Ping G400 3 wood vs Stretch

Hello I only use my G400 3 wood 14.5* off the tee. Was thinking of switching to a 13* Stretch.
Anyone play of compare the two? Thank you

Landy said:

Hello I only use my G400 3 wood 14.5* off the tee. Was thinking of switching to a 13* Stretch.
Anyone play of compare the two? Thank you

Click to expand...

Do you ever swing a driver or is the 3 wood the longest club within your bag ?

DG_1234 said:

Do you ever swing a driver or is the 3 wood the longest club within your bag ?

Click to expand...

Would like to hear where you’re going with this and your rationale behind it since like the OP I too have been thinking about best club for a 2nd tee option.

Just went ahead and purchased one. I have a few shafts to play with. Rogue silver, Kuro Kage and Accra CS1.
I carry a g400 Max with a Speeder V 9* but play it to the small + so at 9.6*.

I currently own both. I did a comparison during the summer with them and the stretch is a monster off the tee. Very penetrating ball flight with lots of roll out. It was only about 10-15 yards shorter then my Max set at 9*. When comparing the stretch to the regular 3 wood the stretch was about 20 yards longer. The only downside is hitting the stretch off the deck is a challenge. The latter was the reason why I sold the stretch and kept the regular 3 wood. I was hoping the regular 3 wood would help me off the deck on longer par 5’s but the past few months I realized I can’t hit a wood off the deck for the life of me. I score better laying up so I now have my regular G400 3 wood for sale and have a G400 stretch on its way. My course has some tight par 4’s where the stretch would benefit my game.

what is a stretch ? never seen it ..

Pings stronger lofted 3 wood @ 13*

KingSinghUNLTD said:

Would like to hear where you’re going with this and your rationale behind it since like the OP I too have been thinking about best club for a 2nd tee option.

Click to expand...

If a player has a driver within the bag I think a 15* to 17* fairway, (call it 3 wood or 4 wood), makes good sense.
A 15* 3 wood makes an excellent "second driver". In fact , plenty of Tour pros and top level players will swing a 15* 3 metal off more tee boxes than they do a driver. For example, depending on the course, out of 14 par 4 or 5 tee boxes it may make good sense to swing 15* 3 wood off of 6 to 10 tee boxes and driver off of only 2 to 5 tee boxes.
A 13* fairway is essentially a 2-wood, and I think that club makes good sense if the player does not have a driver within the bag.
If a player has a both a driver and 2 wood within the bag he usually can't resist swinging driver so the 2 wood receives little play. Also, off the ground a 2-wood does not make good sense except from a perfect level lie.
In general terms I really, really like the idea of playing 2 wood or 3 wood off of tee boxes. The challenge for most players, though, is that if driver is in the bag they can't resist swinging it so the 2 or 3 wood never receives enough play from he tee boxes. The most practical solution to this issue is take driver out of the bag, but players don't want to do that.

DG_1234 said:

If a player has a driver within the bag I think a 15* to 17* fairway, (call it 3 wood or 4 wood), makes good sense.
A 15* 3 wood makes an excellent "second driver". In fact , plenty of Tour pros and top level players will swing a 15* 3 metal off more tee boxes than they do a driver. For example, depending on the course, out of 14 par 4 or 5 tee boxes it may make good sense to swing 15* 3 wood off of 6 to 10 tee boxes and driver off of only 2 to 5 tee boxes.
A 13* fairway is essentially a 2-wood, and I think that club makes good sense if the player does not have a driver within the bag.
If a player has a both a driver and 2 wood within the bag he usually can't resist swinging driver so the 2 wood receives little play. Also, off the ground a 2-wood does not make good sense except from a perfect level lie.
In general terms I really, really like the idea of playing 2 wood or 3 wood off of tee boxes. The challenge for most players, though, is that if driver is in the bag they can't resist swinging it so the 2 or 3 wood never receives enough play from he tee boxes. The most practical solution to this issue is take driver out of the bag, but players don't want to do that.

Click to expand...

Thanks, this makes perfect sense. I use my 15* 3 wood whenever it makes sense based on the hole, likely 4-5 times a round. I try and avoid using it off the deck, immediately regret it if I do the 1 time I try to every 2-3 rounds. Invariably the 5 wood is a better option off the deck.

Like the OP, I am now thinking whether a 2 wood is a better option for my bag since it will only be used to tee off. An additional benefit would be that a 3 wood off the deck will not be an option saving me a few shots.

