Need higher launching woods!

[shanx]

I've played Titleist Drivers and FWs for years now, appreciated the lower, boring flight they provided.

 

I'm a bit older now, and those Titleist woods with lower trajectory aren't right for me, I'm having trouble getting any height on tee shots.

 

My swing speed is still around 105mph with the driver, but I'm experimenting with shafts too.

 

I'm not one for "latest and greatest", driver is 905r or 905t, FW woods are TS2. Shafts are all Fuji Speeder 652 or 661 EVO.

 

I'm looking for easier to hit drivers and FW woods that will get the ball airborne a little easier. Not looking to break the bank. I like to work the ball a little, nothing GI.

 

Any help is appreciated!!

[Valtiel]

Not sure what lofts you have now, but if you're comfortable with Titleist then it makes sense to simply go up in loft for all of them. 9.5* driver -> 10.5* driver and loft up to a 16.5*/21* 4w/7w setup over the normal 15*/18* 3w/5w one. 

[Seattlegolfnut]

I’m middle age and need height on my fairways too. Higher launch shaft helped me get the ball up. Loved the Diamana ‘ilima for a long time and now game the RF. Could consider that in addition to higher lofts. Challenge for me is the higher launching heads get smaller.

[DoughBack18]

I have a Sim 2 Ti 5 wood and I have definitely found it to be higher launching. I’ve always been a lower flight player but I have no issue elevating that club off the tee or off the the deck. You can snag a good used one for $200, maybe even a little less so not quite breaking the bank like a new stealth or something. 

[shanx]

36 minutes ago, Valtiel said:

Not sure what lofts you have now, but if you're comfortable with Titleist then it makes sense to simply go up in loft for all of them. 9.5* driver -> 10.5* driver and loft up to a 16.5*/21* 4w/7w setup over the normal 15*/18* 3w/5w one. 

 

10.5, 15, 16.5. A few 9.5 drivers too

[Stinger83]

Ping fairways

[Cheezhead19]

My tour edge 7w launches SUPER high

[sadclevelandsports]

My trusty speedzone woods are great for height off the deck

[jafstar]

All Taylormade glued fairways.

 

If you play a 3w, try a 3HL aka 4w

Same for 5w, try the 5HL or 7w.

 

The shaft needs to be on point also. I prefer UST Pro Force v2 and the Kuro Kage Silver Tini, or the Aldila Tour Green. They perform better than their price might suggest. 

 

[shanx]

I bought a few things on the classifieds here since my first post.

 

A TM M5 Driver

A few R flex, 60g shafts

 

I'm keeping my Titleist TS2 16.5 with the 661 EVO IV shaft, its been fine for me.

 

I have a Kuro Kage 60 R that I am going to tip a little and try it in a strong 3 wood. The TS2 13.5 that I have now is really hard to get airborne. Or I might try it in the 16.5 TS2.

 

 

[HarborMike]

On 4/9/2022 at 5:53 PM, shanx said:

 

10.5, 15, 16.5. A few 9.5 drivers too

I would think you could transition easily into the TSi2 woods. There’s lots of loft options including 16.5. I find them really easy to launch and workable.

[jlevitt9]

On 4/9/2022 at 8:15 PM, Stinger83 said:

Ping fairways

 

This. I'm a FW hoe. Last great one was the R11 for me. Gone through 15+ easily since then. Landed on the G25 16.5*. Last weekend I hit the pin from 250 out (landed 2" in front of the hole). Top 3 shots of my life. You can pull that club from my cold, dead hands. 

[ezpz]

Hitting FW woods is the worst part of my game by a mile. I played a titleist 915f which I thought was fairly easy already but was then fit into a TM stealth 16.5 (not the plus model) and have never hit anything like it, it just launches so easily with a ton of ballspeed, I would recommend trying it.

[m_w]

Ping G425

Titleist TSi1

Callaway Rogue ST Max and Max D

[animalgolfs]

If you need more height -playing a 13.5 fw isn't gonna help- no matter the shaft choice. My 1st fw starts at 17.5...so your 16.5 is fine. 

