Attenton Fairway Metal Experts!

[NiftyNiblick]

My fairway metals are technologically obsolete, but they're also the only fairway metals I know, other than the very first TaylorMade series from the beginning of that company, that have old school lofts, lie angles, and face angles retained from the "wooden" wood era.

 

There used to be a foundry called Zeider who would make metalwoods to custom specs, but I believe that they've left that business in that they don't return my correspondences.

 

Now, the only source of which I'm aware who will at least furnish custom specs for fairway metals is Henry-Griffitts.  At least their "Praxis" metals have larger heads than my venerable Titleist PTs whose heads are roughly the size of modern hybrid heads.  Also, they furnish requested specs without the need for those newfangled hosel dials.

 

Is anybody aware of anyone else who provides this service?  Right now I'm playing twenty-five year old metal-woods with weeks-old irons.

 

 

 

 

[hckymeyer]

Definitey not a fairway wood expert, but have you tried any of the recent offerings?  Do you like your driving iron?  Do you play it off the deck or only off the tee? 

 

Also distance wise what gaps are you looking to fill?  Have you hit any newer hybrids lately? 

 

I guess it really comes down to what you are looking for. Do you want a smaller boutique company to make you new woods/hybrids based off some type of specs you will give them?  Or would you just like to get fit for your gaps with newer clubs?

 

We could go back and forth all day about the benefits (or lack there of) of newer club technology, but personally I do believe there have been some great improvements over the past 10 years, expecially compared to what you have in the bag now.

 

My biggest advice would be to go see a competent fitter and find some combo that works to fill the gaps you need, at the very minimum go hit some of the newer clubs and see if any work for you.  I'm guessing you will see some pretty decent gains in both distance and forgiveness.

 

Best of luck on your search!

[Undershooter]

If you are looking custom check out wishon's offerings. I'm sure a wishon fitter could suggest something from their offerings.

[NiftyNiblick]

Custom-fitting is one thing, and custom-building is another. One begins with existing components and one begins with raw metal.

 

I have been on the web page of every major manufacturer and most of the boutique ones.  Only Henry-Griffitts, to my knowledge, can give me EXACTLY what I want.

 

FLATTER lie angles.

 

SQUARE TO SLIGHTLY OPEN faces

 

The abilty to manipulate clubhead weights so any finished length with a given loft clubhead can result in MATCHING SWINGWEIGHTS.

 

The WEAKER LOFTS that I prefer which most manufacturers have consigned to hybrids.

 

Find a Titleist archive site, check out the specs of the original PT metalwoods from 1990, and then try to find ANY modern club which can match the metrics while still offering modern technology.

 

Or better yet, don't bother and believe me that I've already done it!

 

All higher lofted fairway woods come with closed faces and upright lie angles because the manufacturer assumes that everybody who wants them casts over the top and slices.  It's beyond their imagination that a senior who can hit the ball properly just lost some flexibility and clubhead speed.  I haven't hit an accidental slice since I was fourteen. Blocks and pushes, maybe, but not slices.

 

The big guys--Callaway, TaylorMade, Titleist, Ping, Cobra, Mizuno, et al simply don't get it, and neither do the Epons, Miuras, and PRGRs from Tour Spec.

 

Zeider forging used to do it.  Henry-Griffitts still does it.  Wishon, available at more reasonable prices, doesn't quite do it.  The tooling required to do it precludes non-exorbitant prices.

 

And one small thing.  The H-G's don't have club numbers.  I don't like a loft that was used on a four-or five-wood in 1960 stamped on a seven-wood now.  It's a small thing, but it was enough to make me spring for new Hogan irons.

 

I haven't committed to anything yet, but my fairway "wood" clubheads are twenty-five years old!

 

As for my driving iron and sand iron, they're shot specific utilities. I only hit the driving iron from the tee and the sand iron from bunkers or thick greenside rough. 

