Anyone ditch the 3 wood for a 4 wood?

[yunabomber8]

Wish Ping would make a 4 wood. I had a XR Cally 4 wood and hit it farther and more accurate than my current 3 wood. Should’ve kept it

[blakehall]

Count me in among the 4 wood fans.

 

I carried an R9 4 wood for years. Then I got a bit distracted by carrying a 3 and a 5 for a while, but I'm firmly back in the 16-17* fairway wood club. It does such a good job fitting a gap for me.

[myspinonit]

1 hour ago, yunabomber8 said:

Wish Ping would make a 4 wood. I had a XR Cally 4 wood and hit it farther and more accurate than my current 3 wood. Should’ve kept it

Liked the G25 4 wood, their last fixed hosel.  I played the G400 SFT at 16 degrees (close to 4 wood), before the G25  the K15 also at 16 degrees briefly.   Moved onto the G410 5w, now the G425 5w, both opened a click to 16.5.  Still sits pretty square to my eye. Some play it  with a 3w length shaft. I’ve tried that too but prefer the shorter length.

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

Yes. Cally Epic Speed 4W at 16.5*, fixed hosel. 
Not in love with it yet, I’m seeing too little forgiveness and might shorten it by 1/2”. 
 

My old Mizzy JPX 850 5W was stupid easy to hit but launched too high. Was hoping to find the sweet spot in the Epic 4W, but hasn’t been love at first sight. We’re working on our relationship now. 

[Feelingofgreatness]

For me, it was simple... Adding 1.5 to 2 degrees of loft and a shaft that's 0.5 to 1" shorter makes the long game a lot easier. Most 4ws are 42.5" long, I would even say go to 42" unless you are extremely tall. 

 

I swing my driver at max 102mph so a perfectly struck 3w only goes 6 to 8 yards further than a 4w, so not much in the way of strokes gained from 240 yards out or off the tee. That is perfectly struck, bad strikes the 4w actually performs better than the 3w so it balances itself. 

 

For the average golfer with 100mph or less swing speed and >8 handicap, it's much easier going to 4w (or 5w), 7w, and either 9w or 4 hybrid depending which you prefer. 

Edited March 2, 2022 by Feelingofgreatness

[fred faldo]

if you ever come across a Callaway X2 Hot 16.5 snatch it up, you can thank me later. Face is hot and with the slightly shorter shaft the middle of the face seems the size of a driver. I truly believe I gained distance from the tee as well over any three wood that was ever in the bag

[aquapig]

M4 HL 16.5 is pretty sweet. Great off the tee and easy to hit off the turf.

 

I pair that with my Tour Edge 7 wood and love my setup. 

[Esox]

I used to carry a 4 wood in the persimmon days. Got my only albatross with one in the very early 80's. Now days I got rid of the 3 wood, but went straight to 5-7-9 woods in TM M6's. The odds of me hitting and holding a green any further than the 220 I carry the 5 are slim to none, so I don't even bother trying.  It's easier on the score accepting my limitations these days, and for me that means a layup and a wedge are the better play on long par 5's .

 

Edit- Interestingly enough, it just occurred to me that the persimmon 4 wood I hit at 22 yrs old carried the same distance as the 5 wood I hit now, 40 years later..... And my swing speed certainly hasn't increased. LOL

Edited March 3, 2022 by Esox

[iACE13]

Also a 4 wood fan, I have a very penetrating ball flight so the extra loft helps me off the deck.

[cmatthews77]

Just ordered an Epic Speed 4w to test against my Flash SZ 3W head I play at 16 degrees (I expect them to be very similar). I was tempted to pick up the 5W to test as an either or. 
 

This spot is so tricky because I do use it off the tee a good bit at my home course. Two specific tee shots I use it for shape (easier for me to hit a draw with the fairway vs fade with the driver). Another tee ball it has to be able to carry a fairway bunker in a dogleg where driver is too much club. 
 

Yet at the same time I’m tempted to pull it from the fairway on an uphill par 5 to try and get as close as possible or green side (where I’m almost always better off hitting the next club in my bag with more loft). 

[RainShadow]

On 3/1/2022 at 3:35 PM, LukeDonaldsTiger said:

Yes. Cally Epic Speed 4W at 16.5*, fixed hosel. 
Not in love with it yet, I’m seeing too little forgiveness and might shorten it by 1/2”. 
 

My old Mizzy JPX 850 5W was stupid easy to hit but launched too high. Was hoping to find the sweet spot in the Epic 4W, but hasn’t been love at first sight. We’re working on our relationship now. 

