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The 2nd Driver Experiment

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JB

JB

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As many THPers have read over the last 2 years or so, I have dropped my 3 wood for a 2nd driver. The 2nd driver is shorter in length, shallower in profile and a head that has more spin to it overall. Some have scoffed at the notion, but honestly I am not sure I will ever change the setup. More forgiveness and a club I hit far more often than the 3 wood it replaced.

While at lunch today, THPer Mward and I were discussing this setup and I explained to him that he is the perfect example of someone that would benefit from it. He carries both a 3 wood and 5 wood, and for the most part, his 3 wood is only used off the tee, because he hits his 5 wood very well off the deck.

So with that, an experiment was started and will be tested out by him over the next couple of months. We gave him a couple of shafts that we cut down and he will play with the same driver head, but switch shafts in between shots for the time being. His regular Callaway Epic Sub Zero at 45" and a second one at 43".

This thread will be for his experiment findings as well as questions and conversation about doing this as a whole.
 
You know, this means we can call the short driver a "Wardy" Driver now.

Perfect.
 
This is going to be fun to follow!
 
so can we get the specifics of the shaft/head configurations?
 
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If I were you I would never change that set up, it worked great for you. I don't think you missed a fairway with that driver when I played with you.
 
Oooohhhh I’m looking forward to following this one. I was 100% converted when I saw it in action a month ago


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I loved your short driver when I hit it the other day - looks forward to this follow.


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Sounds like a fun experiment. Mward and I are a lot alike, just different woods. Your setup might be good for me as well.
 
With your results JB I’m really eager to see how it works for MWard. I suspect he’ll have good results.
 
The idea makes a lot of sense.
 
JB said:
His regular Callaway Epic Sub Zero at 45" and a second one at 43".
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am i reading that the wardy driver will also be a sub zero? a spin killer seems like a different direction than you went with your setup.
 
So, I’m assuming he doesn’t hit a 3 wood that well off the deck but will hit a shallow faced driver better??? I’m confused!
 
First off, this experiment sounds like it could be a lot of fun.

The shaft being used is a bit TBD for the moment, as the test shaft has a damaged tip and we're seeing if it can be salvaged to fit in an adapter, or if we need a better set of experienced clubmaker hands be able to sand it down enough for it to fit without damaging the integrity of the shaft.

The testing is basically going to go something like this on holes where it's a hesitation due to tightness off the tee, length, whatever the case may be.: Hit normal 3w, then basically pop in the shorter shaft into my driver at the same settings, and see what happens. The biggest question is gonna be what distance loss or gain there is, any accuracy increase or decrease, and then what I'm curious the most about: is the shorter driver viable off of the deck or light rough like the 3w can be?
 
c.a.eleric said:
am i reading that the wardy driver will also be a sub zero? a spin killer seems like a different direction than you went with your setup.
Click to expand...

Different, but very forgiving is a help. To start with he only has the single head so until that changes he has to go this route.


RNG said:
So, I’m assuming he doesn’t hit a 3 wood that well off the deck but will hit a shallow faced driver better??? I’m confused!
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No, he has a 5 wood he hits great off the deck. He rarely if ever hits the 3 wood in that spot. Like most honestly.
 
Looking forward to how it goes for Wardy. I know for me it's always been a failed experiment, I've tried 42 and 43 and inevitably I hit my 3w better and with more confidence. But, I'm a freak and can own it.
 
Jman said:
Looking forward to how it goes for Wardy. I know for me it's always been a failed experiment, I've tried 42 and 43 and inevitably I hit my 3w better and with more confidence. But, I'm a freak and can own it.
Click to expand...

It was an interesting debate. I'm honestly not sure which way it'll go, cause I'm hitting 3w really well right now on top of it? It'll be a fun experiment nevertheless.
 
MWard said:
It was an interesting debate. I'm honestly not sure which way it'll go, cause I'm hitting 3w really well right now on top of it? It'll be a fun experiment nevertheless.
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Experiments are always fun.
 
That should be really fun. I hit 3 wood mostly off the tee also so I'm curious to see how it goes.
 
KEV said:
That should be really fun. I hit 3 wood mostly off the tee also so I'm curious to see how it goes.
Click to expand...

If done right, it’s going to offer more forgiveness without a doubt.
 
Any idea on what it'll swing weight out to going from the 45 to the 43 in an unaltered head?
 
Jman said:
Any idea on what it'll swing weight out to going from the 45 to the 43 in an unaltered head?
Click to expand...

Good question, not something I had put much thought into since it's going to go into my gamer driver back and forth for the time being.
 
MWard said:
Good question, not something I had put much thought into since it's going to go into my gamer driver back and forth for the time being.
Click to expand...
It's a cool thought given that kick ass UST vid that went up last week.

I look forward to following buddy.
 
JB said:
If done right, it’s going to offer more forgiveness without a doubt.
Click to expand...

Do you use yours off the fairway at all and if you do what have your results been?
 
I am really intrigued by this experiment. I’m working on adding shorter driver to my bag also since I only have 13 clubs in my bag. I have 10.5* R11s that have 5wood shaft in it but I’m looking at little heavier shaft than 65g.
How much weight you would need in the head to off set the shorter shaft? That’s a lot a lead tapes.


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