13* fairway advice, length and shaft weight

Ray Jackson · April 4, 2010

Mainly used as tee ball on tight holes

For those of you who bag driver, 13* and 17/17.5* fairways.......at what length do you play the 13* and what sort of shaft weights are you using?

I play an Xcon 6 at 45.5' in my 420cc R9 and have tried a heavily tipped Fubuki 73x (X flex) in my R9 13* and have an 8m2 (x flex) in my tour burner 17.5*. Thinking of taking my Fubuki 63x (X flex) spare driver shaft and butt trimming it to 43-44" to go in the 13*.

Currently the heavily tipped Fubuki is a lower bullet flight, good for about 250-260.

Would ideally like a higher more controllable roll out trajectory at the same upper end of that distance.

Generally play narrow fairway parkland style courses.

SS is 113 mph. index 1.

Any advice appreciated.

Hstead · April 4, 2010

My SS and HCP are similar, I have a 43.25" Project X 8A4, 84 grams before trimmed in a Adams 13* FP400P 3 wood. It is an awesome shaft. I can hit it high or low, and I mean real low. I have never found a shaft that I can hit this low and it is really really straight. I have a Project X HB6 in the 17* hybrid, Nickent 3DX. The hybrid is my favorite club in my bag. Again, hit it high or low, very low spin.

I have tried several shafts and the Project X 8A4 and HB6 are the lowest launching and lowest spinning shafts for my swing that I have found. They are very stiff and the head feels like it is right with your hands. They are not the "smoothest" softest feeling shafts, but they are great control shafts. I gave up a few yards with them, but the accuracy gained has been well worth a few yards. The hybrid plays around 42" I believe.

The only two other fairway shafts I have liked quite a bit are the Matrix HD8 and the GD Purple Ice. The Purple Ice was not very stiff though, but had a good feel to it. The Matrix was a low spinner and felt similar to the PX 8A4.

I have a Vector in my basement so I do a lot of testing with different shafts, heads, balls etc.

Check out the Project X line with your swing speed, they are solid and EXTREMELY straight shafts. Very anti-left.

stage1350 · April 5, 2010

[quote name='Hstead' date='04 April 2010 - 08:15 PM' timestamp='1270430129' post='2360692']
My SS and HCP are similar, I have a 43.25" Project X 8A4, 84 grams before trimmed in a Adams 13* FP400P 3 wood. It is an awesome shaft. I can hit it high or low, and I mean real low. I have never found a shaft that I can hit this low and it is really really straight. I have a Project X HB6 in the 17* hybrid, Nickent 3DX. The hybrid is my favorite club in my bag. Again, hit it high or low, very low spin.

I have tried several shafts and the Project X 8A4 and HB6 are the lowest launching and lowest spinning shafts for my swing that I have found. They are very stiff and the head feels like it is right with your hands. They are not the "smoothest" softest feeling shafts, but they are great control shafts. I gave up a few yards with them, but the accuracy gained has been well worth a few yards. The hybrid plays around 42" I believe.

The only two other fairway shafts I have liked quite a bit are the Matrix HD8 and the GD Purple Ice. The Purple Ice was not very stiff though, but had a good feel to it. The Matrix was a low spinner and felt similar to the PX 8A4.

I have a Vector in my basement so I do a lot of testing with different shafts, heads, balls etc.

Check out the Project X line with your swing speed, they are solid and EXTREMELY straight shafts. Very anti-left.
[/quote]

I am a fan of the Project X 8A4 in the driver and switch between the Diamana 103 and Project X-10A2 in the 13° 3 wood. I play my driver at 46", so my 3 wood is 43.5" and my 18-19° hybrid is 42" with a Project X-HA1 shaft.

The only reason I went to a 13° fairway was to give a better gap between hybrid and driver. The hybrid is so long that my old 15° 3 wood didn't give much more distance.

The Project X-HA1 hybrid shaft is a monster. 100g, 7.5 flex, and tip stiff. Ballooning the hybrid is a thing of the past.