[shanx]

1 hour ago, animalgolfs said:

If you need more height -playing a 13.5 fw isn't gonna help- no matter the shaft choice. My 1st fw starts at 17.5...so your 16.5 is fine. 

 

I'm not great off the tee with a driver, no consistency, but have always hit FW woods fine. I wanted something to hit off the tee that would get me out farther than my 4 wood, but be easier to hit off the tee. So I snagged a 13.5 late last season to try.

 

I hit some really long worm burners with it..

[animalgolfs]

3 minutes ago, shanx said:

 

I'm not great off the tee with a driver, no consistency, but have always hit FW woods fine. I wanted something to hit off the tee that would get me out farther than my 4 wood, but be easier to hit off the tee. So I snagged a 13.5 late last season to try.

 

I hit some really long worm burners with it..

This thread has some info for higher launching shafts -

 

 

[getitdaily]

10 hours ago, shanx said:

I bought a few things on the classifieds here since my first post.

 

A TM M5 Driver

A few R flex, 60g shafts

 

I'm keeping my Titleist TS2 16.5 with the 661 EVO IV shaft, its been fine for me.

 

I have a Kuro Kage 60 R that I am going to tip a little and try it in a strong 3 wood. The TS2 13.5 that I have now is really hard to get airborne. Or I might try it in the 16.5 TS2.

 

 

So, a few things here...adding in

@Valtiel because he knows this stuff better than me.

 

You are playing 60-67g shafts in 3ws and you swing Driver 105.

 

I'm willing the bet the lack of heft in your fwy shaft is causing you to get steep...lower launch, lower spin, flatter flight.

 

You should have zero issues getting proper height out of that 16.5 ts2. I think your issue is the shaft. I toyed around with an old Driver shaft in a 3w. I saw lower launch and spin from the 67g Driver shaft than an 88g shaft. All because of delivery.

 

I think you're better off getting 75-78g shaft and putting it in that 16.5. Go s flex and tip it no more than 1 inch...maybe don't tip it at all. 

 

[Titlemade]

There are no design characteristics that will outclass an increase in loft. A more flexible shaft can also help with dynamic loft at impact. . . if the characteristics of the shaft still allow you to make solid contact with the ball. Sometimes this can cause a change in impact location which can decrease launch. There are 2 design characteristics that will help get the ball up: 1. Increased weight low and rear like the Sim ti. 2. Lower face height like older fairways and more current Ping designs. (Neither will de-throne an increase in loft when it comes to effectiveness)

[m_w]

I agree, if you need launch, don't play a 13.5* which is designed to do the opposite  regardless of shaft

 

Maybe look into: TM Mini Driver 11.5*, 16.5* 3W, 21* 7 wood, 23* Hybrid 

[shanx]

1 hour ago, getitdaily said:

So, a few things here...adding in

@Valtiel because he knows this stuff better than me.

 

You are playing 60-67g shafts in 3ws and you swing Driver 105.

 

I'm willing the bet the lack of heft in your fwy shaft is causing you to get steep...lower launch, lower spin, flatter flight.

 

You should have zero issues getting proper height out of that 16.5 ts2. I think your issue is the shaft. I toyed around with an old Driver shaft in a 3w. I saw lower launch and spin from the 67g Driver shaft than an 88g shaft. All because of delivery.

 

I think you're better off getting 75-78g shaft and putting it in that 16.5. Go s flex and tip it no more than 1 inch...maybe don't tip it at all. 

 

 

I'm sticking with the current shaft in the 16.5, I am happy with the trajectory as it is with the current shaft.

 

But you may be onto something with heavier shafts. I went back to DG in my irons, the lower weight shafts I have used before (KBS stuff) really didn't work for me, I like a 120gm iron shaft..

[getitdaily]

2 minutes ago, shanx said:

 

I'm sticking with the current shaft in the 16.5, I am happy with the trajectory as it is with the current shaft.

 

But you may be onto something with heavier shafts. I went back to DG in my irons, the lower weight shafts I have used before (KBS stuff) really didn't work for me, I like a 120gm iron shaft..

