5 Wood Advice

[jjmurry]

Hi All - in an effort to keep things fairly brief, I am at a bypass in my game currently. I'm stuck hovering around a 1 or 2 handicap and am in the market to make the game a little easier. I've got my bag fairly set up for me the way I want it with the exception of my long end. I like my driver and 3 wood but am not hitting my driving iron Titleist U510 that well.

I'm interested in getting a proper 5 wood (18* loft) that I can use as my 240-250 club that I can land nicely on a green as needed.. My driver SS is 112-114 at this point with a fairly aggressive transition. I've read some great things about the Diamana BF for a fairway wood as well as the Tensei Pro White. The point of this post is to get some guidance as to what those of you out there have been using and what works. Any heads that fit the 5 wood profile better than others?

Thank you in advance for all the help! I'm looking forward to your feedback.

[puttingmatt]

I use the Tour Edge Exotics CBX 119 3 and 5 wood

with the evenflow blue, excellent fairway woods, smaller

profile, excellent from fairway and tee. Great distance and

solid performance. Test them against the other offerings.

I am very satisfied with these fairway woods.

[jjmurry]

Ahh great to hear - I've heard great things about the CBX, minus the fact that the head is bonded. I'll look into them and see if there are any good ones available.

[jjmurry]

Bumping to see if there are any other suggestions out there.

[MelloYello]

In Mitsubishi, "White" signifies a strong, tip-stiff profile aimed at (mostly high-SS) players who want to control their flight and maybe bring it down. The "Blue" is a softer profile with a (relatively) more active tip section that helps launch the ball a little higher. There's also a "red" profile which is usually marketed towards folks who need a little higher launch. You don't see that very often. The Diamana Blue has historically been one of THE most popular fairway options for good players with moderate-to-high SS. There's nothing wrong with a Diamana Blue if you want a good fairway shaft. My only word of caution is that the Diamana stuff can actually feel a little loose so err on the stiffer side flex-wise. I've kind of always felt that way about Mitsubishi products TBH.

 

The newer TENSEI line are a multi-material (and probably more robust) alternative based on what I know. Again, you have White, Blue and Red profiles doing the same thing. There's actually an Orange profile now as well which is similar to the White but has more linear stiffness curve so it feels a little firm but it's just another tip-stiff option. The Orange versions are slightly counter-balanced so they work well for those folks who want a slightly longer shaft. For example, I play the CK Pro Orange 60-TX in my driver and at 46" the slight counterbalancing achieves a D4 swing-weight. The TENSEI whites have been very popular with top names on both the men's and women's side playing them.

 

A lot of players are naturally going to favor the Blue for fairways but it's also true that we are seeing more players (i.e. Tiger & Rory) stick with the White profile in their fairways which is new. For years, TW was famous for using the 103x Diamana Blue in his fairways. MANY people followed suit (although not at that extreme weight!) Now he's got a Diamana White that's 70- or 80-grams (google it). He flirted with the Tensei stuff though.

 

So I think it really depends on whether you prefer a lower-launching option that may technically max out your potential for distance (White) or whether you'd like a little softer shaft that might help when launching the ball off the grass (Blue).

 

I don't play a 3w these days as I just don't seem to need it. I like my driver and my 5w is my fairway finder. Personally, I play the Orange but the comparison would be the white. For me, you can stick just about anything in a 5w and get a good launch so I don't mind something a little stiffer. Again though, I'm using my 5w mostly off the tee so height is not a concern. You might prefer a Blue if you want a little more spin and height.

[Golfingfanatic]

I love the Cobra F6 Baffler in the 5 wood slot. The clubhead is smaller, the shaft shorter and the head a little heavier. To me, it is a lot more versatile than a lot of the newer 5 woods.

[jah7838]

This is a very good suggestion. I actually use this as my 4 wood, but if I ever found a 3 wood that I hit better, I would just turn this up to a 5 wood loft. It can be adjusted from 16-18.5*, and the heavy weight forward or back adjustment does make a difference in flight, so you can adjust it to the flight you're looking for.

My "5 wood" is actually an Adams XTD Super Hybrid with a VTS 100g hybrid shaft. Not as big as a fairway wood, and not as small as other hybrids, and very versatile. They can be found for pretty cheap on ebay. It's the 2nd longest tenured club in my bag, after my 23* Super 9031 with an s300 shaft.

[Ri_Redneck]

Shafts? Anything in the 80-90 gm range that is low launch will probably do. You have to be careful at your SS to not get too high of a ball flight. Heads? taking your bonded hosel comment into consideration, I get the idea you prefer adjustable. Epic Flash seems to be a hot ticket these days and the have a good selection of FWs. I just picked up a Heavenwood head which gives 19* at the lowest setting (I like to have an open FA for better turf interaction). Cobra does too if you like the "rail" thing ( I do not). You also seem to be a Titleist guy, they have a good selection of FWs in the TS2 & TS3. Pretty much just pick what you want and have it fit to your swing.

BT

[Pepe8714]

This is the answer right here.

 

nice small head that is unreal out of rough, can be hit like a 7 iron from the fairway at 235+, can choke down and smooth one 215 easy.

hitting a hard low draw goes as far as a 3 wood.

