Custom fitting a 3-wood when I have the driver?

[barnum1]

Hi!

This spring I custom fitted and bought a PING G400 driver and it was very successful
Now I'm looking at a G400 3-wood. Do I need a custom fitting for that?

Thanks for any input!

[boogielicious]

3 hours ago, barnum1 said:

Hi!

This spring I custom fitted and bought a PING G400 driver and it was very successful
Now I'm looking at a G400 3-wood. Do I need a custom fitting for that?

Thanks for any input!

I think you would want a shaft with the same characteristic. The FW shaft will be a bit heavier because it is shorter. You can find a shaft in the same brand/family most likely. What shaft did you get for the driver?

[criley4way]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

I think you would want a shaft with the same characteristic. The FW shaft will be a bit heavier because it is shorter. You can find a shaft in the same brand/family most likely. What shaft did you get for the driver?

While I think that is generally true, getting fit is still the best option. Unless you like the picture of a single set then get whatever helps you score. 

[barnum1]

@boogielicious My driver has the stock (I guess) Alta CB. Regular flex.
 

[boogielicious]

3 hours ago, barnum1 said:

@boogielicious My driver has the stock (I guess) Alta CB. Regular flex.
 

I would recommend going to a shop and hitting the fairway woods with their stock shaft and see how it feels. OEMs typically try to get the same feel and launch characteristics from their stock shafts. 

[Carl3]

FWIW, I got a full fitting and my G30 driver has a custom shaft. My G30 3W and hybrids have the stock R-flex shafts.

[billchao]

Most people should play the same shaft characteristics in their fairway woods as their driver, but it's not a firm rule or anything.

[billchao]

On 8/13/2018 at 6:57 PM, billchao said:

Most people should play the same shaft characteristics in their fairway woods as their driver, but it's not a firm rule or anything.

I made a conscious effort to use my 3 wood more during yesterday's round with very poor results, reinforcing why I basically stopped using my 3 wood. I realized while I was walking down the 18th fairway that I had changed my driver shaft but never bothered to change my 3 wood shaft. My current 3 wood shaft is both lighter and softer than my driver shaft.

Do as I say, not as I do

[saevel25]

On ‎8‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 3:08 AM, barnum1 said:

This spring I custom fitted and bought a PING G400 driver and it was very successful
Now I'm looking at a G400 3-wood. Do I need a custom fitting for that?

If you are hitting the same make/model as your driver, you'll probably be fine with using the same golf shaft, but 10 grams heavier.

A typical progression for driver thru hybrids are,

Driver: 65 grams
3-Wood: 75 grams
Hybrid: 75 or 85 grams

If you have a different make/model of 3-wood, then it might be beneficial to at least test the club in a hitting bay that has a ball flight machine.

[Mr. Desmond]

My experience is that is depends on your speed, angle of atack, etc.

Driver and 3 wood have different uses. 

You hit a driver off a tee and many players are fit into a mid launch, mid spin driver shaft - which is a typical stock shaft in many of today's drivers, as you are receviing help getting the driver to launch with the tee, and setup  - ball very forward, spine angle back, etc.

The 3 wood - 15 degrees, used off the tee or deck. It's interesting what I see in various signatures and boards is that higher speed guys talk about how they only use 3 wd off the tee and rarely off the deck. Many go to a 16.5-17 lofted 4 wd. Maybe it's the typical 43 inches of the 3 wd that has them lose consistency.

But using the typical driver shaft may be a mistake for most golfers because they need launch off the deck with a 3 wd. I go to a shaft that is softer in the tip (low kick) to help launch the ball. I also tend to go 42.5 in. or grip down the club from off the deck. I am still using a 16.5 4 wd instead of 3 wd for more launch, but recently purchased a 3 wd head to pair up with a low kick shaft.

Of course, higher speed and stronger golfers may not need as much help. You could take a driver shaft and tip less than recommended. Depends on you as a golfer. I'd get fit and ask questions.

As to weight, I throw out the typical recommendations when it comes to fairways, I have a 53g driver shaft and a 55g low kick shaft for 3 and 4 woods. I go to 65g at the 5 wd. I want launch and spin in the lower lofted woods to get the ball in the air.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Mr. Desmond

[Groucho Valentine]

You would think you could use the same shaft family for your driver and three wood, but I've found that not to be true in my case. Shafts I've loved in my three wood have never worked for me in a driver and vise versa. Now that shafts are pretty much interchangeable its not as annoying as it used to be. But back when they were only glued into the head, it was real frustrating to make that type of mistake. My advice is to get fitted and be sure. 

[onthehunt526]

IMHO, the fairway wood is the longest club you hit from the turf in your bag.

My question to you is why would you not get a fitting for it?

It may be true that you'll only hit it maybe 5 to 7 times a round (4 of those from the turf). But if you've already optimized the driver with a fitting, why not optimize your fairway wood with a fitting?

[barnum1]

Thanks for all your answers.
I ended up buying the 3-wood without custom fitting, and so far so good