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Fairway wood shaft weight, heavier or lighter?

Nippon Shafts
Castor Hades

Castor Hades

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I've got a serious ponder on my future 5-wood shaft, and I can't figure out which way to go.
Sure a fitting will help, but ponder is nice and I don't want to exclude anything just because I think it's not ok.

I usually have 60-68 gram driver shaft, and I've never been a good fairway wood player, so I'm thinking 5-wood instead of a 3-wood. (1 hybrid is enough).

Is there any reason why a 50g shaft would be worse than a 70 gram shaft?

Usually the FW shafts are 10 grams or so heavier than drivers? What do you guys use?
 
We went heavier during my fitting last week. I believe it was around 75 grams
 
Never tried a shaft that light in a FW. Have you? Could be an interesting experiment.
 
It depends I believe most on your consistently. A heavier shaft will be more consistent. If you have no issues playing fairway woods, it would provide a bit of distance going lighter.
 
During my fitting in Carlsbad it was actually reccomended that I got with the same exact shaft I was getting in my driver, but tipped an inch.

His reasoning is that I was going with a 18.5 5Deep rather than a 3 wood, so tipping it would lower the flight a bit while allowing me to maintain a a slightly higher swing speed with the 72 gram shaft vs the 82 gram shaft.
 
Presently my 4w shaft is 85g, about 10g heavier than driver. I had played a Nunchuk which is over 100g, I prefer the heavier feel, I'm more consistent with them. The 85g shaft is the lightest I've played in a FW in a long time.
 
I've played 75g and now 65g weighted shafts in my 3W, I prefer the 65g. It gives me enough heft, but also nets me a few more yards than the heavier shaft.
 
Thanks guys...70 gram it is.. :)
 
I prefer them about 10 grams lighter than my Driver shaft and heavier than Hybrids
 
Reviving a very old thread...

I was fitted at CC for my driver and FW. Recommended Driver shaft was Oban Devotion 75, raw weight 75g @46”. For the FW, the recommendation was Paderson KG-860F, raw weight 65g @43”.

One usually sees the same weight or heavier weight for the FW so I wanted to hear from others who have had similar fitting experience or are playing FW shafts that are lighter than their driver.
 
Had this discussion today with a fitter and my local pro as I’m planning on buying my first 5 wood.

Summary I got was this: you should increase your shaft weight from your Driver upwards with about 10g between each until you get to your irons.

They also advised that you should try and stay with the same shaft in the fairway woods so that you have a consistent kick point and feel and the only real change is the loft.

I know nothing about shafts so please don’t crucify me shaft gurus.

I have found a used 5 wood with the heavier shaft of my current driver and three wood so I might give it a go unless someone on THP can convince me it’s the worst idea ever.


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Yeah I've always gone heavier on the fairway woods. My driver shaft is 68g, and both my fairway woods have the same 76g shaft in them. Hybrid is 92g. Works out great.
 
Would not use a 50g shaft if you are using a 60-68 for driver.

i use a 53g shaft for driver, 55g for 3-4 wood, and a 65g shaft for 5 wood - the 5wd is about my favorite club at D0 and 42.5 in.

Whatever you can hit consistently and get the launch and spin you want. I like the 5wd to go over trees.
 
I'll surmise that shaft weight is large dependent on desired club length. If you're ok with your fairway wood being a little longer than "normal", then go with the same weight shaft in it as your driver (if that's the case, then you'd likely wanna go with the same brand/model shaft, too). If you want it to play to a more "normal" fairway wood length, then go a little heavier on the shaft. If you want it to play fairly short, then you might need to go a little heavier still.

I'm not sure why anyone would wanna go with a lighter fairway wood shaft than their driver shaft. Not saying it can't be done, just saying I'm not sure what the logic (if any) behind it would be.
 
BigBear said:
Had this discussion today with a fitter and my local pro as I’m planning on buying my first 5 wood.

Summary I got was this: you should increase your shaft weight from your Driver upwards with about 10g between each until you get to your irons.

They also advised that you should try and stay with the same shaft in the fairway woods so that you have a consistent kick point and feel and the only real change is the loft.

