4 wood at 7 wood length

[JamesG12]

Is anyone out there gaming a shortened 4w (or 3hl)… something around the 16-17° range but playing at 41.5”?

 

im trying to replace my 17° UW. I really like the length but the ball flight is very low. Would sacrifice a little distance for some height. I’ve tried a 5 wood at standard length but for some reason higher lofted fairways don’t work well for me. 
 

im assuming I’d have to add quite a bit of head weight if I’m talking about shortening a club 1-1.5”?

[Bobb3rdown]

Look into a cobra f6 baffler. Probably right up your alley.

[jasonTeI3]

24 minutes ago, JamesG12 said:

Is anyone out there gaming a shortened 4w (or 3hl)… something around the 16-17° range but playing at 41.5”?

 

im trying to replace my 17° UW. I really like the length but the ball flight is very low. Would sacrifice a little distance for some height. I’ve tried a 5 wood at standard length but for some reason higher lofted fairways don’t work well for me. 
 

im assuming I’d have to add quite a bit of head weight if I’m talking about shortening a club 1-1.5”?

I would consider the 20* GT1 hybrid turned down 2 to 18*. It’s already like 40” and the head is really close to a UW maybe even a little more fairway wood shaped. You won’t have to add any weight to the head at all unless you wanted to. 

[gtrade]

I play 5w head turned down to 17 at 42". The way I started was with a 7w club, which had too much spin and height, then switched only the head to a 5w head, which decreased the spin +1000 rpms. Then set it to small minus to open the face a bit and now it's perfect. Spin is ~3900 which is optimal for me.

 

Needed to add weight few grams like you said.

[SC-TX 88]

I just built a similar club. G430 max 5 wood turned all the way down to 16.5 with a Venus red 9x at around 41.75 inches. Put the 20 gram weight in the g430 head and still isn’t back to D0 but love everything about the club in the one round I tried it. 

[uglande]

I play my 3w at 42 and my 5w at 41. And I’m 6’ 5”.

 

Both a full inch short of standard with +6g head weight added. (Same with my driver actually). 

[AdExec]

I made myself a ~ 6 wood 

 

GT2 5 wood at 41.5” and 18.75*….interestingly enough it came out to a D3 swing weight with a Diamana D+ 80tx at that length with the stock head weight. 

 

Tried the GT2 7 wood at stock length, with and without the face angle open. Couldn’t get spin rate low enough to carry the distance I needed without trying to hit a swooping draw. 

[bcjim]

Test it before adding weight.  There is a chance you'll like it better. People fret too much about swingweight i feel like. 

[HISPL]

13 hours ago, JamesG12 said:

Is anyone out there gaming a shortened 4w (or 3hl)… something around the 16-17° range but playing at 41.5”?

 

im trying to replace my 17° UW. I really like the length but the ball flight is very low. Would sacrifice a little distance for some height. I’ve tried a 5 wood at standard length but for some reason higher lofted fairways don’t work well for me. 
 

im assuming I’d have to add quite a bit of head weight if I’m talking about shortening a club 1-1.5”?

I’ve done some work at European Tour events, you would not believe how many players play fairway woods under “standard” length.

 

43 would just about be the longest 3 wood I’ve seen out there, most around 42-42.5 and even down to 41.5 in a 3 wood.

 

Just keep in mind if you are making the club that much shorter you may want to go up 10g in shaft weight, perhaps 12g-15g in head weight and shaft tipping an extra .75 inches. 
(These are all ball park figures)

[azgreg]

I have a steel shafted TM V-Steel 4w that I play at 41.5".

 

[Urb]

14 hours ago, JamesG12 said:

Is anyone out there gaming a shortened 4w (or 3hl)… something around the 16-17° range but playing at 41.5”?

 

im trying to replace my 17° UW. I really like the length but the ball flight is very low. Would sacrifice a little distance for some height. I’ve tried a 5 wood at standard length but for some reason higher lofted fairways don’t work well for me. 
 

im assuming I’d have to add quite a bit of head weight if I’m talking about shortening a club 1-1.5”?

 

Try the 19* UW?

[Bwain]

21 hours ago, uglande said:

I play my 3w at 42 and my 5w at 41. And I’m 6’ 5”.

 

Both a full inch short of standard with +6g head weight added. (Same with my driver actually). 

*cept being 6’5”

 

I run all of my woods short. 

[JamesG12]

21 hours ago, uglande said:

I play my 3w at 42 and my 5w at 41. And I’m 6’ 5”.

 

Both a full inch short of standard with +6g head weight added. (Same with my driver actually). 

If you play an inch short and add 6g of weight does that get your roughly back to the same swing weight or are they light?

[uglande]

17 minutes ago, JamesG12 said:

If you play an inch short and add 6g of weight does that get your roughly back to the same swing weight or are they light?

Gets back to standard more or less. Mine are still a little light in swing weight (not static weight) but that’s only because I play midsize grips. If I put a stock grip on they would be right around standard SW. 

[boggyman]

Still bag an OG 17* RBZ at 41.5”. I’ve tried to kick it out but it always wins. Added some lead tape to the sole and will play it till it caves in. 

[TKS]

Wishon's EQ1-NX 4 wood is designed for what you are talking about. Produced to a trad 4 wood weight with ports and weights to add up to 30 grams if necessary - 60* lie, bendable to trad lies as well.

[akim0227]

I just put a GT2 16.5 (turned down to 15.75) into a 5 wood shaft @ 42 inches playin length. I had to add about 14 grams to the head to get it to play at the D5 SW that I personally prefer. I love the shorter club and have not noticed any real drop in distance from when I was playing it at 43 inches, which is Titleist's "standard". Highly recommend!

[akim0227]

@JamesG12 - I'm not sure which 4W you're considering, but I would also recommend checking out https://billybobsgolf.com/ for any after market weights. They manufacturer aftermarket weight for clubs so you don't have to resort to a silly amount of lead tape.

[daegyu]

I have a TSR 3 wood that I ordered 1/2 inch short of standard, it plays to 42.5 inches. I was told to add a +2 gram weight to the head to bring it to D2. The shorter you play it you'll have to add more head weight to get the same swing weight, but it will play softer. I also have a 19 degree UW as well that I play at 41.5 inches with a Ventus Red. The ball flight is definitely lower than a fairway wood loft for loft, it's just by nature of the design. I mainly use it off the tee if the fairway is tight or into par 5s with no trouble short. 

[ChaosTheory]

9 hours ago, JamesG12 said:

If you play an inch short and add 6g of weight does that get your roughly back to the same swing weight or are they light?

At those lengths, it takes 10-11 grams per inch.