Accepting 5 wood over 3 with age?

[Alpha3]

My wife is a good player club champion yrs ago etc. now we’re 65 she swings at 70mph with driver, 12* G430 max.  Hard to convince 3 wood is not next club anymore. We are both in good shape. We use a local fitter. Of course it’s mental. Any ideas?

[Bye]

4 wood with a shorter shaft, might be seen as less of a step. 

[Rapidcat]

How about a 3 wood HL (High Launch)?

 

Various examples over the last 5 or so years that seem around 16.5* with a 3 wood length shaft.

 

It's basically a 4 wood but caresses the ego with the 3 wood name.

 

A few of the PGAT pros played these at times as their longest fairway (Koepka was one from memory, might have been an TM M2 HL, but my memory's a touch hazy on that).

[ARSM1932]

Definitely a shorter shafted fairway wood such as a 3 HL or 4 wood would make much more sense or even a stronger lofted 5 wood, several of the bombers on tour currently play a 16.5 or 17 degree fairway wood including Cam Young, Wyndham Clark and Brooks Koepka while the likes of Cam Champ, Will Zalatoris and Jason Day all used to play a similar setup.

[NRJyzr]

3 hours ago, Rapidcat said:

How about a 3 wood HL (High Launch)?

 

Various examples over the last 5 or so years that seem around 16.5* with a 3 wood length shaft.

 

It's basically a 4 wood but caresses the ego with the 3 wood name.

 

A few of the PGAT pros played these at times as their longest fairway (Koepka was one from memory, might have been an TM M2 HL, but my memory's a touch hazy on that).

 

I would suggest the ego caress was taking the 3 wood loft and stamping a "4" on it.  🙂

 

The move we see with golfers replacing 3w with a 4w, and maybe adding a 7w, is really just a return to the lofts golfers have classically carried for decades.  The 3w was 17*, the 4w was 20* (before they migrated to 16* and 19*).  The 14* wood was a 2w, and most didn't carry them, unless it was as a driver substitute for those who needed the trajectory bump.

 

These days, 16* and 20* is 4w/7w.  Call it whatever, but its just going back to what has worked for many for quite a long time.

 

Club number doesn't matter.  Only loft matters.  In woods as well as irons.

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by NRJyzr

[robxpark]

i vote 3HL as well. 

[Rapidcat]

4 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

 

I would suggest the ego caress was taking the 3 wood loft and stamping a "4" on it.  🙂

 

The move we see with golfers replacing 3w with a 4w, and maybe adding a 7w, is really just a return to the lofts golfers have classically carried for decades.  The 3w was 17*, the 4w was 20* (before they migrated to 16* and 19*).  The 14* wood was a 2w, and most didn't carry them, unless it was as a driver substitute for those who needed the trajectory bump.

 

These days, 16* and 20* is 4w/7w.  Call it whatever, but its just going back to what has worked for many for quite a long time.

 

Club number doesn't matter.  Only loft matters.  In woods as well as irons.

 

 

Yes, agree with the loft changes you have stated - I've lived them, probably like you have🙂

 

I'm interpreting that the OP's wife has an 'ego issue' with not playing a 3 wood as her first fairway wood, hence my 3HL suggestion, which is really a modern lofted 4 wood presented as a 3 wood.

 

Is that correct

@Alpha3

[NRJyzr]

1 minute ago, Rapidcat said:

 

Yes, agree with the loft changes you have stated - I've lived them, probably like you have🙂

 

I'm interpreting that the OP's wife has an 'ego issue' with not playing a 3 wood as her first fairway wood, hence my 3HL suggestion, which is really a modern lofted 4 wood presented as a 3 wood.

 

Is that correct

@Alpha3

 

I should have added earlier that I like your suggestion.  🙂

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by NRJyzr

[Hat Trick]

In the late 1980s I had a 16* 3 wood, 21* 5 wood and a 26* 7 wood all matching metals.  Now the return of the 7 wood at 21* is interesting to me. Then again I remember having a pitching wedge with a P and a sand wedge with an S and the idea of loft, bounce and grind weren't invented yet for us mere mortals - we just figured out how to use the P & S.

[Tooeasy]

4 wood and even possibly a slightly shorter shaft 

[Naptime]

Why doesn’t she go in the local sim and hit all of the above? Then make a choice.  

