4 wood - 3 lofted up or 5 lofted down

[NoHYBNoFW]

Per the title, which would be more accurate  and easier to hit and control from the turf.

Starting with a 3 wood and lofting it up or a 5 wood and lofting it down.

Edited October 1, 2021 by NoHYBNoFW
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[OakRockHacker]

Lofting up a 3 wood closes the face while lofting down the 5 wood opens the face. This is the biggest thing in my mind. 
 

Obviously 3 wood head is slightly larger more suited for off the tee (possibly), 5 wood may be easier to hit off the turf. 
 

If you’re buying off the rack, 3 wood shaft will be longer obviously. 
 

Accuracy most likely comes down to personal preference and/or what fits you best. 

[kintap]

Another concern is that lofting up a 3W adds “bounce” and a small amount of bounce will be felt because of the depth of the head so it will be harder to make clean contact off of the turf.  I’ve always found that I hit FWs lofted down better than those lofted up off of the turf.  I’ve thought it was because of this, although it could be that I prefer an open face as well…

[Bye]

The 5 wood would be easier to use, shorter shaft and weight distribution. 
 

 

[njlam]

I use a 5 wood head lofted down and opening the face....the shaft is 3 wood length.

I do the same with my 7 wood.

 

Couldn't be happier.

[Jackal66]

For a long time my Son used a 16° 3 wood with a 5 wood length shaft in it.

We called it a 4 wood, and it performed as such with the gapping in his set.

 

We have 2 friends that play a 16° high launch  3 wood, that plays at a 5 wood shaft length, too.

Edited October 2, 2021 by Jackal66

[cleverprimate24]

Not sure how many OEMs make them, but you can find actual 4 woods. I've got a Mavrik 4wood in the bag and I'm pretty happy with it. 

[NoHYBNoFW]

Wouldn't a closed face help with the cutting swing of FW off the deck.

Just aim a little bit left of the target and go for it and the closed face would help either the ball go straight or a small fade

[dokex]

6 hours ago, kintap said:

Another concern is that lofting up a 3W adds “bounce” and a small amount of bounce will be felt because of the depth of the head so it will be harder to make clean contact off of the turf.  I’ve always found that I hit FWs lofted down better than those lofted up off of the turf.  I’ve thought it was because of this, although it could be that I prefer an open face as well…

What is this "bounce" you speak of on a fairway wood?

[kintap]

1 hour ago, dokex said:

What is this "bounce" you speak of on a fairway wood?

The same as with an iron.  The angle at which the trail edge sits below the leading edge when soled.  Although FW woods are designed to sit flush to the ground, when you add loft to any club you add bounce.  It is simple geometry.  So when you loft up a fairway wood a couple of degrees you are also adding a couple of degrees of bounce.  A couple of degrees of bounce on an iron are not a big deal, but on a FW they are more impactful because the head is so deep.  
 

TLDR: adding loft to a FW head tilts the head upward which raises the leading edge off of the ground slightly when the face is square.  This can make it tougher to make clean contact, especially if you are shallow.

[dokex]

27 minutes ago, kintap said:

The same as with an iron.  The angle at which the trail edge sits below the leading edge when soled.  Although FW woods are designed to sit flush to the ground, when you add loft to any club you add bounce.  It is simple geometry.  So when you loft up a fairway wood a couple of degrees you are also adding a couple of degrees of bounce.  A couple of degrees of bounce on an iron are not a big deal, but on a FW they are more impactful because the head is so deep.  
 

TLDR: adding loft to a FW head tilts the head upward which raises the leading edge off of the ground slightly when the face is square.  This can make it tougher to make clean contact, especially if you are shallow.

When you change the loft on an iron, you are going up and down. When you change the loft on an adjustable wood, you are going sideways. This is the easiest way to explain it, I think. There is no bounce on woods.

[kintap]

6 hours ago, dokex said:

When you change the loft on an iron, you are going up and down. When you change the loft on an adjustable wood, you are going sideways. This is the easiest way to explain it, I think. There is no bounce on woods.

Think about it.  The head geometry doesn’t change.  The only way to turn 15* into 16.5* is to tilt the head up 1.5* which raises the leading edge off the ground.  This is accomplished by closing the face.  By angling the shaft so that the head sits closed when soled, you are forced to either play with 15* of loft and a closed face, or to rotate the face open until it is square which adds 1.5* of loft and tilts the head upward, thus bringing the leading edge up as well.  
 