 

I like fairway woods from the deck (or into greens on par 3s) because the driving iron hits line drives and lands too hot.    

 

As for the wedge, I like a straight leading edge with minimal bounce from the turf and a very rounded leading edge (with sole width substituting for bounce) from the sand.

 

Note my five degree increment  iron gaps.  That makes room for extra utilities.

 

But this thread started out about fairway woods, so I'm rambling.

[Undershooter]

I'm sorry I don't know more custom builders. If you want new tech and exact specs for lie and face angle then your gonna spend more. Look tour issue. At least you know 100% the specs.

[hckymeyer]

Custom-fitting is one thing, and custom-building is another. One begins with existing components and one begins with raw metal.

 

I have been on the web page of every major manufacturer and most of the boutique ones.  Only Henry-Griffitts, to my knowledge, can give me EXACTLY what I want.

 

FLATTER lie angles.

 

SQUARE TO SLIGHTLY OPEN faces

 

The abilty to manipulate clubhead weights so any finished length with a given loft clubhead can result in MATCHING SWINGWEIGHTS.

 

The WEAKER LOFTS that I prefer which most manufacturers have consigned to hybrids.

 

Find a Titleist archive site, check out the specs of the original PT metalwoods from 1990, and then try to find ANY modern club which can match the metrics while still offering modern technology.

 

Or better yet, don't bother and believe me that I've already done it!

 

All higher lofted fairway woods come with closed faces and upright lie angles because the manufacturer assumes that everybody who wants them casts over the top and slices.  It's beyond their imagination that a senior who can hit the ball properly just lost some flexibility and clubhead speed.  I haven't hit an accidental slice since I was fourteen. Blocks and pushes, maybe, but not slices.

 

The big guys--Callaway, TaylorMade, Titleist, Ping, Cobra, Mizuno, et al simply don't get it, and neither do the Epons, Miuras, and PRGRs from Tour Spec.

 

Zeider forging used to do it.  Henry-Griffitts still does it.  Wishon, available at more reasonable prices, doesn't quite do it.  The tooling required to do it precludes non-exorbitant prices.

 

And one small thing.  The H-G's don't have club numbers.  I don't like a loft that was used on a four-or five-wood in 1960 stamped on a seven-wood now.  It's a small thing, but it was enough to make me spring for new Hogan irons.

 

I haven't committed to anything yet, but my fairway "wood" clubheads are twenty-five years old!

 

As for my driving iron and sand iron, they're shot specific utilities. I only hit the driving iron from the tee and the sand iron from bunkers or thick greenside rough. 

 

I like fairway woods from the deck (or into greens on par 3s) because the driving iron hits line drives and lands too hot.    

 

As for the wedge, I like a straight leading edge with minimal bounce from the turf and a very rounded leading edge (with sole width substituting for bounce) from the sand.

 

Note my five degree increment  iron gaps.  That makes room for extra utilities.

 

But this thread started out about fairway woods, so I'm rambling.

Sounds like you just answered your own question

[RoverRick]

I have been on a quest for fairway metals for years. I have several different newer models but the best ones, for me, I have found are the Titleist 980F 13* & 17*, circa 2002. I have updated the shafts in these and can't find anything I hit more consistently off the tee or the turf.

 

They were in the bag, and my hands, today on the course. I had absolutely no misfires with them. I did try to clear a tree and was unsuccessful but it was an iffy shot to begin with.

 

Good luck and I am no help at all.

[Kenny B]

I agree with hcky, Nifty.  I think you need to spend some time hitting some of the newer models to see what they actually do for your game.  You might be surprised by the results.  I prefer to see ball flight outdoors.  

 

Several years ago, I picked up the TM RBZ FW and hybrids because I hit them better than anything I had previously hit.  But this spring I replaced the 3W and 3H with Sonartec 17* and 24* FW that are almost 10 years old.  Best fairway woods ever for me!  Too bad they went out of business in 2010.  They were picked up by Royal Collection in Japan and you can see the Sonartec design in their new woods.

