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

[PSUgolf]

Yes, the only fairway wood I carry is a 5 wood, a cobra RADspeed turned down to 17, so essentially a 4 wood, then I jump into my 4 hybrid playing at 20.5 into my JPX923 HMP 5 iron

[vinny_land]

14 hours ago, boggyman said:

Keep us posted on this please. My 5w is played at 41.5”

 

My TSi2 5w with the 4w length shaft plays at 42.5" as per Titleist spec. Have it dialed down to C2 setting and fills the gap between my driver and 4H. 

Only been able to hit on mats lately and going to try on grass to see for consistency - might have to cut down to 42" to feel just right 😎

[boggyman]

1 hour ago, vinny_land said:

 

My TSi2 5w with the 4w length shaft plays at 42.5" as per Titleist spec. Have it dialed down to C2 setting and fills the gap between my driver and 4H. 

Only been able to hit on mats lately and going to try on grass to see for consistency - might have to cut down to 42" to feel just right 😎

I stumbled onto 41.5 by trial and error.Can go longer but just doesn’t feel right. FWIW, my driver is 43.5.

[wantacigar]

Finally have the bag set up after 2 years of fiddling.

TM M4 9.5*.  - Considering turning up to 10 or 10.5

Maltby 16* 4W - 200-220 off deck / 215-230 tee

Cleveland 18* 3+ HyWood - 190-200

Maltby 21* HyWay utility wood 175-185

Sim2 Max irons 5-AW

52*

56* 

60*

 

- 60* usually odd club out.  I sometimes leave the HyWay back if I need that 60* for the course I'm playing

[blades_are_life]

10 hours ago, erock9174 said:

Not to derail this thread but I will reply then duck out and back to the 5w speak.  

 

I get this comment and actually am a decent chipper of the ball with normal wedges.  According to Shot Scope when compared to a 0 handicap I lose the least amount of strokes in that facet of the game over Driver, Approaches and Putting.  But since adding the Smart Sole C (42*) I just enjoy having that club in the bag. 

 

For short chips I still like the touch I get with my 56 or 60* but for longer chips..say across the green I like the accuracy of the chipper over a wedge.  Sometimes with wedges I would get a funky side spin.  Also, I absolutely love the Chipper for those shots say 20-60 yds out with no trouble in front of the green where I can play it like a long putt.  Straight back and through motion and bump and run it to the hole.  Not to mention it helps take the random duff out of the equation that I sometimes get with a wedge.  With a wedge I have never had the consistency in this shot like I do with the chipper. So its more of a comfort thing.  Also if you get a gnarly lie, for example the other day had a ball above my feet from about 100 yds out in some thicker rough and he lie was uneven.  I hit my PW and it ended up ok.  Short left and nearly in the water.  Put another ball down in the same spot to see what would happen and hit one with the Smart Sole C and put it to about 15'.  So it just has its spots where I like that club from.  

 

So if the 5w keeps giving me heartburn it will likely be the club that is the odd man out.  If I get back to hitting my 5w consistently then the 4h is probably the one to sit out unless playing a longer course. 

That is a valid reason for sure 👍

Edited June 15, 2023 by blades_are_life

[kamaaina1]

you bet!  Cobra Rad 5w adjusted to 17.5 draw

[Mrgreen36]

Only a 5w for me cobra ltdx ls turned down 1, so uh 16.5 I think. 

[sfleming]

yeah I've done that one. Will probably do it more as I give 9 or 10 clubs and walking more of a try again. 

 

Driver, 5W, 5, 7, 9, 52, 56, 60, P  is one option.

 

Like previously posted, it really helps to be able to change that loft on the 5W.

[JDW3]

I tired this over the weekend as I’ve been struggling keeping the ball in play off then tee and accuracy is more important than distance at my home club on most holes. I kept all but one tee shot in play (that one was with driver) and shot 76, 75. Much better scores than I’ve been posting as of late. I’m definitely going to experiment with this setup a little more. 

