Pros & Cons of Driving Iron vs. 5-Wood

[hoselpalooza]

let's assume you hit these clubs equally well and don't care about forgiveness. loft and distance are similar. 

which do you put in your bag and why? 

what would cause you to swap one out for the other?

thanks!

[Casualgolfer]

You just took all the variables out of why you would choose one over the other lol. However for me it would be address... I like the iron better 

[hoselpalooza]

1 minute ago, Casualgolfer said:

You just took all the variables out of why you would choose one over the other lol. However for me it would be address... I like the iron better 

heh i get what you're saying. 😉 

besides distance and forgiveness i'm wondering if people find (e.g.) one club more workable or better for certain types of course or playing conditions, different lies, etc.

i guess i mainly just want to check my assumptions against feedback from people who game or have gamed both clubs. i have an iron myself and really like it, but some recent deals on callaway preowned 5-woods have piqued my interest and i've started to wonder if i'm missing out on a useful option for certain situations.

hope this makes it easier for people to chime in if they'd like. 

[Piz]

5 wood for me.  I found one I really like a few years back and that settled it.  The only driving iron still in residence is an old Cobra Baffler that fell victim to the hybrid insurgency.  

[Vinsk]

Club of choice:

[hoselpalooza]

40 minutes ago, Piz said:

5 wood for me.  I found one I really like a few years back and that settled it.  The only driving iron still in residence is an old Cobra Baffler that fell victim to the hybrid insurgency.  

@Piz, anything in particular you could share about why you chose 5-wood?

7 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Club of choice:

@Vinsk, this is great! perhaps one day after i've completed my never-ending todo list i'll come up with and stamp unique names on each of my irons. 😄

[mdl]

I've never used a driving iron or a 5w, so what do I know?!  Maybe one consideration is trajectory?  So, on a windy course or a hard one where you'll get tons of roll out with a low piercing shot, you'd prefer driving iron, and in calm and softer conditions, you'd prefer the 5w with the higher trajectory?

[hoselpalooza]

2 minutes ago, mdl said:

I've never used a driving iron or a 5w, so what do I know?!  Maybe one consideration is trajectory?  So, on a windy course or a hard one where you'll get tons of roll out with a low piercing shot, you'd prefer driving iron, and in calm and softer conditions, you'd prefer the 5w with the higher trajectory?

yeah, this makes intuitive sense. wondering if there are people who opt for the 5-wood in these conditions and just hit stingers or lower trajectory shots to get the ball down. e.g. even if it's windy are there still good reasons to use the 5w instead of the DI?

[Sandy Divot]

5 wood for me. I am not a high ball hitter, and the 5 wood would be easier to get in the air. Also, I could not choose a club without considering forgiveness.

[klineka]

Here is a video of a mini tour guy who loves driving irons and has gamed a 2 iron for years testing out a 5 wood.

Towards the beginning, the fitter talks about some advantages of the 5 wood including spin and descent angle especially if it is a club that will be used for approaches into par 5s.

 

[Piz]

@hoselpalooza  The 5 wood competed, for quite some time, with a 17 degree hybrid.  The hybrid flights the ball lower and was a better choice in windy conditions or in situations where more roll out was preferable to less.  The courses I play, however, favor less roll out than more...lots of dog legs and lots of holes where carry is more important than total distance.  The 5 wood stops sooner.  If I played on more open courses, where roll out was a good thing, I'm certain my opinion would be different.  For me...it comes down to where do you play and what tools do you want in your kit.  Not saying one is better than the other; just that the bag winds up being the bag depending on what works in a given situation.

[hoselpalooza]

@klineka, thank you, i appreciate you sharing this.

as for approaching long par 5s, last time i had a lesson we looked at numbers for the 2i on flightscope and iirc the descent angle was in the low-/mid-40* range. the pro suggested the 2i was a good club for this.

however, it seems like the best thing to do would be to pick up a 5-wood to do a side-by-side comparison. i'm a lot more keen to do a test now than i was before starting this thread. thank you all!

[hoselpalooza]

15 minutes ago, Piz said:

@hoselpalooza  The 5 wood competed, for quite some time, with a 17 degree hybrid.  The hybrid flights the ball lower and was a better choice in windy conditions or in situations where more roll out was preferable to less.  The courses I play, however, favor less roll out than more...lots of dog legs and lots of holes where carry is more important than total distance.  The 5 wood stops sooner.  If I played on more open courses, where roll out was a good thing, I'm certain my opinion would be different.  For me...it comes down to where do you play and what tools do you want in your kit.  Not saying one is better than the other; just that the bag winds up being the bag depending on what works in a given situation.

@Piz, this is exactly the kind of feedback i was hoping to receive. thank you!

coincidentally, i just completed a range session with gusty wind, and when it was hurting i felt more confidence with the 2i than the 3w. the 2i usually didn't carry as far as the 3w but the dispersion was better and the carry difference was surprisingly small. however, i sense it would be wise for me to learn how to hit a more penetrating ball with the 3w...

your feedback on course conditions is solid. my home course drains really well for where it is (though it does play a bit soft), however, if we have a dry summer here in the PNW there will be a lot of roll out no matter where i play. 8 months out of the year this isn't a concern so i hadn't thought about this much, but summer's almost here. (fingers crossed!)

ultimately this was the key comment for me:

Quote

For me...it comes down to where do you play and what tools do you want in your kit.

 

thanks again!

[WUTiger]

On 5/23/2019 at 10:47 PM, Piz said:

@hoselpalooza 

...For me...it comes down to where do you play and what tools do you want in your kit.  Not saying one is better than the other; just that the bag winds up being the bag depending on what works in a given situation.

hp,

Keep them both and swap out for weather and course design. (I assume the 16* Fli-Hi is the driving iron in question).

[Cantankerish]

Keep in mind that I am still getting the hang of this game.

I took the 5 wood out of my bag some time ago. Its closest relative at the moment is my 3 hybrid.  I was hitting the 5 wood slightly further, but the longer shaft seemed to amplify a poor swing.  I am sure that I will want to return the 5 wood to the bag at some point at least for a test drive.  But for now, the 3 wood goes something like 250 and the 3 hybrid goes maybe 215.  I just accept that I have nothing in between.  The 5 wood felt somewhat superfluous because at that distance, I am just happy to hit straight and close to the green.  I do not currently possess the ability to shot shape these clubs.

I am loving your probing questions.  Keep asking them.

[hoselpalooza]

4 hours ago, WUTiger said:

I assume the 16* Fli-Hi is the driving iron in question

correct 👍

2 hours ago, Cantankerish said:

But for now, the 3 wood goes something like 250 and the 3 hybrid goes maybe 215.  I just accept that I have nothing in between.

perhaps you could try gripping down a couple of inches on the 3-wood and making a 3/4 swing to fill the gap?

2 hours ago, Cantankerish said:

I am loving your probing questions.  Keep asking them.

thank you! 

[leftybutnotPM]

On 5/24/2019 at 6:52 AM, hoselpalooza said:

lwhich do you put in your bag and why? 

 

You use the iron because it is good for hitting long, low punch shots from the trees. As you asked, though, that is assuming you can hit both well and they go a similar distance.

[hoselpalooza]

> You use the iron because it is good for hitting long, low punch shots from the trees

good call 👍

Edited May 30, 2019 by hoselpalooza
oops