9w added…old man golf is fun 🙂

[mshills]

My journey back to respectable golf and eventually competing is chronicled elsewhere here…and a few weeks ago I decided to add a 9w to my arsenal as an experiment. 
 

My driver, 4w, and 7w are Ping G425 Max, and I did not want to drop the $ to have the Ping made to my odd specs, at least not yet. So @lxadoz104 suggested a Maltby, and I ordered one. 23 degrees, 43.25” long (yes that is +2”), with a UST DHI shaft in A flex. Golfworks built it and had it shipped to me in a week for about $100. Not bad!

 

Bottom of the head looks a little cheap to me but I may remove the white paint fill and that should help. At address it’s really good. Interesting that the face is deep — much deeper than my Ping 4w or 7w. I put it into play this weekend in a hit-and-giggle scramble, and hit two greens from ~175 yards when my partners got wild and the pressure was on. Nice high ball flight, higher and longer than my 5i, and fills a nice gap between 5i and 7w. 
 

[jamgam]

I'm with ya.  I've added 5 an 6h in the bag and life is just easier (and golf is more fun).  I've got good clubhead speed but I can bunt hybrids and hit them out of rough and messed up lies.  I hit more greens now from 180-200

[OnTheBag]

Old man golf is more fun than when I was chasing low scores on mini-tours and worrying about every swing.

 

I gave up my ego and have more headcovers than irons now.  At my age, I no longer cared about appearance but only focused on how easy it was to get around the course efficiently.  

 

Have fun out there boys.

[animalgolfs]

My 9wd is probably the most consistent club - in my bag.

 

It's scary how consistent 

[mshills]

I need a lot more reps with the 9w but I'm really pleased so far.  My bad shot with any club is a fat, heel struck, quick hook.  Definitely cannot blame that on the club....this 9w is definitely not a hook machine unless the man behind the club makes it so. 😄

 

I have not hit it out of any ugly lies or rough yet -- this past weekend was a GIR from 175 on a par 4 when my scramble partners were out of play and another GIR on a par 3 from 179.  The par 3 tee shot was toe-y but worked out great.

[CROUSE99]

I have a Callaway Epic Max 11 wood that replaced my 6 iron.  I also use a Cobra f9 7 wood set to 23.5 degrees.  It basically functions as a 4 or 5 hybrid.  If Callaway offered a 13 I'd probably buy it.  The high lofted fairways are so much easier for me to hit high.  I've also recently discovered I shoot better scores if I forget about hitting good looking shots and just advance the ball. 

[juddrussell]

Are all of your clubs 2” over or what made you do that on the 9w?

[Fuscinator]

Just need to get yourself an old Ely Would (28°) and you'll be all set.

[Ripken08]

4 minutes ago, Fuscinator said:

Just need to get yourself an old Ely Would (28°) and you'll be all set.

Nah Steelhead IIIs are the bomb.  Still have duplicate sets of 3/5/7/9 woods and foolishly sold the 11 and 13.  Moving to graphite now and having a hard time replacing these.  Can't find anything with similar head shape.

Edited August 8, 2022 by Ripken08
spelling

[mshills]

12 minutes ago, CROUSE99 said:

I've also recently discovered I shoot better scores if I forget about hitting good looking shots and just advance the ball. 

 

Isn't that the truth.  Before I got hurt, 190 to hole, 175 to carry water, from a good but not perfect lie in the rough....no-brainer, muscle a 6i as high as possible.  A towering, high mid-iron is very satisfying.

 

Now faced with the same shot, playing one-armed, it is hard to put the ego away and lay it up, but 175 carry over water out of the rough is not (yet!) a percentage play for me.  It's hard to come to terms and hit a 100 yard shot in that situation, but it sure is easier to come to terms with not seeing a "9" on my score card.

[mshills]

13 minutes ago, juddrussell said:

Are all of your clubs 2” over or what made you do that on the 9w?

 

My driver and FW woods are +2", irons from 5i - AW are a whopping +4"!  It is covered in a thread I started about coming back from an auto accident, short story is I now play with my right (trail) arm only, and long + flexible is the answer.

 

To the Ely Would comment, heck yes!  I wish that was offered in a more modern head.  I'd call it a Hills Would.

[drumdude96]

OP, looks like you need to update your sig, my man!

[mshills]

LOL you are right!  I have all signatures hidden and completely forgot about it!  On way to do that now.  😄

[larryd3]

Loving my Ping G410 7 and 9 woods.  Both are money.  

