I've created a monster club!!!!!

[MattM]

So after I got Game Golf and found out that my usual 3 wood shot from the deck is only 225 yards I've been looking for a club to give me extra distance.  My search originally led me to the SLDR Mini driver which after a couple of rounds I'm seeing 237 yards average from the deck (not bad).

After looking at specs on 3 woods and drivers for a while it occured to me that one the Flightscope my swing speed from my driver to my 3 wood dropped about 8 mph which is a pretty big loss.  Having said that I bought a second R11s driver two months ago with a stiff shaft that I've been gaming with great results which led me to pull the r11s driver with the x-stiff shaft.  I thought about it for a minute and said screw it I'll buy an r11s 3 wood head off of ebay and pop it on the driver shaft to see what happens.....

WOW!  It's incredible.  With the extra distance of the shaft the head feels heavier which seems to give me more accuracy off the deck.  In addition, the swing characteristics with the shaft make me feel like I'm just swinging my driver so I don't over swing.  When I take a smooth driver swing I get upwards of 275 yards on my drive which confused me because when I tried to take a smooth not hard swing with the 3 wood I would just loss distance.  With this monster of a driver/3wood I don't have that problem any more!  I was taking easy smooth swings to make contact the ball was FLYING!!!  way up in the air and landing at about the same spot as my driver was!  I'm totally going to try this experiment for a while but it definately seems to be working so far!

Has anyone else taken a driver shaft NOT cut it down and put it into a 3 wood head?  If so what were the results?

[boogielicious]

So after I got Game Golf and found out that my usual 3 wood shot from the deck is only 225 yards I've been looking for a club to give me extra distance.  My search originally led me to the SLDR Mini driver which after a couple of rounds I'm seeing 237 yards average from the deck (not bad).

After looking at specs on 3 woods and drivers for a while it occured to me that one the Flightscope my swing speed from my driver to my 3 wood dropped about 8 mph which is a pretty big loss.  Having said that I bought a second R11s driver two months ago with a stiff shaft that I've been gaming with great results which led me to pull the r11s driver with the x-stiff shaft.  I thought about it for a minute and said screw it I'll buy an r11s 3 wood head off of ebay and pop it on the driver shaft to see what happens.....

WOW!  It's incredible.  With the extra distance of the shaft the head feels heavier which seems to give me more accuracy off the deck.  In addition, the swing characteristics with the shaft make me feel like I'm just swinging my driver so I don't over swing.  When I take a smooth driver swing I get upwards of 275 yards on my drive which confused me because when I tried to take a smooth not hard swing with the 3 wood I would just loss distance.  With this monster of a driver/3wood I don't have that problem any more!  I was taking easy smooth swings to make contact the ball was FLYING!!!  way up in the air and landing at about the same spot as my driver was!  I'm totally going to try this experiment for a while but it definately seems to be working so far!

Has anyone else taken a driver shaft NOT cut it down and put it into a 3 wood head?  If so what were the results?

Interesting.  I have not tried this.  Many of us have contact issues with the a 3W off the deck.  How is the ball flight draw/fade as compared to your standard 3W?  With the longer shaft, the lie is different.

[MattM]

The ball flight is incredible!  One of the issues I have with my three wood (and mini driver) is that when I make good contact with them the sound is good and the feel is good like I think I've just hit a bomb.  The problem is that they go to the top of their height and then basically die.  With this club all of the same stuff happens except when the ball gets up to it's highest it just keeps going (just like my driver).

I suspect that it's because of the differences in shafts.  Both the SLDR, and RBZ are designed more to get the ball up quickly (which they do).  The problem is that with my club head speed what it is now I think it's creating too much back spin.  When I hit this modified 3 wood the ball takes off high and quick like it should, but it doesn't stop like it's hitting a wall (like the SLDR and RBZ).  It also takes a big bounce forward which adds more distance.  I seriously think I was landing with this club were my SLDR and RBZ were stopping!

For ball flight question.....  Since it's adjustable (which is great!) I set it completely open and on the highest loft which I think makes it a 16 degree since it's 15 from the factory.  I can hit a big draw or a slight fade with it, but it generally just wants to go straight.