JJK947 · April 5, 2010

[quote name='Hstead' date='04 April 2010 - 09:15 PM' timestamp='1270430129' post='2360692']
My SS and HCP are similar, I have a 43.25" Project X 8A4, 84 grams before trimmed in a Adams 13* FP400P 3 wood. It is an awesome shaft. I can hit it high or low, and I mean real low. I have never found a shaft that I can hit this low and it is really really straight. I have a Project X HB6 in the 17* hybrid, Nickent 3DX. The hybrid is my favorite club in my bag. Again, hit it high or low, very low spin.

I have tried several shafts and the Project X 8A4 and HB6 are the lowest launching and lowest spinning shafts for my swing that I have found. They are very stiff and the head feels like it is right with your hands. They are not the "smoothest" softest feeling shafts, but they are great control shafts. I gave up a few yards with them, but the accuracy gained has been well worth a few yards. The hybrid plays around 42" I believe.

The only two other fairway shafts I have liked quite a bit are the Matrix HD8 and the GD Purple Ice. The Purple Ice was not very stiff though, but had a good feel to it. The Matrix was a low spinner and felt similar to the PX 8A4.

I have a Vector in my basement so I do a lot of testing with different shafts, heads, balls etc.

Check out the Project X line with your swing speed, they are solid and EXTREMELY straight shafts. Very anti-left.
[/quote]

Hstead, how does the purple ice perform in your three wood. I am currently looking for a cheaper three wood shaft and was surprised you mentioned this shaft. I am looking to keep a mid to mid/high trajectory but really keep the spin down. Do you have numbers from your vector for this shaft? It would help a lot.

As for the OP, I just switched over from the 15*/19* setup to the 13*/17.5*. This works a lot better for me as well because I like to choke down and play finesse shots with the 5-wood just as much as I like to take a big rip at it. Once I switched over to the stronger lofted 5-wood it became apparent that I would need a 13* to create a noticeable difference in distance between the 3 and the 5 woods. I play both clubs at pretty common lengths (43" and 42" respectively)

mylo · April 5, 2010

I've got an Aldila NV 75G in my 3 wood, this thing is a beast. I can hit it low or mid depending on the situation and its not much shorter than my driver. Its trimmed to 43".

Hstead · April 5, 2010

[quote name='JJK947' date='05 April 2010 - 12:24 AM' timestamp='1270441470' post='2361065']
[quote name='Hstead' date='04 April 2010 - 09:15 PM' timestamp='1270430129' post='2360692']
My SS and HCP are similar, I have a 43.25" Project X 8A4, 84 grams before trimmed in a Adams 13* FP400P 3 wood. It is an awesome shaft. I can hit it high or low, and I mean real low. I have never found a shaft that I can hit this low and it is really really straight. I have a Project X HB6 in the 17* hybrid, Nickent 3DX. The hybrid is my favorite club in my bag. Again, hit it high or low, very low spin.

I have tried several shafts and the Project X 8A4 and HB6 are the lowest launching and lowest spinning shafts for my swing that I have found. They are very stiff and the head feels like it is right with your hands. They are not the "smoothest" softest feeling shafts, but they are great control shafts. I gave up a few yards with them, but the accuracy gained has been well worth a few yards. The hybrid plays around 42" I believe.

The only two other fairway shafts I have liked quite a bit are the Matrix HD8 and the GD Purple Ice. The Purple Ice was not very stiff though, but had a good feel to it. The Matrix was a low spinner and felt similar to the PX 8A4.

I have a Vector in my basement so I do a lot of testing with different shafts, heads, balls etc.

Check out the Project X line with your swing speed, they are solid and EXTREMELY straight shafts. Very anti-left.
[/quote]

Hstead, how does the purple ice perform in your three wood. I am currently looking for a cheaper three wood shaft and was surprised you mentioned this shaft. I am looking to keep a mid to mid/high trajectory but really keep the spin down. Do you have numbers from your vector for this shaft? It would help a lot.