Shortening should help, and a I thought the Epic speed was a good head. Not a fan of the stock IM10 in either weight the offer.

I found the IM10 to be squirrely. 

Try a different shaft.

 I have both a 17*OG Rogue @ 43" and a SIM2Max 3HL 16.5* @ 42.75.

The OG Rogue has a 70g Atmos Blue TS and I just put the same in the TM, since I didn't like the non velocore Ventus Blue 6FW ( Made for TM ).

These two are doing battle for playing time right now.

Edited March 3, 2022 by RainShadow

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

57 minutes ago, RainShadow said:

Shortening should help, and a I thought the Epic speed was a good head. Not a fan of the stock IM10 in either weight the offer.

I found the IM10 to be squirrely. 

Try a different shaft.

 I have both a 17*OG Rogue @ 43" and a SIM2Max 3HL 16.5* @ 42.75.

The OG Rogue has a 70g Atmos Blue TS and I just put the same in the TM, since I didn't like the non velocore Ventus Blue 6FW ( Made for TM ).

These two are doing battle for playing time right now.

Thanks. What do you mean by „squirrely“? Not a native speaker. 
 

I shortened my drivers and it helped a lot, that will be my first step. 

[RainShadow]

4 hours ago, LukeDonaldsTiger said:

Thanks. What do you mean by „squirrely“? Not a native speaker. 
 

I shortened my drivers and it helped a lot, that will be my first step. 

Loose/ unstable 

[eddiebigeddie]

I’ve been playing a 4 wood for a long time. Just fits my gaps better. I did play a 14’ Tm Sim Rocket last year and while it’s stupid easy to hit and HOT, I just don’t need that in my bag. So switched to a Sim2 Max 3Hl for this season with a Atmos Tour Spec Black. Hoping the lower launching/spin of the shaft works well with the head. 

[Dabman]

I tried a new Callaway Rogue ST max they other day ,3HL at 16.5 . Loved it but no new ones in stock . So I got the G425 5 wood and going to move it a click . If I don’t like it can return it within 90days. GW has 3 on order . Pretty nice business model. 

[Michaeljrosa]

im playing a turned up 3 wood 17° and its great

[Mostly]

This time last year I had a fitting to look at replacement options for a G30 3wood.  My pro very quickly suggested going to a 5 wood with a 3 wood shaft in it and the lift dialled down a degree.  I now have a G425 5 wood.  Good strikes are as good as the old 3 wood.  Poor strikes are (a) less common and (b) still better than poor 3 wood strikes. 

[evoviiiyou]

I had a gap between driver and my driving iron but have never loved a 3wood. So started hitting an old R11S 5wood I had with a Kaili TP 70s and was killing it on the range. This got me to anty up and buy a SIM Ti 5/19* so I could turn it open and square it up. Glad I did. No gap in the top of the bag and that one or two times I get a par 5 option to get to a green in two shots, I am ready. One large bucket and I can’t believe I never thought about this club. Love it. Basically stamped 5 wood but turned down to 17* so a quasi 4 wood. Love it 
 

 

[NRJyzr]

On 3/3/2022 at 4:54 AM, Esox said:

I used to carry a 4 wood in the persimmon days. Got my only albatross with one in the very early 80's. Now days I got rid of the 3 wood, but went straight to 5-7-9 woods in TM M6's. The odds of me hitting and holding a green any further than the 220 I carry the 5 are slim to none, so I don't even bother trying.  It's easier on the score accepting my limitations these days, and for me that means a layup and a wedge are the better play on long par 5's .

 

Edit- Interestingly enough, it just occurred to me that the persimmon 4 wood I hit at 22 yrs old carried the same distance as the 5 wood I hit now, 40 years later..... And my swing speed certainly hasn't increased. LOL

 

The persimmon 4w is probably about the same loft as the modern 7w.  

 

The "replace 3w with 4w" discussions, as well as the 4w/7w configurations, are just a continuation of, or return to, the wood lofts that have been used for decades.  The names are different now, but the clubs are largely the same.

 

Hybrid use included

 

[myspinonit]

1 hour ago, NRJyzr said:

 

The persimmon 4w is probably about the same loft as the modern 7w.  

 

The "replace 3w with 4w" discussions, as well as the 4w/7w configurations, are just a continuation of, or return to, the wood lofts that have been used for decades.  The names are different now, but the clubs are largely the same.

