps the best and performs the best regardless of what number is stamped on the bottom. I finally did, but struggled through many years of ho-hum golf with a really unpredictable long game. The short game kept me in single digits.

 

If I had a time machine, I would go back to my younger self and tell that golfer that you don’t have to carry a driver, 3W, 2 iron because that’s what the pros play. Throw the 2 iron in a lake right alongside the many golf balls it put there, and while you’re at it, ditch the 3W and the 3 iron too. 🙂

What a fantastic post! I’m still trying with the 2 iron though it’s far more forgiving these days! I still keep trying with the driver as apparently there easier to hit these days!😂

[Kitchen]

Recently switched out my 3 Hybrid for a 5 wood and am enjoying the results. I do still carry 3 wood and driver, but if I had to choose between only my 3 or 5, the 5 is a front runner right now. I am good for 215 carry off the deck and about 225-235 off the tee. Feels so easy to get up and straight.

[Vater]

I've decided to go with just a 5W and drop the 3W, which kinda breaks my heart. But after a recent round, I realized I was going for my hybrid way too often. I feel great about my short irons and wedges, but I was a one trick pony at the top of the bag. So I'm getting rid of the 3W in favor of the versatility of a 5W and putting recoils into my 4 and 5 irons. Hopefully this helps me pick the 5W and 4 iron over the 3H more of the time.

[altess27]

I do, my set up is Driver, 19 degree 5 wood and then 3 iron. I don't care for hybrids and would rather have the versatility of a 3 iron over a 3 wood. 

[azgreg]

My carry bag goes D, 5w, 4h, 5i.

 

[jonr38632]

Just started this setup 2 weeks ago. Been searching for top end clubs i could hit consistently. 4 rounds in and i am really happy with results.

 

Dr, 5wd, 4i........

Edited September 3, 2021 by jonr38632

[jtmagic]

My only FW is a 16.5 degree.  I’ve done all kinds of variations (5 wood turned down, 3 wood lofted up, etc) but seem to always end up about here. 
 

I like to carry an extra wedge (62) so that helps keep me from adding another FW.

Edited September 3, 2021 by jtmagic

[chrisf60526]

I had a heck of a time hitting my 3 wood this year and someone suggested to try a 5W.  I grabbed a cheap Cobra 5W from Dallas Golf.

 

The 5W is way more consistent and versatile then my 3W which it replaced.  So, no more 3W just a 5W

[jbandalo]

Yup, love the 5 wood. Goes almost as far as a 3 wood and easier to hit. On longer courses, I’ll turn it down to a 4 wood. 

[phil59]

no 3W for me , and no hybrid

but five woods  17,5  20,5  23,5  27,5  31,5 

my iron 5 (22°) only for low balls under the trees  

[goheels11]

Yes…

[jkim]

Cobra Bio Cell 5 wood set to 17