I would recommend everyone try it.  It's a regular R11s 3 wood head matched up to an R11s x-tra stiff driver shaft:

Flex Weight Torque TipSize Trajectory Tip Profile Swing Tempo

X      68g      3.4      .350        Mid            Firm        Medium

[saevel25]

I would recommend everyone try it.  It's a regular R11s 3 wood head matched up to an R11s x-tra stiff driver shaft:

Flex Weight Torque TipSize Trajectory Tip Profile Swing Tempo

X      68g      3.4      .350        Mid            Firm        Medium

Not for my liking. I don't see the need to make a 3-wood a longer club length because it brings in accuracy issues. A 3-wood to me is for holes in which I have to club down. I also want some extra accuracy.

[chspeed]

So after I got Game Golf and found out that my usual 3 wood shot from the deck is only 225 yards I've been looking for a club to give me extra distance.  My search originally led me to the SLDR Mini driver which after a couple of rounds I'm seeing 237 yards average from the deck (not bad).

A little OT, but question for you: How often per round do you need to hit a club more than 225 yds. from the fairway (especially if you hit your drive 275)? twice? three times at most? How often will the extra distance actually save you a stroke? 1 out of 10 times? I would bet even fewer than that.

Obviously you like to tinker with clubs a lot more than me, but as a mid-handicapper too, I can think of a lot better ways to shave strokes than by trying to add more distance over 225 yds. off the fairway.

Just my 2 cents. :)

[MattM]

Depends on the course i play. One is7100 yards and one is 7000. At dauphin Ihave the opportunity to get home in two 4 times.

[chspeed]

Depends on the course i play. One is7100 yards and one is 7000. At dauphin Ihave the opportunity to get home in two 4 times.

When I play a course like that I try to keep it under 7k (move up a tee if I have to). I'm not a long hitter (220-260+), and at 7k+, I can't hit some of the par 4s from the back tees! Bethpage black, a course I like to play a bunch of times a year, is especially brutal from the back. The scorecard says 7450 or so, but on most days they move the blue tees up a bit and have it probably around 7200 at most. Still, it's too much for me.

Like many mid-handicappers, I have a hard time getting a 3w high in the air, which makes keeping it in the fairway tough. If you an hit the ball high, that's not a bad thing in terms of keeping it under control. I don't know about your course, but at Bethpage the rough can be brutal - if you find your ball that is.

[MattM]

I think the difference between your mid handicap and mine is that the only reason I am at a mid handicap is because of my distance.  I am able to overpower courses and that keeps my scores low.  In fast last year I got my handicap all the way down to a 9 before the winter.  Now it's back in the 12s but the distance is what keeps me low.

Having said that....I decided to play 9 at a local course tonight and instead of using my driver off the tee I used the SLDR Three times, The R11s 3 wood three times, and the RBZ once.  I hit them all from the deck as well.

According to game golf I hit the r11s the furthest and straightest at 256.  I had another fairway shot from a weird down slope that I hit the R11s 227.  The RBZ on a very hard swing I got 242 from the deck.  With the SLDR I had one 248 and one 242 from the deck.  All in all the R11s is the longest club!  Also, I felt so much more in control with the R11s than the other clubs....It's going to be a nice club for me!

Here is the round on game golf: http://www.gamegolf.com/player/MattM/round/391153

[chspeed]

I think the difference between your mid handicap and mine is that the only reason I am at a mid handicap is because of my distance.  I am able to overpower courses and that keeps my scores low.  In fast last year I got my handicap all the way down to a 9 before the winter.  Now it's back in the 12s but the distance is what keeps me low.

Glad to hear. Enjoy the new club.

I'd rather have your problem than mine! As they always say, you can't teach distance (which probably isn't completely true, but there I do think there is some truth to it).

[MattM]

Thank you!  I'm trying to figure out my bag now.  I know that the SLDR is longer off the deck than the RBZ but the R11s is longer than both!  Idealy I would like to have a 195-215 club (9wood) a 215-230 club(RBZ 3wood) and a 230+ club (R11s 3wood or SLDR).

After looking at my gamegolf stats my 4 iron is not a strong club for me so I'm going to take it out since the 9 wood covers those ranges.  I'm probably for the time being going to keep the RBZ in the bag so it's up to the SLDR and R11s which one I'll use.

The R11s makes my swing feel much smoother, but I kind of like the sdlr as well (probably bc it's brand now).....

Hard choice!