4 Wood??

[ibigler]

So here's the deal. Recently i've taken my driver out of the bag because i cant seem to consistently hit it straight. So now i'm using my 3 wood or 5 wood. There's only about a 10 yard difference, give or take, between my 3 and 5 wood. I only use my 5 wood when i feel that im starting to hit my 3 wood a little off target. So my question is...

Should i try to get a 4 wood and swap out my 3 and 5 wood? And what is a good 4 wood?

Thanks

[Shindig]

This is a popular topic; we were just discussing good 4-woods here: http://thesandtrap.com/forum/threads...ng-up-my-clubs

[Gerald]

Today I would say there are almost no 5 woods anymore.......

About 10+ years ago :

1W about 10 degrees loft
2W 12-13 degrees loft
3W 15 degrees loft
4W 18 degrees loft
5W 21 degrees loft

But today most 5W lofts are 17 or 18 degrees loft, which means that about any 5W you buy today is actually a 4W in many ways.

If your 3W is 15* and your 5W is 18* ..... for most people having a better contact with the 5W will mean the gap is only about 10-15 yds, for the really better player it might be upto 20-25 yds.

In my opinion the average golfer can toss the 3W into the garage and will have better and more consistent results with the modern 5W (or let's say 4W).

In the old days a 5W would be equal to a 2i in distance, but today with the stronger lofted 5W it is longer ...... I feel the industry made the 5W stronger to create a space for the hybrids -;)

[CrazyXGolfer]

My advice is learn to hit your driver and put it right back in the bag!

[Gerald]

My advice is learn to hit your driver and put it right back in the bag!

Yeppp that sure is best, distance off the tee is easiest and most consistent with the driver, force your self to come from the inside and just slower your swing force, your swingspeed or ballspeed might even increase .....

[jhcarson]

A 4-wood is a great idea if you are really interested in say putting an extra wedge in the bag. The gap difference between a 3W and 4W for me is almost non-existent: I suspect the trade-off in loft is probably evened out by the fact that I hit a 4W a little more consistently. But definitely get that driver right!

[Meddle]

I think it kind of depends on how far you hit your 5 wood, and how long the courses are where you play. I think keeping it in the fairway is more important than those extra yards you get with the driver if your drives are inconsistent. And if the gap between your 3 and 5 woods is only 10 yards, I say take the 3 wood out and just play with the 5.

[ronaldkuntoro]

whats the deal with 4 wood and 7 wood? people do not use those clubs that often anymore. If you can't hit your driver straight, maybe it's time to learn how to hit it straight.

I just realized that my driver is so heavy (about yesterday). But somehow I managed to break 90 for the first time with that driver a couple weeks ago.

[sean_miller]

Today I would say there are almost no 5 woods anymore.......

I have three 5-woods in the 18-21 degree range and none of them over 10 years old. My WS Fybrid was designed to replace a 2-iron or a 5-wood and it does that job perfectly at 19.5 degrees of loft. I think it's not so much about the loft as the purpose and design of the club. If you're playing a vintage set of woods (which I do on occasion), each wood has a purpose. It's not just about distance off the tee. It's about trajectory, workability, accuracy, turf interaction, shaft length, etc.

On a pure strike, a 3-wood can be as long as a driver, but it's also easier to control. A properly fitting 5-wood is typically easier to hit out of short rough than a 3-wood and is really to hit from the fairway - i.e. when going for the green in 2 on par 5s. If a person never has the urge to go for the green in 2 on a par 5 or really long par 4, and they never play long par 3s or really tight driving holes (par 4s or 5s) they could probably get away with dumping the 3 wood and 5 wood in favour of an all purpose fairway wood, such as a 4-wood. BUT, if they want to be able to attack longer holes, a traditional driver (1-wood), 3-wood, 5-wood might be the way to go. With a 4-wood some say you get combination of a 3-wood and a 5-wood. In my opinion, it doesn't quite do the job of either one properly so I bag both (sort of).

[enis750]

My advice is learn to hit your driver and put it right back in the bag!

exactly

spend money on some lessons, get PROPERLY fit for a driver and put it back in the bag looks like you have a 8.5º driver in your bag too?????? WHY???? r u Philly Mac??? if your launching the ball straight in the air and youthink a lower loft will help, your wrong your angle of attack is probably too steep,you have the ball position too far ahead and probably the wrong shaft for your swing a higher lofted driver will be more consistent and you will find it easier to find more fwy's why do you think you hit your 3w better off the tee????? (shorter shaft and more loft) the same principles can be added to your driver as well just sayin......

[MulliganGolf]

Look on eBay or elsewhere for a Big Ben 4-wood - an out-of-production Ben Hogan club (acquired by Callaway). It's my favorite club (I carry driver and 4-wood only so I can carry extra wedges). It's 17-degrees... with small conventional head.

[ohiolefty]

My advice is to get instruction to fix whatever swing issues you're having FIRST. It's not the arrow, it's the indian.

As far as setup, you should have a driver. Now, swapping a 3-wood for a 4-wood is adviseable for some people. Hell, I've pondered the possibility but ultimately decided against it. But, you have to get your swing fixed before you go dumping money into equipment and enjoying your new purchases with a broken swing.

[Gerald]

This morning I received my Daiwa Exceller graphite 5W which I bought at ebay for $8 a few weeks ago, I had a similar one about 25 years ago, to it with me to the course this afternoon ..... we have a nice par 4 with a large bunker in the middle of the fairway at about (of course 240 yds)..... so we normally go for being short of that, I took out the old thing (4 screws in the face and a really small head), planned to hit it pretty fast, but keeping it short of the hazard ..... hmm it rolled in the bunker......

Like the old stuff, but you have to hit between the screws ......

I always felt the old clubs did very well, not so much less than the modern stuff, they were just more difficult to hit great. Actually it would surprise me if they are longer than the modern stuff.