 

Its pretty much the perfect club. It’s so good and covers so much ground so well that I now only play 5-Pw and use a 17* p790 UDi instead of a 4 iron.

 

Itll be be extremely cheap to buy, trust us give it a proper shot.

 

Sourxe: +1 tournament handicap

[Krt22]

I have a blue board 83x tipped 2” in a M3 5w head turned down to 18. Right in that slot. For a new club I’d go m5 with a tensei pro blue or something like that

 

[Jeff58]

The same head model and same shaft as your 3 wood. Your current woods and iron shafts are well matched in flex profile. The HZRDUS is clearly an outlier and not a great surprise that you don’t hit it as well, particularly in game situations.

Flex and feel continuity are key to consistency.

[jjmurry]

All - thank you for the advice. I think I am going with the Epic Flash SZ in a BF 80X. I'm essentially looking for a club that I can land softly on greens as opposed to my driving iron right now which is more of a tee ball club. I have my 3W for an alternate tee ball club so the 5W should be something more easily lifted in the air for a nicer decent. It was between that and the Cobra with the rails as I've always wanted to try it but found an excellent deal on the bay for the Flash SZ

 

 

[jjmurry]

Interesting that you say that the HZRDUS doesn't fit my swing profile. That's what I had thought myself until I hit the club in a fitting. It worked perfectly off the deck at the range in which I hit it but when I've got it out into game situations it's a total dud.... lesson learned! Go with my gut in what I know fits my swing!

[jah7838]

Could the weight of the Hzrdus play a role in why you're not hitting it well on the course? You go from a 120g 4 iron shaft down to an 85g shaft in the U510. Maybe something in the 100g range would be better suited?

I play s400 shafts in my 5 iron down through my wedges. My 4 hybrid is an s300, and my 3 hybrid is a VTS 103g shaft. My 4 wood is an 80g Speeder and a 757 Speeder in my driver. I also have the same hybrid shaft in my Srixon U45 I just found for a good deal at my local Golf Galaxy. Like it so far in there, just need some more lead tape to the head to get the weight where I like it. I want that as an option for a windier day and my 19* hybrid can stay home.

It's a weight transition that seems to work out well for me. I'm not saying it will for you, but maybe finding a heavier graphite iron shaft with a similar profile to the irons in order to give you better launch. The 5 wood you found is a very solid club.

[Z1ggy16]

So right now my SS is a bit lower than it was last year when I was fit... but I was about your speeds when being fit. Accra and VA Comp were the best results for me when I was hitting fairway woods. Really smooth feel but the flight was pretty optimal and wasn't too low or too spinny. Head was Callaway Rogue... which I chose to not buy because I wanted adjustable neck. I might also suggest the HZRDUS Smoke shafts as they feel very similar to the two above, but is less $$. Head-wise... you probably won't go wrong picking up a Flash.

[Jeff58]

I just went through a similar experience. The idea that a shaft’s performance individually is the ultimate goal has been ingrained into club fitting. If the resulting combination doesn’t feel and perform optimally in real world play, the standard thinking is that you should continue to use and practice with it and you will then become a better player because of the adaptation. That’s absolute crap. You’ll merely adapt to the timing and mechanics required for the outlier club at the expense of the rest of your set.

[Kwheat]

Vote for the Tensei PW at your SS. Quite reasonable in a fw unless you're a really low ball hitter

[blackngold_blood]

Don't overlook the Srixon F85. I have the 5 wood with an elements chrome 7f4 shaft and it is stupid easy to hit. I enjoy hitting it so much I actually played a few rounds this year without a driver in the bag.

[cardoustie]

See my sig .. 2015 GBB is so good ... long and deadly straight

[nitram]

IMHO a trusty 5 wood is worth the pursuit and whatever you do, once you find "the one", hang onto it! I trust mine more than any other in the bag and after 12 seasons, it's the only one that's never been removed.

[UTvols83]

I've got a Titleist 917 F2 18* with a Tensei Pro Blue 70g shaft. I haven't had a trusted 5 wood since my cheap go-to from my high school days...one that just always feels right...and this one has finally hit the mark. It carried 235-240 for me on Trackman last week. I don't carry a 3 wood and can't see the need in it when I wouldn't go after a green further out than 250...and my 5 wood can get there with some roll.

[DYOS4]

Driver swing speed 108-110mph and I have a Srixon F85 5 wood with the stock Miyazaki Kalu Mizu 6X. I prefer lighter in the longer clubs. Seems to be working so far.

[agood3putt]

I struggled with this spot in my bag for a while as well. Here is what I found that worked for me

 

got a TS2 18* set it to B3 (19.5* loft/2*up)

but for the shaft I put in a Tensei Pro White 70g Stiff and had it tipped and butt cut to match the same bend profile and consistency as a 7W length shaft (1/2” shorter than 5W length). I’m at about 105 SS and it has a great peircing trajectory and doesn’t balloon on me.

 

I already love the Tensei Pro White profile in my driver and 3W so it was a no brainer.

 

cutting the shaft a 1/2” shorter really helped with control and makes it a great 230-240 club