Heft and swing weight are incredibly important. They both help the club stay shallow. In transition, typically (I think) the heavier the shaft the more it wants to drop rather than fire toward the ball (shallow vs steep). Same with swingweight, heavier tends to help the clubhead drop rather than get steep. 

 

Too light and it's easy to get steep in transition. Too heavy and it gets too flat and you get stuck inside. You can use weight and swingweight to help manage what the club does in transition...

[shanx]

1 hour ago, getitdaily said:

Heft and swing weight are incredibly important. They both help the club stay shallow. In transition, typically (I think) the heavier the shaft the more it wants to drop rather than fire toward the ball (shallow vs steep). Same with swingweight, heavier tends to help the clubhead drop rather than get steep. 

 

Too light and it's easy to get steep in transition. Too heavy and it gets too flat and you get stuck inside. You can use weight and swingweight to help manage what the club does in transition...

 

Funny. 

 

I had an amazing lesson years ago, totally blew my mind. It was all about shallowing my club on the way through. My 110gm iron shafts and 60gm fairway shafts were discussed too, my pro suggested going back to Dynamic Golds to help me "drop" the club into a shallower path. I had a set of R300s sitting around, so I put them in a set and used them to help with my downswing. I haven't touched that set, they are still in the bag. I have increased my iron distance at least a club.

 

Don't know why I haven't followed up and gone to heavier shafts in my woods, but I do have an S300 with a Titleist tip in it, might pop it into that 4wood TS2 head just to see what happens..

[getitdaily]

3 minutes ago, shanx said:

 

Funny. 

 

I had an amazing lesson years ago, totally blew my mind. It was all about shallowing my club on the way through. My 110gm iron shafts and 60gm fairway shafts were discussed too, my pro suggested going back to Dynamic Golds to help me "drop" the club into a shallower path. I had a set of R300s sitting around, so I put them in a set and used them to help with my downswing. I haven't touched that set, they are still in the bag. I have increased my iron distance at least a club.

 

Don't know why I haven't followed up and gone to heavier shafts in my woods, but I do have an S300 with a Titleist tip in it, might pop it into that 4wood TS2 head just to see what happens..

You should see one or both of the following by going to that s300 as a test...

 

1. Higher launch and more spin...and shots left out right. You're increasing heft a ton. Likely to have the face open up in transition. 

2. You'll see too much of 1 so you'll compensate. You'll start to roll yhe release harder and start pulling shots. 

 

But it's a mildly decent way to test heft. The s300 is just too heavy. 

[Rory4Pres]

I can't say enough good things about the ventus velocore red shaft if you are looking for a higher ball flight/launch angle.

[jafstar]

I think seeing more loft adds confidence whether on the tee or in the fairway.

 

But horses are for courses.

[shanx]

2 hours ago, Rory4Pres said:

I can't say enough good things about the ventus velocore red shaft if you are looking for a higher ball flight/launch angle.

 

Yeah, just very pricy...

[Cheezhead19]

I adjusted my m5 3w up to 16.5* and have been enjoying it, not too different off the tee, but noticably easier off the fairway. 

[shanx]

My 3 21* hybrid tops out at 220, grab it at  200 out.

My 4wd 16.5* tops out at 255, grab it at 240 out.

 

Tried a 2 hybrid for that "window" between 220 and 235, also have a 5 wood. 5 wood might go back in the bag if I pull the 13.5 3 wood.

 

Wanted a club that could get me 260/270 off the tee, 250 off the fairway, that's the reasoning behind the 13.5 degree TS2.

 

My driver, at its best is 280/290 but realistically its 265/270. I can be sneaky long, but much more consistent with woods and hybrids lately.

 

 

[JD3]

On 4/9/2022 at 8:15 PM, Valtiel said:

Not sure what lofts you have now, but if you're comfortable with Titleist then it makes sense to simply go up in loft for all of them. 9.5* driver -> 10.5* driver and loft up to a 16.5*/21* 4w/7w setup over the normal 15*/18* 3w/5w one. 

Spinnier ball too since he said he wants to work the ball more.