 

Hybrid use included

 

lol.  It lets us old f**ts hit clubs with the same number on the bottom and think we are hitting them close to the distance we did 40 years ago.  My current 5W at stock 17.5 degrees  is  probably close to the loft and with a longer shaft than my pride and joy Spalding Elite Plus 3 1/2 wood from the set I got in 1978. And the 7W in that Spalding set was probably more like a  9 wood (maybe 11 wood ) in today's lofts.  I did find the lofts online for the irons in that set and for example the 6i was 34° and the 8i was 41°.  

Edited March 5, 2022 by myspinonit

[Hickory4ever]

3 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

 

The persimmon 4w is probably about the same loft as the modern 7w.  

 

The "replace 3w with 4w" discussions, as well as the 4w/7w configurations, are just a continuation of, or return to, the wood lofts that have been used for decades.  The names are different now, but the clubs are largely the same.

 

Hybrid use included

 

The persimmon woods had to have more loft because being made of solid wood, their centre of gravity is higher.

 

As you have stated, the basics never change, get it in the air and the ball goes further. It works for clubs of any era. 
 

And the old five woods at roughly 21-22 degrees with the small head performed the same function as a hybrid today.

[cjblake09]

I just made the switch from a 3 wood to a 5 wood and can turn it down to 17*.  I put a little longer shaft in it at 42.75" as well.

[Fairway14]

Depending on the course I swing 3-wood from between 2 and 10 tee boxes per round. It's a great tee box club and I would not want to take that out of the bag. But, I would prefer to play a 4-wood from fairway lies and might find a way to add one to my bag.

[obsessed_golfer]

On 3/1/2022 at 3:43 PM, yunabomber8 said:

Wish Ping would make a 4 wood. I had a XR Cally 4 wood and hit it farther and more accurate than my current 3 wood. Should’ve kept it

The Ping 5 wood is a 4-wood loft

[cmatthews77]

Got my Epic Speed 4w in from CPO with the stock IM10 70g stiff in and just threw it in the bag yesterday to try out replacing the Epic Flash Sub Zero 3w (turned to 16).  First impressions are it's a good head and I definitely hit it much higher than my Flash SZ.  Will need to do some testing as the shaft combo I had in Flash SZ and this Speed is just waaay different.  The Smoke IM10 (mid-spin version) feels very active in the tip (which definitely contributes to launch) compared to the Smoke (low spin version) in the Flash.  

 

Off the deck I probably like the looser one as I don't feel like I have to try and hit it so hard to elevate.  Off the tee not sure yet.  Hit it 3 times off the tee and one got the launch/spin profile I'm looking for (not measured just basing off flight and how far it went).  Two others spun up a bit on me and floated and didn't get what I'd like to get off the tee.  Of course my delivery is the reason for that but just will need more testing.  I hate these glued fairways and said I was never going to buy another Callaway fairway again since they're all glued.  I know it has some weight saving benefit but I think its just them being cheaper.  It just makes self-testing so much more difficult because we can't just pop one shaft out and another in and give it a go.

[me05501]

On 3/1/2022 at 3:43 PM, yunabomber8 said:

Wish Ping would make a 4 wood. I had a XR Cally 4 wood and hit it farther and more accurate than my current 3 wood. Should’ve kept it

 

One of my contenders this year is a Callaway XR 4+ on a Tensei Blue shaft. It seems to sit a little open for me and I have hit some pushes with it, but it feels hot and I like the way the shaft reacts. 

 

I also have a Rogue 4 wood on a stock shaft that sits more square for me. I'm considering swapping the shafts and using the Rogue 4 wood on the Tensei Blue shaft. I probably need more range time with both of them before I decide what to do. 

[getitdaily]

I took a step closer to doing this on Saturday. 

 

Played a 16.5 sim2 ti. From that club I saw that there is zero distance loss going from 15 to 16.5. But the sim2 ti is still a bit too low spin for me, in the shaft I prefer. So I ordered a rogue st ls at 16.5. I've seen the Rogue st ls to spin just a bit more. 

[greenomics]

Dropped the 3-wood for a TSi3 5-wood. Happy so far.

[HOLN1UK]

On 3/1/2022 at 2:43 PM, yunabomber8 said:

Wish Ping would make a 4 wood. I had a XR Cally 4 wood and hit it farther and more accurate than my current 3 wood. Should’ve kept it

It isn't labeled as a 4-wood, but Ping's 5-wood loft can be lowered to 16.5 or 16*, which is in effect a 4-wood. I went one step further, and installed a 3-wood shaft in my 5-wood, and I love it. 

[opensupoverthere27]

I went this route last season. Went with a g425 5 wood turned down to 16*. It was a great club off the tee but off the deck it wasn’t going much further than my 3 hybrid. I ended up purchasing an OG sim 3 wood recently and don’t think I’ll look back!