In this scenario, where the FW is only used as a second tee option 4-5 times a round (never off the deck), what are your thoughts on:

1. 13* vs 15* FW. Any benefits of going with a 15* or some pros and cons to think about when deciding.

2. Would it make sense to use the same shaft as the driver for a tee only FW? I was fitted for my driver and it has performed very well for me over the last 3 yrs. Or is the tee-off FW a unique animal that requires a separate fitting?

KingSinghUNLTD said:

Thanks, this makes perfect sense. I use my 15* 3 wood whenever it makes sense based on the hole, likely 4-5 times a round. I try and avoid using it off the deck, immediately regret it if I do the 1 time I try to every 2-3 rounds. Invariably the 5 wood is a better option off the deck.

Like the OP, I am now thinking whether a 2 wood is a better option for my bag since it will only be used to tee off. An additional benefit would be that a 3 wood off the deck will not be an option saving me a few shots.

In this scenario, where the FW is only used as a second tee option 4-5 times a round (never off the deck), what are your thoughts on:

1. 13* vs 15* FW. Any benefits of going with a 15* or some pros and cons to think about when deciding.

2. Would it make sense to use the same shaft as the driver for a tee only FW? I was fitted for my driver and it has performed very well for me over the last 3 yrs. Or is the tee-off FW a unique animal that requires a separate fitting?

Click to expand...

In general terms, I am not a fan of modern 12* or 13* loft 3 metal fairways because that low of a loft is not as consistently accurate as a 15* 3 metal.
It's true that a 13* 3 metal, when struck precisely with square, quality ball contact, will travel longer than a 15* 3 metal. However. achieving consistent square contact with any club is a challenge.
20 years ago, when 8* and 9* loft drivers were fairly common, I think many players recognized they could on occasion strike their longest drives with the low lofted heads. However, when slightly mishit, the low lofted drivers tended to produce shots either well left or well right of target. So, to get more consistent accuracy, most players inevitably gravitate to a more forgiving driver loft of 9.5* to 10.5*.
Head size is relevant as well. For conversation, let's call a modern 3 metal 200CC head size. At that size 15* for most players produces shots with a good balance of spin, trajectory, bounce and roll,accuracy, overall distance etc... However when swinging a 200CC 12* or 13* head the accuracy is much less consistent than with a 15* head.
For driver heads of 430CC to 460CC head size, I think most players have found that lofting up to 12* , while accurate, produces too much spin, too soft a landing, almost no bounce and roll, and too short of overall distance. When players go down to 8* loft (for a 430Cc to 460CC driver head), they usually find accuracy is too much compromised.
The above is why I think, factoring in both accuracy and distance, modern driver heads of 450CC work best for most players at a loft of 9* to 10.5* and modern 3 metal fairway metals of about 200CC with loft of 15* to 16*.
If the question is "should a player use 13* strong 3 wood or driver"? I think most players would find they strike a 10.5* 450CC driver consistently straighter than they do a 200CC 13* strong 3 metal fairway.And most players insist on having a driver in the bag, so that alone I think settles the debate between driver and strong 3.
If the question is "should a player carry a 13* or 15* fairway metal"? I expect most players would find that the 15* is significantly easier with which to strike accurate shots.

KingSinghUNLTD said:

2. Would it make sense to use the same shaft as the driver for a tee only FW? I was fitted for my driver and it has performed very well for me over the last 3 yrs. Or is the tee-off FW a unique animal that requires a separate fitting?

Click to expand...

Regarding shaft (s), a fairway metal is typically shafted at about 1.5" to 2" shorter length than a driver. For conversation, call the driver length 45" and the 3 metal fairway 43".
While driver heads typically weight about 12 to 15 grams less than a 3 metal fairway head, the difference in shaft length usually dictates that a shaft for a 3 metal fairway be roughly 10 grams heavierthan one's driver shaft.
Like most players, you might find that a 65 gram shaft works well for your driver but that you prefer a 75 gram shaft for your fairway metals.
In addition to shaft weight differences, many players find they prefer the shafts playing profile of their fairway metals to be a bit different from their driver. For example, it's common for graphite shaft producers to make fairway shafts to be a touch softer character (to assist with gaining higher trajectory). This "shaft profile" decision , more so than shaft weight, is one which varies from player to player. Some players like their fairway shaft's to play more stout-rigid than their drivers, and others have the opposite preference. My own preference is to try and stay with the same brand of shaft, but maybe choose a different model shaft , with a slightly different profile and playing characteristic, for the driver versus fairway metal.
Whichever brand driver shaft you like, for your 3 metal fairway you might try that same brand-model in a 10 gram heavier version. Or, see if your driver's shaft brand offers another model or two which that company considers to be especially suitable for fairway metals.