[Rapidcat]

To throw a couple of other clubs into the historical mix (showing how loft variants and shaft lengths started bouncing all over the place even decades ago) I bought a couple of Orlimar Trimetal 14+ and 20+ fairways (think strong-lofted 3 and 5 woods) back around the turn of the century. 14+ was 43.5 inches, 20+ was 43 inches playing length). Considering the 20+, maybe where the Heaven-wood idea really came from?

 

They were one of the first - if not the first - really low profile fairways (apologies for the image sizes & orientations):

 

 

 

Absolute bombers in their day, only sold them off 3 years ago!

 

Sorry for the nostalgia.

[NRJyzr]

4 minutes ago, Rapidcat said:

To throw a couple of other clubs into the historical mix (showing how loft variants and shaft lengths started bouncing all over the place even decades ago) I bought a couple of Orlimar Trimetal 14+ and 20+ fairways (think strong-lofted 3 and 5 woods) back around the turn of the century. 14+ was 43.5 inches, 20+ was 43 inches playing length). Considering the 20+, maybe where the Heaven-wood idea really came from?

 

They were one of the first - if not the first - really low profile fairways (apologies for the image sizes & orientations):

 

 

 

Absolute bombers in their day, only sold them off 3 years ago!

 

Sorry for the nostalgia.

 

 

I still have an original Trimetal 13* and a Trimetal Plus 14* in my stash.  Think about taking the 14* on course one of these days.

 

Afraid the Heavenwood was already a thing by the time the Trimetal Plus came out.  Part of Ely Callaway's not-so-subtle manipulation of ego as a marketing tool.  Like the 6* GBB's that were really 9* or 10*, and the Firm flex shafts that were really senior flex.  😐

 

[buckrogers71]

I am 51 and went to a 4 wood years ago. I can no longer get home in 2 with the 3 wood, so 4 wood it is. Its no longer an ego thing for me. Why make the game harder. 

[Jeff58]

it’s not ego.
 

The majority of male professional players carry both a 3 and 5 wood. If you drive 300 yards or more, carrying only a 4 or 5 wood creates unacceptable gaps. That’s a significant disadvantage, in that it requires 3 clubs to reach your hybrid or longest iron. The only reason that they get away with that is they hit their PW 140+ yards.
 

If you drive ~260 yard or less, you effectively get a free club, which you typically need to bridge between your PW and first specialty wedge. A short to medium driver with a 3 wood looses a club for no reason, and the lost club is then a wedge, where the player can least afford it.

[texcellence86]

10 hours ago, Alpha3 said:

My wife is a good player club champion yrs ago etc. now we’re 65 she swings at 70mph with driver, 12* G430 max.  Hard to convince 3 wood is not next club anymore. We are both in good shape. We use a local fitter. Of course it’s mental. Any ideas?

Show her Nelly's old Titleist WITB. She went D/4/7 and her 4w was really a 5w based on the COG/Adapter setting.

[RacineBoxer]

10 hours ago, Alpha3 said:

My wife is a good player club champion yrs ago etc. now we’re 65 she swings at 70mph with driver, 12* G430 max.  Hard to convince 3 wood is not next club anymore. We are both in good shape. We use a local fitter. Of course it’s mental. Any ideas?

 

Ping and TaylorMade (and I think a couple others, maybe XXIO) have come out with clubs this year specifically designed for slower swing speed players to hit it higher (and farther). Might want to give their gear a try. Can always adjust the loft up 1-2 degrees as well.

 

Lastly, and a few others are talking about this indirectly, you get to carry 14 clubs but she might not even need all 14. But if she wants a 3W... maybe just let her have it. She can have a 5W too and hopefully she just pulls the 5W more often. Kind of a "no harm, no foul" type of situation. 

[ShortGolfer]

I have a low swing speed and got fitted for a 3HL with a high launch senior flex shaft.  It was a surprise to the fitter that I could hit it that off the deck!

My swing speed is low enough that gapping isn't an issue.  Just like driver I'm looking for distance.

Especially since I  hit my irons really well.

Edited March 24, 2023 by ShortGolfer

[grochol17]

11 hours ago, Alpha3 said:

My wife is a good player club champion yrs ago etc. now we’re 65 she swings at 70mph with driver, 12* G430 max.  Hard to convince 3 wood is not next club anymore. We are both in good shape. We use a local fitter. Of course it’s mental. Any ideas?

 

I would think it would be pretty obvious in working with the fitter if the 3w makes any sense... at slower swing speeds the top end of the bag can "compress" where there isn't much separation between the different clubs.  I would think if she got on the launch monitor with the fitter she could see the distances she's hitting D/3/4/etc. and make an educated decision about what mixture of clubs make the most sense at the top end of her bag.

