9 Wood Experiment! Help me choose a shaft!

[HillbillyHoma]

The offseason tinkering is in full effect. I have officially pulled the 4i out of my bag and am now looking for a club to fill that pesky gap between my 5w and 5i. I recently purchased a Ping G430 9 wood in hopes that it will gap perfectly. I had an Oban Kiyoshi White 75s laying around that came out of my old UW. I cut it down to play 40.5" (my 5w plays at 41.5"). Swingweight is D3. It is set in the F- setting playing at 23°. I'm looking for a 200yd club. Below are some averages that I captured using my Garmin r10 and Pro v1 RCT balls. (Driver SS is 107-110)

 

CS- 98 mph

Carry- 196 yds

Launch- 14°

PH- 102ft

Descent- 44.7°

Spin- 5779 rpm

 

I am afraid that the spin rate is too high. I'm not in love with the weight of the Oban (It's a 75s and my 5 wood is an 8s). I understand that shafts don't spin, but what would be some shafts that may alter the delivery that would knock some spin off? Would you go with an 8 or 9 weight shaft if I'm playing it at 40.5"? What would be some shaft recommendations? Also, how much would you tip a short 9 wood shaft? I believe the Oban is currently tipped 1.5". I really like the feel of Tour AD and Oban shafts. I do prefer a softish handle section. Or should I ditch the whole idea? Thanks in advance. 

 

 

[AdamMH]

What's your goal for the 9W? If it's holding greens, that descent angle & spin rate isn't a problem.

75g does sound a little light compared to the rest of your setup, I play DG (130g) in my irons and game a 93g in my 7W, I'd personally want to be around 100g in a 9W, give or take depending on head weight and length.

Before you play with shafts it's worth checking your current impact location with impact tape or foot spray so you have something to refer to later on.

[animalgolfs]

84g and above seems to be my 9w weight sweet spot....I went a little crazy on tipping 2" but it has worked out. Low'ish draws are my sweet spot as well - when I'm swinging good.

[HillbillyHoma]

1 hour ago, AdamMH said:

What's your goal for the 9W? If it's holding greens, that descent angle & spin rate isn't a problem.

75g does sound a little light compared to the rest of your setup, I play DG (130g) in my irons and game a 93g in my 7W, I'd personally want to be around 100g in a 9W, give or take depending on head weight and length.

Before you play with shafts it's worth checking your current impact location with impact tape or foot spray so you have something to refer to later on.

I do want to hold greens but also don't want it to spin like a top. It will still hold greens with 5000 rpm. My 5 wood shaft is actally 82g compared the Oban at 78g. 

[Golfingfanatic]

Plenty of Ventus options in the 90g+ range. Tour AD DI also comes in a 9x. It's going to be fairly expensive for an experiment, though.

 

Nippon NS PRO 950 FW could be interesting if you look for a cheap alternative.

Edited January 20, 2024 by Golfingfanatic

[bluedot]

I’m not sure I’d overthink this.  A 9W is going to be high and have a lot of spin; that’s why it’s the bag instead of a 5i or 5H, right?  If you cut down on the launch and spin numbers, the reasons for having a 9W sort of go away.

I used a G430 when I first went to a 9W last year, and replaced the stock shaft with a non-velocore Ventus blue.  I eventually replaced the Ping with a Paradym 9W because I hit some mammoth hooks with the Ping, and the Paradym is glued, so the stock Hzrdus shaft is still in there.  
 

So maybe get a shaft that you like the feel of, and forget about it?  It’s a bit of a “specialty” club anyway, and taking away launch and spin would be sort of comparable to wanting to take height and spin off of a lob wedge.

Edited January 21, 2024 by bluedot

[Howard_Jones]

On 1/20/2024 at 3:11 AM, HillbillyHoma said:

I do want to hold greens but also don't want it to spin like a top. It will still hold greens with 5000 rpm. My 5 wood shaft is actally 82g compared the Oban at 78g. 

At that club speed (98) a LOFT change would be needed to get spin down to the level you want it.
1* on loft change (shaft or head) will reduce spin with 254 rpm in your case, so a loft closer to 20* is what you need to see 5000. It will be very hard to find a shaft to get there, without feeling like a phone pole.
Descent flattens out by 1.0* for each 143.5 rpm. So start by dialing loft down a bit and try again.  

PS! i play a 7W/23* myself, but my club speed has dropped a lot the latest 12-15 years, so i need that loft to get spin and descent high enough to approach a green with it.  My 5W/19 has to much roll out for that, since im not generating much spin at my club speed who only goes one way and thats down.....

[EddieEdwards]

Mine is 24 degrees, 39" with a 130g steel shaft.  You may want to try it with a steel shaft before dropping big money on a graphite shaft.  You could also add lead tape down the backside of the shaft or a counterweight for more weight.

[jarediogolf]

The spin would be an issue into the wind, and I don’t think any shaft will help with hitting a 9 wood into the wind. 
 

In those scenarios you’d probably want to just club up to 5 wood. 
 

If it was me I’d just use the same shaft as your 5 wood or maybe go 10 grams heavier in the same shaft. 
 

I have a 21* 7 wood. And whether I use the 65g regular flex it came with or the 85g x-stiff I put in… it will get held up into the wind. But high spin is why I like it. 
 

The best way to control spin is more club.