DG_1234 said:

Regarding shaft (s), a fairway metal is typically shafted at about 1.5" to 2" shorter length than a driver. For conversation, call the driver length 45" and the 3 metal fairway 43".
While driver heads typically weight about 12 to 15 grams more than a 3 metal fairway head, the difference in shaft length usually dictates that a shaft for a 3 metal fairway be roughly 10 grams heavierthan one's driver shaft.
Like most players, you might find that a 65 gram shaft works well for your driver but that you prefer a 75 gram shaft for your fairway metals.
In addition to shaft weight differences, many players find they prefer the shafts playing profile of their fairway metals to be a bit different from their driver. For example, it's common for graphite shaft producers to make fairway shafts to be a touch softer character (to assist with gaining higher trajectory). This "shaft profile" decision , more so than shaft weight, is one which varies from player to player. Some players like their fairway shaft's to play more stout-rigid than their drivers, and others have the opposite preference. My own preference is to try and stay with the same brand of shaft, but maybe choose a different model shaft , with a slightly different profile and playing characteristic, for the driver versus fairway metal.
Whichever brand driver shaft you like, for your 3 metal fairway you might try that same brand-model in a 10 gram heavier version. Or, see if your driver's shaft brand offers another model or two which that company considers to be especially suitable for fairway metals.

Click to expand...

Great information. Thank you for taking the time to write such detailed responses.

KingSinghUNLTD said:

Great information. Thank you for taking the time to write such detailed responses.

Click to expand...

I read my reply to you and noticed a typo regarding driver head weight vs 3 metal fairway head weight. The driver has a lighter head.
But, your interest is in shafts, and for that subject it's true that having a 10 gram or so heavier fairway shaft (compared to the shaft within your driver) is most common.

DG_1234 said:

I read my reply to you and noticed a typo regarding driver head weight vs 3 metal fairway head weight. The driver has a lighter head.
But, your interest is in shafts, and for that subject it's true that having a 10 gram or so heavier fairway shaft (compared to the shaft within your driver) is most common.

Click to expand...

Will need to do some testing on the shaft weight. Club Champion fit me into a 75 gm driver shaft (I feel 70 gm is the sweet spot for me). I’ve tried some 83-85 gm shafts in my FW and find they’re too heavy and hard work. Trying one closer to 80 gm right now and another one that’s 75 gm. So far liking the feel of the 75 gm much better. Need to get on a good launch monitor and get the numbers.

Going to stick with the 15* head.

KingSinghUNLTD said:

Will need to do some testing on the shaft weight. Club Champion fit me into a 75 gm driver shaft (I feel 70 gm is the sweet spot for me). I’ve tried some 83-85 gm shafts in my FW and find they’re too heavy and hard work. Trying one closer to 80 gm right now and another one that’s 75 gm. So far liking the feel of the 75 gm much better. Need to get on a good launch monitor and get the numbers.

Going to stick with the 15* head.

Click to expand...

If you are getting driver shot results you like, and enjoy swinging a 75 gram driver shaft there is absolutely nothing wrong with having 75 gram weight for your fairway shafts as well.
I don't believe you've posted the length of your driver , but 65 gram became a popular driver shaft weight only when drivers started being assembled at 45" or longer.
Players who prefer swinging a 44" driver often find they like 75 weight driver shafts.

DG_1234 said:

If you are getting driver shot results you like, and enjoy swinging a 75 gram driver shaft there is absolutely nothing wrong with having 75 gram weight for your fairway shafts as well.
I don't believe you've posted the length of your driver , but 65 gram became a popular driver shaft weight only when drivers started being assembled at 45" or longer.
Players who prefer swinging a 44" driver often find they like 75 weight driver shafts.

Click to expand...

Driver length is 45” and I don’t find it overly long (I’m 6’4” and have been fit into 38” 7i at multiple fittings). During the fitting my swing speed increased with shafts in the 70-75 gm range and tempo became a lot more consistent so fitter said that was likely the sweet spot for me. I may play around with the swing weight some with 75 gm shaft in the FW. Don’t know what it is and also don’t know the total static weight of the club.