[ChipNRun]

See below. I'm 72 years old, and entering my 13th season of 4W + 7W. I switched models a couple of times, but kept the loft mix.

[PEI_Golfer]

We are in the age of self identifying, so just get a 5wd and change the 5 to a 3.  We have sets with sub 18* "4" irons, so why can't we have 5hree, or thr55 woods? 

 

It is likely mental, but should be short lived, just like thinking you need a low riding sports car with bad knees.  Once you see it's not beneficial, and lose all cool factor when people see you struggle to get out of it, you change things up quickly and get yourself a jacked up SUV.  In this case, a thrive wood.

[homergolf]

I think you should get the 5 wood.  I have a 4 and am contemplating going to a 5.  The Stealth, G430, Paradym, TSr 2, etc.  all sacrifice very little in distance vs a lower lofted fw and are much more forgiving than the older clubs out there.  My driver swing speed is 93-94, down about 10 mph over the past 10 years, I know this because I just got fit into an 11 degree TSr 2 driver.  I’m 67, btw.   

[Luke'sdad]

New Tech 3 woods just don't spin enough for certain players current swing speeds. Going to old school 3 woods will provide much more spin for these players, obviously enabling them to produce more height both from the tee and the turf. The issue often can be convincing those players to actually buy a used club, when so many want the newer tech thinking they can benefit from a low spinning fairway wood. Tough to beat all the OEM's media ad blitz promoting all the new tech, evn if that tech can be a determent to their game.

[mantan]

I agree with the post above. The modern 3-wood is not an effective club for a whole lot of a amateur golfers. They lofts have crept down, shafts have gotten longer and spin has gone down. I play in a league and get paired with tons of golfers and see very few of them hit a 3 wood nearly as well as their 5-wood.

 

 

[Alpha3]

10 hours ago, Rapidcat said:

 

Yes, agree with the loft changes you have stated - I've lived them, probably like you have🙂

 

I'm interpreting that the OP's wife has an 'ego issue' with not playing a 3 wood as her first fairway wood, hence my 3HL suggestion, which is really a modern lofted 4 wood presented as a 3 wood.

 

Is that correct

@Alpha3

Of course it’s ego, she has been on monitors and on course, just doesn’t want to believe it. I understand ageing better. 3HL just might work. Thanks

[hammergolf]

On 3/24/2023 at 1:07 AM, Alpha3 said:

My wife is a good player club champion yrs ago etc. now we’re 65 she swings at 70mph with driver, 12* G430 max.  Hard to convince 3 wood is not next club anymore. We are both in good shape. We use a local fitter. Of course it’s mental. Any ideas?

For a fwy wood, it’s a launch/spin decision. Don’t worry about the number on the club,  focus on where the ball ends up. There are many very good players that don’t carry a club that has a 3 on it for their fwy club. The golf ball never lies, it doesn’t know if it’s being hit with a club that has, 3,4,5,7 on it. 

[hammergolf]

22 hours ago, Alpha3 said:

Of course it’s ego, she has been on monitors and on course, just doesn’t want to believe it. I understand ageing better. 3HL just might work. Thanks

The mind and ego has stopped many golfers from playing their best.

[Hawkeye77]

This is hilarious - you going to tell your wife, who is an accomplished player, she should give up her 3w because you got affirmation from strangers on the internet? Tell her at least one stranger says she knows best, if she listens, lol. 

Edited March 26, 2023 by Hawkeye77

[third-times-a-charm]

16 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

This is hilarious - you going to tell your wife, who is an accomplished player, she should give up her 3w because you got affirmation from strangers on the internet? Tell her at least one stranger says she knows best, if she listens, lol. 

My wife will gladly take advice from strangers before me.

[ChipDriver]

...take the following with a grain of salt and wear a helmet and mouthguard when suggesting the following:   🙂 

 

1) a 4 wood and 3HL are generally the same lofts.    The 3HL has a "3" for that reason b/c of people like your wife who needs to see a "3".   I assume she's the same way with clothes sizes...?

2) truth is that she should hit 3HL/4/5 and even 7 woods at a fitter - it is entirely possible that she hits the 5 and 7 farther than her current 3W.

3)  It's even possible that she hits a 3HL farther than she hits her driver.

 

But fitters can be very helpful.  🙂