5W lofted down results

[Dunny51]

I saw James Robinson’s video on YouTube where he took a 5w and lofted it down to 3hl/4w lofts. Obviously wasn’t as far but much straighter. I’d like to hear some of your experiences doing the same. I’m getting a 5 wood Thursday that can be lofted down to 16.5 and open the club face 1.5* which should help with my left miss. I’m also curious what club in your bag it replaced? 3w or 19* hybrid are my choices to be replaced. And I’d probably switch the loft around depending on what course I’m playing and switch what club I leave out. Thanks for your time

[jt2gt]

I play an Epic Flash fairway lofted down to 17....replaced my hybrid 19. Straight and hi....better flight than my hybrid and can swing smooth and still launch it pretty far.

[RiffRam222]

One of my best decisions in 2019 after many bad ones concerning golf... I replaced my 3W with a cranked down 5W to where it plays more of a 4W. For me I barely use a 3W off the tee or from the fairway, and I wanted something I can maybe get to a Par5 in two and not run forever. Also launches higher and easier to get up off the deck as well, for me it was a no brainer.

[jcorna01]

The G410 5-wood lofted down to 16.5 has been great for me. I also have 2 hybrids (20.5 and 23.5). I could probably drop the 20.5 and not lose a lot of utility but I have the space so may as well keep it.

[Chuck905]

I like the 5 wood lofted down as the open face encourages me to swing hard with out fear of losing the ball left.

[LCP]

I now have a G400 5-wood lofted down to 16.5º with a Fuji Pro 93 Tour Spec X shaft in it. Great club. I'd gotten sick of hybrids that were much easier to snap hook, even the anti-left super-forgiving Ping G400 17º hybrid (my problem: it sat closed faced more naturally than a wood, this I hit it at impact with a closed face often). I had tried the Rogue 17º 4-wood, but quite honestly it was too long, probably 10 yards longer than my G400 5-wood lofted down (265-270 tee club vs. a 255-260 tee club like my G400). I have other G400's in the bag and wanted a heavier shaft so the switch was easy. Because they go so high, a real 5 wood loft is "useless" to me since along the coast in Texas there is so much wind. The lofted down 5-wood/4-wood works much better.

[ChipNRun]

At start of year I carried a 14º Alpha 815 set at 16º, and an 18º set at 20º. I was struggling a bit with consistency after two good years with the set-up. So, I took the 18º and lofted down three degrees to **17º.**

This gave me a "4W" about a half inch shorter in shaft and a degree higher in loft than the uplofted º14. The **17º** flies more reliably and is pretty much equal in regular yardage (about 210). I don't get the occasional super shot, but reliability is up. Also, the shorter shaft flattens the lie and eliminates the occasional hook.

 

I reactivated my XRail 7W (goes about 195) as the other FW in the bag (see below). The two work together nicely.

[Dunny51]

Picked up the 5 wood today, hopefully I’ll be able to hit it tomorrow before I play on Saturday

[Oz Max]

I have 2017 M1 3 wood HL, lofted all the way down, it's basically an open face 3 wood. It's not going anywhere anytime soon

[phatchrisrules]

I had an R15 5 wood that was lofted down to 17* from 19*. It stayed in my bag for a couple of years as it launched high but flat. I got some gnarly distance out of it comparatively to other fwy woods. I since switched to a 13.5* 3 wood and 18* 5 wood and I find more often than not I'm pulling the 5 wood over the 3. I hit it consistently somewhere in the 220s with a predictable draw most of the time which is more than enough for most courses I play. I am also a high-launch low spin guy on anything I hit off of the turf so I guess I get more optimal numbers from something I can keep in the air a bit longer.

 

Long story short: I will likely just keep the 5 wood or move to an adjustable one I can take down a degree to play it more like a 4 wood like I did in the past and leave room for something more useful to me.

[Krt22]

I have a standard 5w and a 3HL lofted down. I hit the 5w more often to layup

[Calamity Todd]

Being lefty, 4ws are nearly non-existent. I use a 5w lofted down and it works great for me.