As for the OP, I just switched over from the 15*/19* setup to the 13*/17.5*. This works a lot better for me as well because I like to choke down and play finesse shots with the 5-wood just as much as I like to take a big rip at it. Once I switched over to the stronger lofted 5-wood it became apparent that I would need a 13* to create a noticeable difference in distance between the 3 and the 5 woods. I play both clubs at pretty common lengths (43" and 42" respectively)
[/quote]

I like the Purple Ice pretty well. It is still in my backup 15* three wood right now. It has a good feel to it, mostly because it is a little softer and the tip is not as stiff as the 8A4. I would consider it a mid to high launch and the spin is moderate. I do not have the Vector numbers in front of me, but if I recall, I launched it around 16.5 with between 3700-4000 spin, ball speeds were usually around 145 or so. I carry it around 250+. Those numbers are off of the top of my head as I haven't had it on the Vector in a while. I remember I was hitting it beside a 13* with the MAtrix HD8 in it and it was launching about 2* higher and 400 or so more rpms.

The shaft has always been one of my favorite feeling shafts, but if I really try to hit it hard, you can really feel the head way behind you and it whips pretty hard which can be hard to control. It is in the backup 3 wood for a reason though, I still like to hit it.

JJK947 · April 5, 2010

[quote name='Hstead' date='05 April 2010 - 09:20 PM' timestamp='1270516820' post='2362724']
[quote name='JJK947' date='05 April 2010 - 12:24 AM' timestamp='1270441470' post='2361065']
[quote name='Hstead' date='04 April 2010 - 09:15 PM' timestamp='1270430129' post='2360692']
My SS and HCP are similar, I have a 43.25" Project X 8A4, 84 grams before trimmed in a Adams 13* FP400P 3 wood. It is an awesome shaft. I can hit it high or low, and I mean real low. I have never found a shaft that I can hit this low and it is really really straight. I have a Project X HB6 in the 17* hybrid, Nickent 3DX. The hybrid is my favorite club in my bag. Again, hit it high or low, very low spin.

I have tried several shafts and the Project X 8A4 and HB6 are the lowest launching and lowest spinning shafts for my swing that I have found. They are very stiff and the head feels like it is right with your hands. They are not the "smoothest" softest feeling shafts, but they are great control shafts. I gave up a few yards with them, but the accuracy gained has been well worth a few yards. The hybrid plays around 42" I believe.

The only two other fairway shafts I have liked quite a bit are the Matrix HD8 and the GD Purple Ice. The Purple Ice was not very stiff though, but had a good feel to it. The Matrix was a low spinner and felt similar to the PX 8A4.

I have a Vector in my basement so I do a lot of testing with different shafts, heads, balls etc.

Check out the Project X line with your swing speed, they are solid and EXTREMELY straight shafts. Very anti-left.
[/quote]

Hstead, how does the purple ice perform in your three wood. I am currently looking for a cheaper three wood shaft and was surprised you mentioned this shaft. I am looking to keep a mid to mid/high trajectory but really keep the spin down. Do you have numbers from your vector for this shaft? It would help a lot.

As for the OP, I just switched over from the 15*/19* setup to the 13*/17.5*. This works a lot better for me as well because I like to choke down and play finesse shots with the 5-wood just as much as I like to take a big rip at it. Once I switched over to the stronger lofted 5-wood it became apparent that I would need a 13* to create a noticeable difference in distance between the 3 and the 5 woods. I play both clubs at pretty common lengths (43" and 42" respectively)
[/quote]

I like the Purple Ice pretty well. It is still in my backup 15* three wood right now. It has a good feel to it, mostly because it is a little softer and the tip is not as stiff as the 8A4. I would consider it a mid to high launch and the spin is moderate. I do not have the Vector numbers in front of me, but if I recall, I launched it around 16.5 with between 3700-4000 spin, ball speeds were usually around 145 or so. I carry it around 250+. Those numbers are off of the top of my head as I haven't had it on the Vector in a while. I remember I was hitting it beside a 13* with the MAtrix HD8 in it and it was launching about 2* higher and 400 or so more rpms.

The shaft has always been one of my favorite feeling shafts, but if I really try to hit it hard, you can really feel the head way behind you and it whips pretty hard which can be hard to control. It is in the backup 3 wood for a reason though, I still like to hit it.
[/quote]

Thanks, that helps a lot.