Try this experiment.  Take a fairway wood and rotate it 45* open.  You will see the loft point way up and the leading edge come way off of the ground.  This is an extreme example to make it obvious to the eye.  As I said, 1.5* of bounce is small, but it plays larger because of the depth of the head.  Many people won’t notice, but if you are shallow or even hit slightly up on a FW wood, adding loft could cause issues with contact.

[dlygrisse]

7 minutes ago, kintap said:

Think about it.  The head geometry doesn’t change.  The only way to turn 15* into 16.5* is to tilt the head up 1.5* which raises the leading edge off the ground.  This is accomplished by closing the face.  By angling the shaft so that the head sits closed when soled, you are forced to either play with 15* of loft and a closed face, or to rotate the face open until it is square which adds 1.5* of loft and tilts the head upward, thus bringing the leading edge up as well.  
 

Try this experiment.  Take a fairway wood and rotate it 45* open.  You will see the loft point way up and the leading edge come way off of the ground.  This is an extreme example to make it obvious to the eye.  As I said, 1.5* of bounce is small, but it plays larger because of the depth of the head.  Many people won’t notice, but if you are shallow or even hit slightly up on a FW wood, adding loft could cause issues with contact.

I’ve been experimenting with exact scenario.  Visually I like delofting  the 5 wood better, but I experimented with a lofted up 3 Wood yesterday.  I had to consciously open the face as the sole angle made it set closed. The tighter the lie the more the sole geometry or bounce would seem to come into play. I hit it pretty good, but at the end of the day I think I am just going to leave the 3,5,7 in my bag and leave them standard. 
 

the Ping woods have very flat soles, I would think someone would engineer a more contoured sole so when you adjust it would sit at the proper angle. 

[VanTheMan0519]

Was in the same boat. Picked up a Ping 425 5 wood and lofted it down to 16.5

[jbandalo]

Ping G425 5 wood lofted down to 16.5 for me. Plays exactly like a 4 wood. 

[jomatty]

For me it would depend on two things.  1.  Is it primarily a tee club, fairway club or even mixture?  2.  Do I struggle with hooks or fades?
 

for me I would go the 5 wood route unless it was primarily a tee club.  The. I would want the bigger head of a 3w.  If I went that route I would try t9 find one that naturally sat open as I struggle with pulling my fairway woods from time to time and would not be confident if it appeared closed at address.  
 

A turned own/opened up 5 wood is the easy winner for me as I primarily use that style club from the deck and like it to sit slightly open if not square.

[myspinonit]

I've played the G410 and now G425 5 woods at the lofted down to 16.5° for two seasons and like it.  Better feel and  a touch longer generally than my prior G400 SFT at 16°.   I didn't realize that when I replaced the stock Ping grip with Arccos on G425 clubs that it changed length to about 1/4" shorter, so the regripped 5W was  ~ 42.25". (Ping includes the Arccos in the stock specs.) 

 

For the heck of it I ordered a G425 3 Reg shaft on eBay, figuring it would play ~ 42.75" and around D1.5, both acceptable and maybe give me a few more yards. It came yesterday with a Tour Velvet 360 and measures 43" installed. So probably around a D3+ I figure.  Took it to the range yesterday -mats-and found it high(er) and solid with that shaft and in the square setting.  Liked a bit better STD setting with the longer shaft. Same thing with the G425 5W shaft swapped into my G410 7W.  

 

I'll probably try it once more on the range before I take the longer shafts to the course for a round next week.  I may only have a round or two left this season anyway, with winter monsoons and a post-operation recovery both in the near future.

Edited October 2, 2021 by myspinonit

[vintage golfer]

I pack a 17 degree Rogue which is perfect for my needs. Given your choice I would take the adjustment which opened the face, and lengthen the shaft.

[Pete O'Tube]

I had great success with a TM R9 3wood lofted up 1 degree with a 5 wood shaft.

Changed to a Ping G25 4 wood for the same effect.

[NoHYBNoFW]

Currently I have 2 open spots in the bag between driver 270 yards and 4 iron 200 yards.

And looking for  2 FW so was thinking a 4 and a 6/7, hence the question about the best option to get to a 4 wood.

 

Mainly will be used off turf.