[Konklifer]

Ping i25 5w @ 42.5" turned down to 17*. No regrets.

 

I may end up getting a G430 tuned the same way.

[Is Golf Fun or Work]

I only carry a 4 or 5 wood and my driver.  Hybrids make up the rest

[bird_4_3]

Driver, 5 wood, 4-6 hybrids, 7-pw, 48, 52, 56 and putter and Ping chiper.

[Lobber]

Guilty as charged.  Stealth 2 Plus 18 degree 5 wood works well for me off deck and tee.  Based on the course I am playing I can crank it down before the round if I need a few more yards off the tee or leave it as is.

[Jut]

Current setup has my TSR2 5W turned down to 17.25* followed by my TSR2 7W at 21.75* then my 23.5* 5i....

[trevor90]

Nice to see so many kindred spirits. I've carried a 43" 5W in place of a 3W for years now. I call it my 3W lol.

Edited June 21, 2023 by trevor90

[Mobert19]

without knowing swing speed for one, these posts are always difficult to glean any meaningful info from

[hzppby]

G410 5 wood with tour ad di 7x, I can hit it off the deck and the tee. Not going to be kicked for awhile. Interested in the 5 wood g430 though. Turned down 1 degree, 16.5

Edited June 23, 2023 by hzppby

[STank724]

4w/7w experiment has officially ended for me. 7 wood doesn't get much use and mostly I just miss having one go-to fairway wood that I have full confidence in.

 

Now just trying to decide if that club is my 16.5* TSR3 lofted up a bit or if I snag a Stealth 2+ 18* or Aerojet LS 17.5*.

[hjtebag]

i was initially using the following:

• TSR2 10^o D
• TS2 16.5^o4W
• 816H1 4U
• 5i etc

I had issues with my driver and my go-to club was my 4W. Went for a fitting and they suggested cutting down the driver shaft by 1". Was curious on the lengths of my other shafts and found that my 4W and 4U are shorter than usual. Therefore I upgraded my bag to the following

• TSR2 10^o D 44.5" (-1")
• G425 16^o 5W 42.5"
• ZX MK2 21^o 7W 42"
• 816H1 21^o 4U 39.5"
• 5i 25^o etc

I somehow keep thinking about getting a new 3W or the TSR2 4W. The number 5W just puts me off but i think i shouldn't be thinking about it too much it's just the number but the loft is the same. Should probably do a gapping test to see how it goes. not sure whether my 7W and 4U is overlapping each other

[BTP]

5W as only fairway wood in the bag for me as well. Play mine at 17.5* but can adjust 16-19*. I have no need for a 3W now. Unless you have a good reliable 3W that you can trust, there's really no need to have a 3W nowadays. These 5Ws go plenty far, get better launch, easier to hit out of rough. It's easily one of my favorite clubs. My gaps at the top are driver (9*), 4-5W (17.5*), hybrid (21*).

[uglande]

I might go that route sometimes. My Stealth Plus 5 wood is so hot, I can get away with pulling the 3 wood. 

[Lftygolfnut]

I’m considering only using my epic speed 5 wood. It’s deeper(ish) face is good for off the tee and it’s a lower spinning head. I figure if I want a piercing fairway finder shot I can just hit driver with the ball teed low and a slower swing. 

[SofaKingPure]

Yes, g430 5 wood set at the stated loft. 41.5” shaft. So good 

[Kai Slater]

Yes!!!!!  My only fairway wood is the Ping G425 in the 17.5* loft.  My next club down from there is a 23* Titleist hybrid, then I go on into the 6 iron and so on and so forth.  For the courses I play around here, really that's all I need.  Also, for my swing speed of 100mph on the dot (I know, I know, that's extremely weak by GolfWRX standards)......that 5 wood loft is just right off the deck or off of a low tee.

[mshills]

On 6/14/2023 at 9:10 PM, erock9174 said:

I only game one fairway wood. Ping g425 SFT 5w 19*. 
 