I know nothing about shafts so please don’t crucify me shaft gurus.
Click to expand...

Not sure I qualify as a guru, but I forgot my cross anyway so you're safe. :clown:

You said, "...you should increase your shaft weight from your Driver upwards with about 10g between each until you get to your irons.", but then said, "... you should try and stay with the same shaft in the fairway woods..."

So, which is it? If you're playing D, 3wd, 5wd, should they have 60g, 70g, and 80g shafts or 60g, 70g, and 70g?

For the record, I'm not sure which way I'd lean.

I have found a used 5 wood with the heavier shaft of my current driver and three wood so I might give it a go unless someone on THP can convince me it’s the worst idea ever.


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Click to expand...

There's no such thing as "the worst idea ever". As soon as you think something is the worst idea ever, you'll see someone bag clubs following that concept and shoot even par. To each his own. Play whatever you play well.
 
KingSinghUNLTD said:
Reviving a very old thread...

I was fitted at CC for my driver and FW. Recommended Driver shaft was Oban Devotion 75, raw weight 75g @46”. For the FW, the recommendation was Paderson KG-860F, raw weight 65g @43”.

One usually sees the same weight or heavier weight for the FW so I wanted to hear from others who have had similar fitting experience or are playing FW shafts that are lighter than their driver.
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with either of those, but I will say one thing. If the FW shaft is 65g @ 43" raw, then if it were 46" like the driver shaft, then itd be a bit close to the same weight. Probably not another 10g in that last 3", but it'd close the gap a bit. Maybe someone will chime in with experience with those two shafts. Did you ask the fitter?
 
OGputtnfool said:
I'm not familiar with either of those, but I will say one thing. If the FW shaft is 65g @ 43" raw, then if it were 46" like the driver shaft, then itd be a bit close to the same weight. Probably not another 10g in that last 3", but it'd close the gap a bit. Maybe someone will chime in with experience with those two shafts. Did you ask the fitter?
Click to expand...

Didn’t ask during the fitting as I didn’t want to look at the shafts and potentially influence my swing. I left it to the fitter. When I buying the shaft (too expensive to go through CC), I saw the specs and emailed the fitter, twice, and got no response.

Going to install the shaft next week. Just want to see what knowledgeable forum members have to share about their experience.
 
OGputtnfool said:
Not sure I qualify as a guru, but I forgot my cross anyway so you're safe. :clown:

You said, "...you should increase your shaft weight from your Driver upwards with about 10g between each until you get to your irons.", but then said, "... you should try and stay with the same shaft in the fairway woods..."

So, which is it? If you're playing D, 3wd, 5wd, should they have 60g, 70g, and 80g shafts or 60g, 70g, and 70g?

For the record, I'm not sure which way I'd lean.



There's no such thing as "the worst idea ever". As soon as you think something is the worst idea ever, you'll see someone bag clubs following that concept and shoot even par. To each his own. Play whatever you play well.
Click to expand...

My confusion is as big as yours?

Club fitters advise: 60 - 70 - 80 same brand

Local Pro (actually 2 of them): 60 - 70 - 70 same brand

I can see the logic in both. Was hoping the THP’s web of combined knowledge could shed some light.

Added to this the Expensive clubfitter had a £240 shaft in my hand and was trying to flog me 2 of them in less than 5 minutes from arrival. He at least popped me onto GC quad and had a look at my swing and numbers.

The Local pros was more of a discussion than them actively trying to make things better.

I would say this: I would trust the clubfitter more as shafts are there main income and USP to the customer.





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Depends on the club for me. I play 60-65 in my driver usually. Now in my 5W I'm using a 75g shaft, but in my 3W it depends on the club. I'll play a 65ish shaft in 3W if it feels good and the SW is better. 3W is mostly a tee club for me. Right now my F8 has a 75 in it, but I'm getting ready to try a 65 to see if that changes anything. Plus my backup 3W (RBZ S2) has a 60ish gram shaft in it and I hit that pretty well when my swing is 3W friendly.
 