[Tommyj]

I have a 913Fd 5 wood which I've lofted down to 17.25* from the standard 18* setting. Can't say that I see much difference in distance or ball flight but I prefer the slightly open clubface. The 913Fd had the larger head and I use it more off the tee than hitting into greens. If I used it for hitting into greens most of the time I would probably revert to the 18* setting.

[e-man]

For you guys who are lofting down fairway woods, are you squaring the face up at address to take advantage of the loft adjustment or are you just grounding the club and playing the standard loft with an open face?

[third-times-a-charm]

> @e-man said:

> For you guys who are lofting down fairway woods, are you squaring the face up at address to take advantage of the loft adjustment or are you just grounding the club and playing the standard loft with an open face?

 

I square up my woods, so any adjustments on my 1w/3w/3h are effective.

[Stuart_G]

> @e-man said:

> For you guys who are lofting down fairway woods, are you squaring the face up at address to take advantage of the loft adjustment or are you just grounding the club and playing the standard loft with an open face?

 

It's not about what happens at address that matters but at impact. For example, I can square up a club with a very open face club at address - but I still can't get it back to square (or where I need it to be) at impact. So for me, the hosel adjustments are always first and foremost, about face angle. So I don't bother trying to aim it and just let the club sole itself naturally and find the best face angle setting for my swing.

 

[e-man]

That’s a good point Stuart, but don’t we strive to achieve the same face angle at impact as at address? And if we can’t get it back to about the same face angle at impact as at address, then is there really even a point to adjustable hostels?

[Stuart_G]

> @e-man said:

> That’s a good point Stuart, but don’t we strive to achieve the same face angle at impact as at address?

 

Some might think they do, so it might be a perfectly valid swing thought, but the reality is that very commonly no, we really don't.

 

There is a LOT about the body positions at impact that we don't want to match or return to the set-up positions. So it actually makes more sense that the same holds true for the face orientation.

 

Second, most ams have been proven to be very inaccurate in aiming the face of a short putter. With the longer length of the woods and driver, and the ball position being farther away, not to mentioned having curved faces (bulge and roll) makes it even harder to be accurate those longer clubs. The key is consistency at set-up to where the face is pointing in order to get consistency in the face at impact, not really the accuracy in where it might be pointing.

 

[Celebros]

I switched to a Cobra F8+ (4-5 wood), that I have set at 16.5 degrees (adjustable 16-20). It replaced my 15* fairway wood which often went farther than I needed to. That thing has been a weapon since I put it in the bag, better gapping (i.e. I'm using it more often, particularly into Par 5's) and much more confident out of the rough as well.

[Ri_Redneck]

> @e-man said:

> For you guys who are lofting down fairway woods, are you squaring the face up at address to take advantage of the loft adjustment or are you just grounding the club and playing the standard loft with an open face?

 

I have ALWAYS played open FWs and have ALWAYS aimed the clubface. IMHO, the practice of grounding the club and letting the turf aim it for you is limiting your options with the club. Inconsistent turf means inconsistent alignment. And the turf is ALWAYS inconsistent!

 

BT

[BiggErn]

> @e-man said:

> That’s a good point Stuart, but don’t we strive to achieve the same face angle at impact as at address? And if we can’t get it back to about the same face angle at impact as at address, then is there really even a point to adjustable hostels?

 

Nope. Address and impact are completely different. Ideally a slightly open face at address would result a square face at impact. You want the face to be square at the ball not behind it. Just like most good golfers have a cupped lead wrist at address and flat/bowed at impact.

[drscott266]

I lofted Flash 18* to 17* and it has been great. I tested it on a Flightscope both at natural loft and lofting down and saw an actual difference in ball flight. I was looking to get a 3 wood effectively, as my next club down is a hybrid. The 5 wood was easier to hit, and I carried it longer than a 3 wood with a more consistent landing angle.