 

You can still find several Sonartec models on eBay for cheap, but I am not an expert on the differences between models.  I think I remember that the SS-07, which was one of the last ones made before they closed, had a bendable hosel; 2* either way for loft and lie.  Don't know if the RC clubs have that feature, but like most all clubs from Japan, they are quite expensive.

[jbil8802]

Wishon would've been my best suggestion also.

[NiftyNiblick]

Thanks for all of the suggestions and comments, guys..  The one thing I've got going for me is that the ancient Titleist PTs are hanging in there until I find the right answer.

[RookieBlue7]

I can order you Wishon woods at any spec. I've got a dealer account with them. You can get woods at pretty much any spec you want if you're inclined via tour issue clubs also. That said, with modern tech, you may not need the same lofts, as shaft tech has improved a ton and you can fine tune even more so than before as well as alter launch characteristics with them. Have you considered adjustable?

[jaskanski]

I have been on a quest for fairway metals for years. I have several different newer models but the best ones, for me, I have found are the Titleist 980F 13* & 17*, circa 2002. I have updated the shafts in these and can't find anything I hit more consistently off the tee or the turf.

 

They were in the bag, and my hands, today on the course. I had absolutely no misfires with them. I did try to clear a tree and was unsuccessful but it was an iffy shot to begin with.

 

Good luck and I am no help at all.

 

Ah - a man after mine own heart.

The venerable Titleist 980F has been my favourite since it came out and I've yet to find anything that performs or feels any better.

With reference to the OP, I would also echo the thoughts of other posters and suggest Wishon fairways which are capable of being bent to spec with ease (unlike other woods and even some proprietary adjustable hosel designs). Other than that (and provided you still have the game for them lol) the old PT's still have bag cred if you ask me.

[NiftyNiblick]

The last several posts have been largely about whether I'll ever find a way to replace the antique Titleist PT metals in my bag.  Well, the old fashioned little club heads are antique.  The shafts and grips are well removed from original.

 

To recap quickly, the metals are as listed in my signature.  The 13º is equivalent to a persimmon or laminated maple  1½ or 2-wood.  It is my driver. Compared to today's 260cc "mini-drivers," it is a micro-driver.

 

From there, I skip the 15º model, a modern 3-wood loft, in favor of the 17º model which is equivalent to a wooden 3-wood.  The 20 serves as my 4-wood, and the 23, a number found on some modern 9-woods, serves as my 5-wood. 

 

To put this in perspective, the very first TaylorMade 5-wood, which actually had a #5 stamped on it unlike the Titleist PT, was also 23º in loft.  It's right there in the vintage specs, and you can usually find one on ebay if you want to see a "5" and a "23" stamped on the same club!  (I hate to say it, but you can probably find those two numbers stamped on a modern iron now  ).

 

In reality, I don't actually think in club numbers any more, even with my irons.  The metals are my 13, my 17, my 20, and my 23, and my new Hogan irons are the same.

 

Well, as is my inclination, I'm wandering off subject.  Today, in an odd club barrel in the pro shop, I happened across a Titleist PT "Mid Size" 10.5º driver, stainless, not titanium, which cosmetically matched my regular PTs.  It has an old, R-flex Fujikura shaft, and while I haven't hit a strong lofted driver in quite some time, I asked to take it to the range.  Then, after striping a few balls, I bought it for next to nothing.  The new UST 65 Gold and Golf Pride Tour Wrap 2G will cost a lot more than the old club did, but for now, my whining about metalwoods is over.  The season has just a few weeks left to it in these parts, and if I'm still breathing to show up for next season, I won't quarrel about golf clubs at least until then.

 

OK, one more whine.  It's hard to draw with the 10.5º club.  I can fade with it easily, but the draws go too low to be useful.  I can draw like the happy hooker with the 13, so who does one call for the implementation of a sixteen club rule?