13* 3Wood? or 13* Driver?

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

Here is my situation in a nutshell.

Everyone would tell you I am a great 3wood player...

And a very inconsistent driver of the ball.

Fact is on more than one occasion fellow players have offered to drive over my driver for me!

As my season is ending here in the Northeast I have gone to driving with my 3wood exclusively!

3wood driving distance is a solid 225 to 235.

Although I am losing 20+ yards vs. my best drives my scores have improved!

Since the switch my average score has dropped a full 4 strokes over last 10 rounds.

Now I need assistance deciding to replace my driver...

Should I replace it with a 13* 3wood ?

or should I take a shot at a 13* driver ?

I'm assuming the shorter shaft length is what helps me hit the 3wood better?

Does any brand make a shorter driver?

Maybe a women's driver? But I assume it would be too light?

Any suggestions?  thank you.

[Grumpter]

Originally Posted by cape cod beachfront golfer

Should I replace it with a 13* 3wood ?

or should I take a shot at a 13* driver ?

Neither. I say find a good teacher that includes video lessons and fix the Driver problem over the off season.

[MiniBlueDragon]

It may be that you're hitting the 3W better because it's being hit with almost the same swing as the rest of your bag, e.g. descending or at least level. The driver is hit ascending so it may just be a couple of minor swing tweaks to get you sorted with it.

I say go with Grumpter's idea and spend a fraction of the money you'd splash on a new driver getting a couple of lessons to work on the driver over the off season.

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

I know there are players that have benefited from instruction. I just am not one of them. My problem as explained to me by an instructor is a pretty common fault... too vertical a swing plane with not enough shoulder turn. I 'pick the club up' and do not follow through well. And yes, if I warmup properly, stretch, and use swing thought of turning back to target I can temporarily overcome it. But why do I not have the same problems with my 3wood?  I really think it has to do with shaft length. Especially now that new drivers often have lengths of 45 and 46 inches. Which brings me back to my strong 3wood question. Could it be the fix I am looking for?

[WUTiger]

Several years ago someone had an article in Golf Digest suggesting what he called a thriver. Idea was to put a shorter shaft on a more lofted driver head to increase control - halfway between 3W and driver.

The guys at Hireko have  a link on thrivers. http://www.hirekogolf.com/hireko/graphics/orderportal/articles/thriver.html

[inthehole]

I've been experimenting alot with drivers - I always shorten them incrementally until I find a length that I'm comfortable with.    My latest driver, I ended up lopping 2.25" off - for my swing, I always start with a regular flex, winds up close to a stiff flex after shortening it & I hit it so much more consistently it's truly unbelievable.      I suggest you get a used driver & shorten it - worked absolute wonders for me.   My driver has gone from my least consistent to my 2nd most consistent club in the bag.    Distance lost is negligible (for me).

[MiniBlueDragon]

Hey, if Tiger swings a 43.5 inch driver for most of his career I'm not gonna argue with shortening shafts.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by cape cod beachfront golfer

I know there are players that have benefited from instruction. I just am not one of them. My problem as explained to me by an instructor is a pretty common fault... too vertical a swing plane with not enough shoulder turn. I 'pick the club up' and do not follow through well. And yes, if I warmup properly, stretch, and use swing thought of turning back to target I can temporarily overcome it. But why do I not have the same problems with my 3wood?  I really think it has to do with shaft length. Especially now that new drivers often have lengths of 45 and 46 inches. Which brings me back to my strong 3wood question. Could it be the fix I am looking for?

Sounds like you've found the best long term fix, but need more time at the practice range to make changes second nature.

[x129]

If I could swing a 43.5" shaft at 120+mph, I wouldn't be swinging a longer club either as those extra 10 yards are not important when you are bombing out 300 yards.

Originally Posted by MiniBlueDragon

Hey, if Tiger swings a 43.5 inch driver for most of his career I'm not gonna argue with shortening shafts.

[MiniBlueDragon]

Originally Posted by x129

If I could swing a 43.5" shaft at 120+mph, I wouldn't be swinging a longer club either as those extra 10 yards are not important when you are bombing out 300 yards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiniBlueDragon

Hey, if Tiger swings a 43.5 inch driver for most of his career I'm not gonna argue with shortening shafts.

