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5 wood struggles?

SuperStroke
Jody Keith Wong

Jody Keith Wong

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Suddenly, I haven't been hitting my 5 wood well. I took it to the range and I was only able to hit it straight like 1 in 4 shots. I'm hitting my driver fine for the most part. Any recommendations on an easy to hit 5 wood, something I can put in my bag to help me get my confidence in the 5 wood back up?
 
I have this issue sometimes and I don't now why either. What usually gets me out of it is to play it back in my stance alittle more than usual and to try to play a baby draw. I usually play a fade, but for whatever reason, this usually gets me out a funk with this club. Good luck and I feel your pain.
 
Jody Keith Wong said:
Suddenly, I haven't been hitting my 5 wood well. I took it to the range and I was only able to hit it straight like 1 in 4 shots. I'm hitting my driver fine for the most part. Any recommendations on an easy to hit 5 wood, something I can put in my bag to help me get my confidence in the 5 wood back up?
Click to expand...

Very good and VERY cheap 5 wood right now is the cobra baffler 5 wood. Not the baffler xl but the black and yellow one- it's like $39 in some places. Very very good club.
 
I am having the same problem with my 3wood. It's driving me absolutely crazy.

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5 wood struggles?

The Xhot and RBZ stage 2 tour are very nice and can be had for a good price
The are a nice shallow profile which is easy to hit of the deck

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I don't know that getting a new club is the answer. If you suddenly can't hit it straight it is probably something going on with your swing that is causing the problem.
 
Quick thoughts as someone who has had periods when the FWs were the worst clubs in the bag, only to have other periods when they're the best:
- FW off the deck, particularly 3W off the deck is probably the hardest non-specialty, non-hazard shot in golf.
- The shafts are getting longer and longer, which isn't making this any easier. Check out the specs and I wouldn't be surprised to see the 5W in your bag be as long as a 3W from just a few years ago. The long shaft exacerbates swing issues.
- Choke up a bit. Okay, choke up a lot. ;)
- Pull the ball back in the stance ever so slightly. When I get wild with the FW, it's when it is too far up and I end up "reaching" for it a bit.
- Long, smooth tempo, particularly in transition. Let that long shaft do all the work.
- Hit down on the ball. You have to hit down to go up.
 
ryebread said:
Quick thoughts as someone who has had periods when the FWs were the worst clubs in the bag, only to have other periods when they're the best:
- FW off the deck, particularly 3W off the deck is probably the hardest non-specialty, non-hazard shot in golf.
- The shafts are getting longer and longer, which isn't making this any easier. Check out the specs and I wouldn't be surprised to see the 5W in your bag be as long as a 3W from just a few years ago. The long shaft exacerbates swing issues.
- Choke up a bit. Okay, choke up a lot. ;)
- Pull the ball back in the stance ever so slightly. When I get wild with the FW, it's when it is too far up and I end up "reaching" for it a bit.
- Long, smooth tempo, particularly in transition. Let that long shaft do all the work.
- Hit down on the ball. You have to hit down to go up.
Click to expand...

Lots of good info here. I agree with all of it
 
Funnily enough, I'm struggling too (although fairway off the deck has always been my nemesis). I'm seriously debating ditching them altogether and going with a driver hybrid combo.
 
Mark_UK said:
Funnily enough, I'm struggling too (although fairway off the deck has always been my nemesis). I'm seriously debating ditching them altogether and going with a driver hybrid combo.
Click to expand...

Options are good but before you scrap it - really check out Ryes post
 
Not sure about an easy to hit 5-wood, but do you visualize how the wood is going to hit the ball?
I find it helps to visualize the club coming into the ball with the sole of the club flat against the ground as I tend to come into the ball with sole off of the ground (hitting down on the ball) and that is not what I want to do. I think you need to identify what is causing your problem with the 5-wood and then try to diagnose a correction. I do find visualizing the shot and sometimes even the way the club is going to hit the ball helps me, it is surprising how the body tries to do what your mind visualizes.
 
You could always try a similarly lofted hybrid, I know done guys that have gone away from fairway woods completely in favor of hybrids.
 
