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Anybody ever replaced your 3 wood with a 4 wood?

SuperStroke
I replaced my 3 wood with a 4-5 Cobra Wood best thing I ever done because I hit it straighter and further
 
I think it’s more of a change in loft as opposed to a number. I currently carry a 10.5 driver, a 16 degree 3 wood and a 20 degree heavenwood. To me especially with adjustable lofts, the loft is more important than the number.
 
I have never been able to hit a 3 wood off the ground consistently at all. Struggle with launch and have tried a number of different ones. I play a G410 5 wood and it's absolutely magic, consistently 210-220 off the ground, point and shoot off the tee and launches like a dream. Can't see how I would ever need a 3 wood after that.
 
I replaced mine with a 4 wood years ago, I recently replaced the 4 wood with a 2 iron. I have officially given up on woods (except the driver of course).
 
Sine the 1990’s I‘ve carried a 13* strong 3 wood and a 4 or 5 wood. The last seven years it‘s been a 12.5* 2 wood and a 16.5* 4 wood.
 
I did this year. I hit it just as far and it has a higher ball flight. With the extra loft it is also a bit more forgiving.
 
I have gone back and forth with a 4 wood vs 3 wood until my most recent fitting where I found a 14* 3w (TM M6 with Oban Isawa) with a shaft combination that launches really well for me. I can use the extra distance but a strong 4 wood is a great club in the right hands.
 
<i>I didnt do a 4-wood but I replaced mine with a 5-wood and couldn't be happier. I find that I hit it almost as long and am much more consistent with it than I ever was with my 3-wood.<i/i>

Same here with my 88mph driver swing & slower with the FWs.
Shorter shaft & extra loft of 5 wood = more control/consistent contact/extra distance (for me).
 
For a long time.

4W is better for most amateurs. 3W is a b*tch for most to hit, and hit well.
 
Is it better to have a 5 wood adjusted for 4 wood loft or a 3 wood adjusted for a 4 wood loft?
 
I switched from 3 and 5 woods years ago for a 16.5 fixed hosel 4 wood and either 7w or 3H. (Several brands.) Allowed me to be more confident off the deck and to put an extra wedge in the bag. Till earlier this year I was using a G400 16* "3 wood" (that I considered a 4w) and drppoed the 3H in 2018 for just a 7W.

Some HL 3 woods are 16 or 17 degrees but fall in that category but often have longer shafts. Titliest now makes a 16.5 fairway. I'm now using a Ping G 5 wood at 17.5 opened to 16.5, so it's esseentially what I would call a 4 wood. The "loft adjustment " only is relevant if you return the club to square at impact though, otherwise it's just a face angle adjustment.

Really I'm hitting my G 7 wood set at 19.5 almost as far as the "5w" at my slow swingspeed. I feel I can "go after it" a bit more, maybe just from the shorter and slightly firmer-feeling shaft (both Alta 65 Regular).
 
kappa1032 said:
Is it better to have a 5 wood adjusted for 4 wood loft or a 3 wood adjusted for a 4 wood loft?
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I go for the 5w de-lofted for a shorter shaft as easier to hit and as I don't like a closed head, which will happen if you go up in loft with a single cog adapter.

On the other hand, if your miss is a slice you might want to go up in loft with a 3W. Or better yet, if you can, find a fixed loft brand 16.5 or 17 club with square head and shaft that fits you. Off the top of my head Tour Edge, Callaway, Taylormade and Titleist (TS2) make fixed hosel 16.5 or 17 degree clubs, some may be non-current models. Also earlier Ping ones. I played the G25 16.5 4 wood for a couple of years; length is 43" same as the 3 wood.
 
myspinonit said:
I go for the 5w de-lofted for a shorter shaft as easier to hit and as I don't like a closed head, which will happen if you go up in loft with a single cog adapter.

On the other hand, if your miss is a slice you might want to go up in loft with a 3W. Or better yet, if you can, find a fixed loft brand 16.5 or 17 club with square head and shaft that fits you. Off the top of my head Tour Edge, Callaway, Taylormade and Titleist (TS2) make fixed hosel 16.5 or 17 degree clubs, some may be non-current models. Also earlier Ping ones. I played the G25 16.5 4 wood for a couple of years; length is 43" same as the 3 wood.
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Thanks for the insight. I'm now not sure if my 3 wood order was the best decision since my miss is a pull. I didn't realize that going up on loft closes the head, which I probably should have known..luckily I have 90 days to swap it out with something else if it doesn't work out.
 
kappa1032 said:
Thanks for the insight. I'm now not sure if my 3 wood order was the best decision since my miss is a pull. I didn't realize that going up on loft closes the head, which I probably should have known..luckily I have 90 days to swap it out with something else if it doesn't work out.
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I was thinking buying G410 5 wood at 17.5° and cranking it down to 16°. Has a 42.5” shaft.


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Pingnome said:
I was thinking buying G410 5 wood at 17.5° and cranking it down to 16°. Has a 42.5” shaft.
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Would love to hear feedback if you end up going that route - I'm going the opposite way (3 wood lofting up to 16 or 17 deg), seriously considering going back and changing mind.
 
I have an Callaway 816 16* head that I play at 15* that I really like. Maybe it is the slightly shorter shaft but even with the head opened up i get a consistent straight ball flight


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kappa1032 said:
I'm curious to see if anybody's had this experience. I've only been able to hit the 3 wood off the tee since I can never seem to get it in the air off the turf consistently, most likely due to my low swing speed.

I've heard that some have had better success going with a 4 wood instead but don't know anybody personally that's done that. Would love to hear thoughts and/or experiences in making the switch.
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Off the ground I prefer 4-wood to 3-wood. But mostly I play my fairway woods off of tee boxes, so for that my preference is 3-wood because the 4-wood tends to fly too high for the type of tee box shots I want. If I had room in the bag I would carry both a 3 and 4 wood.
 
I have done it multiple times. It has never been a permanent fix for me, but the times I have a 4w in the bag, I never feel like I am sacrificing something.
 
I did this about 5 years ago. I was have the worst time hitting a 3 wood. Switched to an X2 Hot 4 wood and found that I was able to at least get it in the air off the deck. It wasn't really any shorter off the tee than my 3 wood either. I have since regained the ability to hit a 3 wood off the deck, but wouldn't hesitate to go with a 4 wood again should I lose that again.
 
I recently removed my 14.5 degree 3 wood and adjusted my 5 wood down to 17 degrees with the weight forward, then I added a 19 degree hybrid to fill the gap, I like the setup for the most part, but I do miss the 3-wood on some of the short par-4s.

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Pingnome said:
I was thinking buying G410 5 wood at 17.5° and cranking it down to 16°. Has a 42.5” shaft.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I read where some folks have also gone with the longer 3 wood shaft. Not for me though. Firstly it adds about 3 points swingweight and I'm sensitive to that, plus I think shorter for better contact is better. Hopefully you can demo the options, including the non-standard shaft options.
 
I play 3W and 5W, but my buddy switched to a 4W this year.

Out of curiosity, I tried his 4W on a long par 3 one day and I ended up with a birdie so I'm open to it. LOL.
 
Best to use lofts when referring to fairway metals. It is not unusual for 3- and 4-metals to have the same loft or with the 4-metal with a stronger loft. Same with the 4- and 5- metals.
 
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