I don’t swing fast enough to adequately launch a 3 or 4 wood. And the 5w gaps pretty well with my 4h which is 23* 

Similar. 5w is my longest club after the D.

 

A 3w is not useful for me — don’t really have enough speed to launch it well off the ground any more unless the strike is perfect, and don’t need it off the tee where I can usually hit the D 14x per round. 
 

Going down the bag my setup is different though — I rely heavily on my 7w and 9w before going to hybrids for 5i - 7i replacements. 
 

I was a die hard 2i guy for a long time — too long. It is odd to have 8i my longest iron! 😁

[NRJyzr]

A fair amount of commentary lately about 17* or 16* as one's lowest wood.  It's largely the same thing that's been going on in golf for 60+ years.  

 

TL;DR version up front:  pay attention to the loft of your woods, not the number stamped on them.  If 16* or 17* is the lowest loft you can effectively use, go with it.  Doesn't matter what name it's been given.

 

In decades past, few players carried a wood in 13* or 14* loft, the first wood past driver was generally 16* or 17*.  These 13*/14* lofted clubs were often used as the ultimate specialty club for faster speed players, or as driver substitutes for slower speed players.

 

The difference between then and now is the label attached to the club.  In the present, a 17* is counted as a 5w, 13* or 14* a 3w.  In the past, these were a 3w and 2w, respectively.

 

Funny that in spite of all this tech advance, we're in the same place we've always been. 🙂

 

[Bad9]

10 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

A fair amount of commentary lately about 17* or 16* as one's lowest wood.  It's largely the same thing that's been going on in golf for 60+ years.  

 

TL;DR version up front:  pay attention to the loft of your woods, not the number stamped on them.  If 16* or 17* is the lowest loft you can effectively use, go with it.  Doesn't matter what name it's been given.

 

In decades past, few players carried a wood in 13* or 14* loft, the first wood past driver was generally 16* or 17*.  These 13*/14* lofted clubs were often used as the ultimate specialty club for faster speed players, or as driver substitutes for slower speed players.

 

The difference between then and now is the label attached to the club.  In the present, a 17* is counted as a 5w, 13* or 14* a 3w.  In the past, these were a 3w and 2w, respectively.

 

Funny that in spite of all this tech advance, we're in the same place we've always been. 🙂

 

 

Back in the glory days of GEA Kenoenputt(IIRC) was a big advocate of lowest effective loft in fairways and had it around 20° and 42" long. I tried it out and found it worked very well for me and still does. For years my fairway was a teeny, tiny Logic Tech 5w which changed into several Ping 7w's and now settled into Callaway Heavenwood. Currently a Rogue ST Max at 42.5" on an Xcaliber FW a flex shaft. I have a matching 9w but it's never used on the courses I play now.

[NRJyzr]

14 minutes ago, Bad9 said:

 

Back in the glory days of GEA Kenoenputt(IIRC) was a big advocate of lowest effective loft in fairways and had it around 20° and 42" long. I tried it out and found it worked very well for me and still does. For years my fairway was a teeny, tiny Logic Tech 5w which changed into several Ping 7w's and now settled into Callaway Heavenwood. Currently a Rogue ST Max at 42.5" on an Xcaliber FW a flex shaft. I have a matching 9w but it's never used on the courses I play now.

 

I remember when he was proposing that.  I admit I'm borrowing from his posts on that subject, in my above comments.  🙂

 

In a way, it's funny that those of us who were around in the GEA glory days are still talking about many of the same concepts discussed back then.  

 

[Bad9]

1 minute ago, NRJyzr said:

In a way, it's funny that those of us who were around in the GEA glory days are still talking about many of the same concepts discussed back then.  

 

 

Just goes to show how not much has changed in golf.

[Kai Slater]

11 minutes ago, Bad9 said:

 

Just goes to show how not much has changed in golf.

This is so true; even on some of the older persimmon wooded fairway clubs, many of them have the brass plated bottom or some sort of weight added lower and back.....just like many of today's modern clubs.  Similar concepts were at work even back then.