Honestly, I don't think the shaft weight itself matters as much as the swingweight. I've played around alot with different shaft weights and swingweights. I have found for me that I can play any weight shaft as long as the swingweight feels good. With driver for some reason, I prefer a much lighter swingweight than I do with fairway woods. My driver is set at D1, and my woods are all at D3-D4. Of course, the heavier the shaft (depending on the balance of the shaft) will require more head weight to get the same swingweight. Same with the grip. Heavier grip will require more weight in the head to get the same feel.
 
BigBear said:
My confusion is as big as yours?

Club fitters advise: 60 - 70 - 80 same brand

Local Pro (actually 2 of them): 60 - 70 - 70 same brand

I can see the logic in both. Was hoping the THP’s web of combined knowledge could shed some light.

Added to this the Expensive clubfitter had a £240 shaft in my hand and was trying to flog me 2 of them in less than 5 minutes from arrival. He at least popped me onto GC quad and had a look at my swing and numbers.

The Local pros was more of a discussion than them actively trying to make things better.

I would say this: I would trust the clubfitter more as shafts are there main income and USP to the customer.





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Click to expand...

Use any driver shaft that fits in terms of spin, launch, yardage and it need not resemble the fairway shaft - the driver is on a tee, so forget the driver shaft in terms of fairways.

With a fairway, you want some launch and spin to get that ball off the turf - it may need to be heavier for more swing stability and to deal with the beating it takes when hitting the ground sometimes slightly before the ball

I look for a fairway shaft that is made for fairway use - typically it has a softer tip for launch but has some weight - as stated previously, I play a driver shaft at 53g because that's a good weight for me combined with a D5 swingweight for heft at the end of the stick. But for a fairway, I'm going slightly heavier with a softer tip but with a torque still low enough but feels soft enough through the ball so I don't need to think that I need to swing out of my shoes, and play a D0 swingweight - weird game.
 
kevin81002 said:
Honestly, I don't think the shaft weight itself matters as much as the swingweight. I've played around alot with different shaft weights and swingweights. I have found for me that I can play any weight shaft as long as the swingweight feels good. With driver for some reason, I prefer a much lighter swingweight than I do with fairway woods. My driver is set at D1, and my woods are all at D3-D4. Of course, the heavier the shaft (depending on the balance of the shaft) will require more head weight to get the same swingweight. Same with the grip. Heavier grip will require more weight in the head to get the same feel.
Click to expand...

I guess that’s why the swing weight is D4 for the FW. Giving it a try, let’s see how it works out.
 
Desmond said:
Use any driver shaft that fits in terms of spin, launch, yardage and it need not resemble the fairway shaft - the driver is on a tee, so forget the driver shaft in terms of fairways.

With a fairway, you want some launch and spin to get that ball off the turf - it may need to be heavier for more swing stability and to deal with the beating it takes when hitting the ground sometimes slightly before the ball

I look for a fairway shaft that is made for fairway use - typically it has a softer tip for launch but has some weight - as stated previously, I play a driver shaft at 53g because that's a good weight for me combined with a D5 swingweight for heft at the end of the stick. But for a fairway, I'm going slightly heavier with a softer tip but with a torque still low enough but feels soft enough through the ball so I don't need to think that I need to swing out of my shoes, and play a D0 swingweight - weird game.
Click to expand...

Waiting for the FW shaft to come in and hopefully the weird weight setup works wonderfully.
 
kevin81002 said:
Honestly, I don't think the shaft weight itself matters as much as the swingweight. I've played around alot with different shaft weights and swingweights. I have found for me that I can play any weight shaft as long as the swingweight feels good. With driver for some reason, I prefer a much lighter swingweight than I do with fairway woods. My driver is set at D1, and my woods are all at D3-D4. Of course, the heavier the shaft (depending on the balance of the shaft) will require more head weight to get the same swingweight. Same with the grip. Heavier grip will require more weight in the head to get the same feel.
Click to expand...

If the balance points of the shafts, the head weight, and the grip weight are identical, then a heavier shaft will yield a higher swingweight.
 
My fw shaft is 10 grams more then my driver. Seems to be working out better then I thought it would.


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