[TNGolfer8]

In 2018, I had Golfworks build me a  Maltby UFW 9 wood that I played around with for a while.  I went looking for it this weekend, because I think it will be a good club for 3-4 shots I'll have on the new course I'm playing.  It is a very easy club to hit, and I'm starting to wonder why i put it away in the first place.  

[juddrussell]

3 hours ago, mshills said:

 

My driver and FW woods are +2", irons from 5i - AW are a whopping +4"!  It is covered in a thread I started about coming back from an auto accident, short story is I now play with my right (trail) arm only, and long + flexible is the answer.

 

To the Ely Would comment, heck yes!  I wish that was offered in a more modern head.  I'd call it a Hills Would.

Oh wow I didn’t know that, I will look for the thread, very cool you figured out what works, thanks for sharing 

[lxadoz104]

On 8/8/2022 at 8:06 AM, Fuscinator said:

Just need to get yourself an old Ely Would (28°) and you'll be all set.

Hills know that if I can find a above average head that is the Strong 4 and the Heavenwood, I will absolutely shaft them in a current generation shaft and game them.  

 

I still seem to not hit fairways like I should, but if someone ever said, “No way you getting home from there” - the Heavenwood did it.  Nothing better than walking up and waiting on the other guy who was in the fairway take 3 or 4 shots to get on that Par 5 🙂

 

[ShortGolfer]

I just took the shaft that came out of my 11 wood and put it in a 2015 Callaway GBB Heavenwood. 

It was real easy because this club has the same adapter as the 2015 GBB Driver, so all I needed to do was to clean off the old epoxy and glue on a hosel adapter.

 

The hardest part is waiting the full 20 hours for the epoxy to cure before testing it out.  I used Brampton's 20/20.

Edited September 4, 2022 by ShortGolfer

[azgreg]

I've been casually looking for a reasonably priced TM V-Steel 9w. Time to get more serious.

 

[596]

Shoot, I have given up on all irons. High single cap.  I play D, 3, 5 wood, then hybrids all the way to SW.  Playing regular men's tees at age 67.  Lots more scores in the 70s then with irons.  I have 14 head covers!! 

 

I can bring rain they go so high.  

 

[IMeneses]

I had a Ping G425 19dg Hybrid with a pronounced hook (not my fault obviously), so I decided to try out the Ping G425 7wood . Love at first shot. It is now my favorite club in the bag.  So easy to hit. I´m now undecided about an 22 deg hybrid or the 9 wood. 

 

I'm 41 yo and would not call them old man clubs, but wise golfer clubs instead.

[mshills]

The G425 Max 7w I have in my bag is brilliant also. I’d like to grab the 9w, but this Maltby 9w was inexpensive, so no concerns gouging it out of bunkers, hard pan, or just generally terrible lies. Hit a great recovery with it out of a so-so lie in a fairway bunker a couple days ago — I can’t hit that shot with 5i!

[mshills]

On 9/4/2022 at 3:12 PM, lxadoz104 said:

…if someone ever said, “No way you getting home from there” - the Heavenwood did it.  Nothing better than walking up and waiting on the other guy who was in the fairway take 3 or 4 shots to get on that Par 5 🙂

That same someone can attest that the Heavenwood is damn good out of that gnarly rough left of #1 fairway at The Walker Course. Even more effective when your opponent is deep down the fairway, then gets to see your ball appear on the green in 2. 

[Jmccas]

I played Copperhead today from the tips and the 9W got a lot of work on second shots. I love having a 9W in the bag. I don’t have the speed to consistently hit a 4i and the 9W allows me

to hit high soft landing shots from 190-200 out. 

[pmang]

7 hours ago, IMeneses said:

I had a Ping G425 19dg Hybrid with a pronounced hook (not my fault obviously), so I decided to try out the Ping G425 7wood . Love at first shot. It is now my favorite club in the bag.  So easy to hit. I´m now undecided about an 22 deg hybrid or the 9 wood. 

 

I'm 41 yo and would not call them old man clubs, but wise golfer clubs instead.

I took my Ping G425 22* hybrid out and replaced it with a G425 9 wood stiff. Same distance. Much higher flight and no left miss.

[IMeneses]

15 hours ago, pmang said:

I took my Ping G425 22* hybrid out and replaced it with a G425 9 wood stiff. Same distance. Much higher flight and no left miss.

I guess it’s decided then! 😀 Here in Europe it’s hard to find the G425 9wood, specially stiff, but I’ll have to be patient!