A receipt for lessons to find what you are doing wrong might be a better way to spend money than a new club.
 
ryebread said:
Quick thoughts as someone who has had periods when the FWs were the worst clubs in the bag, only to have other periods when they're the best:
- FW off the deck, particularly 3W off the deck is probably the hardest non-specialty, non-hazard shot in golf.
- The shafts are getting longer and longer, which isn't making this any easier. Check out the specs and I wouldn't be surprised to see the 5W in your bag be as long as a 3W from just a few years ago. The long shaft exacerbates swing issues.
- Choke up a bit. Okay, choke up a lot. ;)
- Pull the ball back in the stance ever so slightly. When I get wild with the FW, it's when it is too far up and I end up "reaching" for it a bit.
- Long, smooth tempo, particularly in transition. Let that long shaft do all the work.
- Hit down on the ball. You have to hit down to go up.
Click to expand...

The transition for me has a lot to do with how well I hit mine the quicker I get harder time I have hitting it



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Yeah I've struggle with my 5w off the tee for about year now. Don't hit it a lot but its been awful lately. I worked on it hard last spring and had it as my "go to" off the tee when I had to hit it straight. When I went on a vacation I was so-so but driver was money so it didnt hurt me much.

This year its either hook city or a slice pop up. I can hit a decent stinger out of the fairway with it but its just functional nothing special. Not the club just a lot of bad swings...
 
So, ended up getting an Adams tight lies 5 wood and I've hit it very well. I've hit it well off the deck and in the fairway. Honestly I think it was that my grip was getting too loose.
 
For me, fairway woods comes down to ball placement and tempo. Nothing rewards a smooth swing or punishes a lashing one quite as much as a fairway wood. Set the ball back in stance a bit and focus on smooth. That's always gotten me a bit more back on track with my woods.
 
Paladin said:
For me, fairway woods comes down to ball placement and tempo. Nothing rewards a smooth swing or punishes a lashing one quite as much as a fairway wood. Set the ball back in stance a bit and focus on smooth. That's always gotten me a bit more back on track with my woods.
Click to expand...

When you say "set the ball back in stance a bit"... Is it close to the center? or closer to the front or back?

I always learned to hit woods closer to the front of my stance....
 
Jody Keith Wong said:
When you say "set the ball back in stance a bit"... Is it close to the center? or closer to the front or back?

I always learned to hit woods closer to the front of my stance....
Click to expand...

Closer to center. Nothing wrong with hitting down on them a bit from the fairway. Hit down to get the ball up.
 
Paladin said:
Closer to center. Nothing wrong with hitting down on them a bit from the fairway. Hit down to get the ball up.
Click to expand...

Yep. Have to hit down to go up with anything off the deck. Try to sweep and put an ascending blow with the FW and you're going to top it, hit it thin, hit it off the heel, etc.. I like the ball to be centered in my left pectoral muscle with the FW.
 
I have no problem hitting fairway wood 3W and 5W at driving range. However, at the golf course, I have big problem hitting the ball from fairways. Last week I use 5W and I accidentally hit gardener's truck ...... the truck get a golf ball size ding on the door's side pillar. The gardener jump out from the back of the truck as he sees the ball is coming to him. Thank God nothing bad happen..... the gardener is okay. I feel so ashamed to my caddie and I apologized to gardener.
 
When I have trouble with the FW's on the fairway, I make a practice swing that thumps the clubhead on the turf. We need to make a sweeping swing, but the more I try to sweep the worse the error gets. When I practice the thump, that's when I hit the woods well.
 
I've found that my 3 and 5 wood, when I carry a 5, are like crazy girlfriends. I never know whether they're gonna cook me dinner or slit my throat.
 
I would try playing it like an iron, with a little forward shaft lean at impact and no problem taking a divot.
 
Jody Keith Wong said:
When you say "set the ball back in stance a bit"... Is it close to the center? or closer to the front or back?

I always learned to hit woods closer to the front of my stance....
Click to expand...

Ball position - not back, not forward - just right.

Try just inside the left heel - it should be just at the bottom of the swing so you are nipping down slightly. Play with it slightly.

Typically, it is a weight forward problem -- not enough weight forward at impact because we are so concerned about hitting the ball, we use our arms and forget it's a weight forward issue. So get on your front side and see what happens.


I have 2 swing thoughts -- smooth transition, finish the swing.
 
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