The point I was making was that there's something to be said for hitting shorter shafts if it means more consistency, less bad shots and still getting "enough" distance.

[mlf16507]

http://www.hirekogolf.com/hireko/orderportal/catalog_presentation/by_group/0/2392/0/0/0/0/0 Here is link to a Thriver

[golfernc]

My opinion is that the reason why many people hit their 3/5 woods more consistently then driver is the loft on the club.  Maybe the reason you started to lift the ball with driver is because at some point you saw your ball flight low, and you compensated for that by adding loft in your swing.  Why else would you be "lifting" your club. You also most likely will fall more backwards and never transfer your weight properly. ( like hitting a lob in tennis and falling back vs hitting a forehand and following through).  If you gave yourself more loft in the driver, then you can let the driver do the lifting part and you can just try to propel the ball forward...not up.   I do not think most people should be playing the same loft as tour players ....simply because they do not have the same force as they do.

I am not sure if this relates to you or not?  Good luck!

[WUTiger]

Quote:

Hey, if Tiger swings a 43.5 inch driver for most of his career I'm not gonna argue with shortening shafts.

From the 1950s through the 1980s - when standard drivers still had steel shafts - the average length of men's drivers was about 43". In Golf My Way (1974), Nicklaus said he trimmed his driver to 42.75" to get a little extra control.

Tom Wishon talks about graphite vs. steel shafts in drivers in this link. http://golf.about.com/od/faqs/f/steelvsgraphite.htm

But, longer graphite shafts beyond a point lead to control problems, which we talk about often.

[nickel_aTm]

If possible, I'd say you should roll with a 13* driver with the shaft cut down at inch or two.  Why?  Driver heads are larger (bigger sweet spot) and more forgiving than a smaller 3-wood head.  But are there any drivers out there that you could buy with a loft that high?  I'm guessing not.

[Beachcomber]

I would keep working on your driver. A few things you may try follow... I think one of the simplest things to hitting big drives for me is ball placement and tee height. Try teeing it up so that you pick the ball off the tee with an ascending blow. I see guys who struggle with their driver teeing the ball far too low. Also, maybe choke down on the driver an inch+/- since you feel the club length is an issu .... And try standing closer to the ball - forcing your club path inside/inside. With the driver, I also like to aim just right of my target with my feet and shoulders... And swing inside/inside and the ball flies straight.

[boogielicious]

Titleist 910 D2 10.5* is adjustable to 12*.  It is a 45" shaft.  I've found I have more control with it in this position because I still am swinging a bit steep into the ball.  I get the right launch angle without changing my swing too much.  I also tee it lower and hit the sweet spot better.  However, I am working on my driver swing a lot, so i can always adjust it to lower loft when that improves.

http://www.titleist.com/golf-clubs/910-performance-matrix.aspx#

Also, I thought I read that Titleist is coming out with a 12* next year in the D2.

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

Just wrote a nice reply... then lost it somehow?

So if this appears twice I apologize...

I especially appreciated the "Thriver" article.

I really do like the idea of the short shafted driver...

Bigger head for correction of mishits but short shaft for control.

To get the effect I probably need to use at least 12* loft?

I doubt higher than 12* is very common other than senior clubs.

figured to shy away from senior clubs as being too light????

Plan A

Put together a Thriver using components...

But what swing weight should I target ???

Never really understood swing weighting but D2 sounds good?

Can I get there by using Heavier shaft with normal head?

Or do I need heavier head with normal shaft???

Plan B

Buy a used adjustable weight port driver on Ebay.

Cut down the shaft by 1-1 1/2 inches...

then try to find aftermarket weight kit to increase head weight?

Any particular brand that might be good for this?  TM? Cobra?

thank you fro your help.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by nickel_aTm

But are there any drivers out there that you could buy with a loft that high?  I'm guessing not.

There are several big-box companies (Callaway, Nike, Adams, Taylormade, Ping) making high loft drivers in 12.5° and 13° lofts.  Nike had a couple called the Sumo Lucky 13 and the Sweet 16 (13° and 16° of loft).  Several component and custom brands (Wishon, Bang, Henry Griffitts, SMT) make them with up to 20°.