Thinking about cutting my 3 wood to hybrid length ...

[inthehole]

I can hit a 3 wood off a tee on the rare occasion when i have to, but absolutely can not hit it consistently off the fairway (I've practiced it to death - just no confidence with it).     However, I'm pretty good with my 19° hybrid from the fairway.     I'm seriously thinking about cutting about 3.5 inches off my 3 wood & making it the same length as my hybrid.

I'm sure I'd lose a bit of length, but I think the consistency factor would be worth it.       Just don't know how much more distance I'd gain with a 3 wood the same length as a 3 hybrid ... I would imagine a fair amount, but I could be wrong.

Just curious if anybody has ever struggled with their fairway woods as I do & thought about making them into "long hybrids" ... thx

[596]

I carry only a 3 fairway wood.  I might use it once in every 5 rounds of golf.  Its kind of useless to me since I can't really hit it off the fairway.  I do use it off the tee once in a bluemoon but my driver is just as accurate and much longer.

I've never thought about cutting the shaft and would probably not do that.  It just makes your 3 wood a shorter shaft and probably no easier to hit off the ground.  I carry a 3 hybrid if I need distance off the fairway.

[erock9174]

Interesting concept.  let us know how it works if you try it.

I just wonder if taking over an inch off would mess with the balance of the club (weight, etc.).  I thought the general rule of thumb was not to take more off than an inch without re-weighting the club.

[Lazman]

I picked up a 3 wood on ebay with a shorter steel shaft (Titleist 975f 14.5) that I hit much more consistently than a longer graphite shafted 3 wood (R5 - 15).  I think it absolutely is the length.  The steel shafted 3 wood is much closer to my steel shafted hybrids and maybe that's why.  With the shorter shaft I have tons more confidence, especially off the turf.

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by Lazman

I picked up a 3 wood on ebay with a shorter steel shaft (Titleist 975f 14.5) that I hit much more consistently than a longer graphite shafted 3 wood (R5 - 15).  I think it absolutely is the length.  The steel shafted 3 wood is much closer to my steel shafted hybrids and maybe that's why.  With the shorter shaft I have tons more confidence, especially off the turf.

This is exactly what I'm thinking ... I think shortening the shaft is worth a try from purely a confidence level.

[wrx_junki]

Originally Posted by inthehole

This is exactly what I'm thinking ... I think shortening the shaft is worth a try from purely a confidence level.

You are going to throw off the weighting of the club a lot by cutting that much. Why not buy a lower lofted hybrid or a 5 wood?

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by wrx_junki

Quote:

Originally Posted by inthehole

This is exactly what I'm thinking ... I think shortening the shaft is worth a try from purely a confidence level.

You are going to throw off the weighting of the club a lot by cutting that much. Why not buy a lower lofted hybrid or a 5 wood?

I actually have a 3 & 4 hybrid ... my thinking is that with the extra mass of a 3 wood head, making the shaft about the same length as the hybrids I hit well should hopefully give me more distance than the hybrids.     I agree with your concern about balance, which is why I haven't yet done it.     I might get a cheapie & try it for an experiment first before I cut anything good.

The concept just makes sense to me ... shorter shaft = way easier to hit from the fairway (the unknown is just how much distance gained vs. the hybrid...)

[qbaldwin]

Try using a 17* hybrid if you have trouble hitting a 3w of the turf.

[WUTiger]

You also might try out a 4W. A Golf Digest study found that a 4W easier to hit for average golfer than a 3W, and you don't lost that much distance.

[tristanhilton85]

I haven't considered cutting my 3w down to hybrid length but have been considering maybe replacing my 3w with a 1h (Only 1 to 2 degrees of difference albeit a shorter shaft).

[dbuck]

Have you tried choking down a couple of inches and if so what happens when you do that?  I would think that would be an indication of what to expect.

Are you talking about literally cutting off your existing shaft, or replacing it with a shorter shaft? If you replace the shaft, you might be able to select a weight that will offset some of the balance change.

I like the idea of a 16-17 degree hybrid for you if you like hybrids.  Probably a 39.5-40 inch shaft vs the 42.5-43 you might have in your 3 wood. You didn't mention the loft of your 3 wood, but if it is around 15*, you should be able to hit the hybrid within 6-8 yds of the 3 wood.

[Island Par]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

You also might try out a 4W. A Golf Digest study found that a 4W easier to hit for average golfer than a 3W, and you don't lost that much distance.

+1 on this, I am using a 16.5* 4W and the shaft length and loft helps me hit it more consistently. Try a Ping G10, or G15 17*4W you'll get the almost the same distance as your 3W IMHO.

[inthehole]

Thanks - didn't even know they made a 1H ... this may be worth a look see.

[Caddyshack]

Originally Posted by inthehole

Thanks - didn't even know they made a 1H ... this may be worth a look see.

Try the Adams "super hybrid" virtually a small 3 wood head on a hybrid shaft...

[MikeLowry5]

As you cut down the length the club lie gets flatter.  If that is wrong someone please correct me.  If I am right, you will want to take that into consideration.

[596]

I don't see that as correct.  If the club head is laying flat on the ground and you cut the shaft shorter, the lie of the club head is still flat on the ground and has the same clubhead/shaft angle at the hosel, therefore the lie angle has not changed, just the length of the shaft.  Now the "effective" lie MAY change due to a shorter shaft, depending on how the player sets up to the shorter shaft, but the "actual" lie angle remains the same.

yes? no?

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by MikeLowry5

As you cut down the length the club lie gets flatter.  If that is wrong someone please correct me.  If I am right, you will want to take that into consideration.

Actually it tends to make the lie more upright when he addresses the ball, meaning that the toe will be lower than the heel.  That or he will have to bend over a lot more to keep the sole flat on the ground.  If you take that much off the shaft of a club which already lies correctly, then you have to do something to compensate.  It will also change the swingweight of the club considerably.

I don't think that cutting 3½" off the 3W will make it any easier to hit.  If you are having trouble getting the ball airborne, a shorter shaft won't make a bit of difference... maybe the opposite as it will reduce clubhead speed, thus reducing the backspin that you need to make use of the aerodynamics which are built into the design of the ball.  I'd say that you would benefit much more from a 4W or 5W and don't mess with the shaft length.

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeLowry5

As you cut down the length the club lie gets flatter.  If that is wrong someone please correct me.  If I am right, you will want to take that into consideration.

Actually it tends to make the lie more upright when he addresses the ball, meaning that the toe will be lower than the heel.  That or he will have to bend over a lot more to keep the sole flat on the ground.  If you take that much off the shaft of a club which already lies correctly, then you have to do something to compensate.  It will also change the swingweight of the club considerably.

I don't think that cutting 3½" off the 3W will make it any easier to hit.  If you are having trouble getting the ball airborne, a shorter shaft won't make a bit of difference... maybe the opposite as it will reduce clubhead speed, thus reducing the backspin that you need to make use of the aerodynamics which are built into the design of the ball.  I'd say that you would benefit much more from a 4W or 5W and don't mess with the shaft length.

Guys - I appreciate the info & it makes sense.       But the bottom line is that for me it is so much easier to hit a shorter club than a longer one.       A 4 or 5 wood is still significantly longer than a hybrid, and maybe it's just mental (in fact, it probably is in my case), but the little head on a 5 wood waaaaaay out there on the end of that long shaft seems so intimidating compared to a hybrid.      The more I think about this, the more I think my problem is definitely mental ... maybe I just need to spend some time at the range with nothing in my bag but that fargin 3 wood & force myself to hit it off the grass.       I really do like the sounds of that 1H - gonna see if I can find one over the winter.