Surprised at Callaway Demo Day

[GregGarner]

Went to a Callaway Demo Day yesterday looking for a 5-wood. Recently dropped my 3i to pick up an extra wedge and I don't love my GAPR Lo. Golf Galaxy has Epic Flash 5 woods for $200, so I figured I would use the fitting to see what shaft would make the most sense.

The fitting, however, took a bit of a turn. Instead of the stiff-flex HZDRUS like my driver, I ended up in an X-flex Rogue White. Even stranger (to me) is that I was hitting the Mavrik SZ 4 wood off the deck as far as my 3 wood teed up and the Mavrik 5 wood was almost the same distance but with a higher flight and more spin, neither of which I need.

I *love* my 3 wood off the tee, but it's such a deep face, I really can't hit it off the deck. So now I'm in a bit of a conundrum: drop the 3 wood and game a Mavrik SZ 4 wood, but keep the GAPR? Or keep the 3w but get the Epic Flash SZ 5w and loft up?

(If it helps, clubhead speed for the 16.5* 4w was right at 100mph at 12.1 launch with ~3200 spin. And I get a 20% discount if I order through my club in addition to having $85 in my credit account.)

[Popeye64]

For myself I would prefer the long range weapon from the turf as opposed to a tee only three wood.

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[aerospace_ray]

6 hours ago, greggarner said:

Went to a Callaway Demo Day yesterday looking for a 5-wood. Recently dropped my 3i to pick up an extra wedge and I don't love my GAPR Lo. Golf Galaxy has Epic Flash 5 woods for $200, so I figured I would use the fitting to see what shaft would make the most sense.

The fitting, however, took a bit of a turn. Instead of the stiff-flex HZDRUS like my driver, I ended up in an X-flex Rogue White. Even stranger (to me) is that I was hitting the Mavrik SZ 4 wood off the deck as far as my 3 wood teed up and the Mavrik 5 wood was almost the same distance but with a higher flight and more spin, neither of which I need.

I *love* my 3 wood off the tee, but it's such a deep face, I really can't hit it off the deck. So now I'm in a bit of a conundrum: drop the 3 wood and game a Mavrik SZ 4 wood, but keep the GAPR? Or keep the 3w but get the Epic Flash SZ 5w and loft up?

(If it helps, clubhead speed for the 16.5* 4w was right at 100mph at 12.1 launch with ~3200 spin. And I get a 20% discount if I order through my club in addition to having $85 in my credit account.)

First let me say I wish I had your decisions to make regarding these clubs. I have nowhere near your swing speed. 

My vote is drop the 3 wood, get the 4 wood and find a better option than that Gapr Lo if you don't like it. And could you not still game the 4 wood off the tee box if you had to? 

What was the carry differences between the 3 wood and 4 wood? Sounds like you only mentioned total distance (carry plus roll out). 

[GregGarner]

4 hours ago, aerospace_ray said:

First let me say I wish I had your decisions to make regarding these clubs. I have nowhere near your swing speed. 

My vote is drop the 3 wood, get the 4 wood and find a better option than that Gapr Lo if you don't like it. And could you not still game the 4 wood off the tee box if you had to? 

What was the carry differences between the 3 wood and 4 wood? Sounds like you only mentioned total distance (carry plus roll out). 

I hit a few 4w's off a short tee and was really squeezing it. Both carry and total for each were pretty close, maybe 5 yards more roll on the 3w but >1000 rpm *more* spin with the 3w (!!!)

And yeah, if I go 4w, I can get a feel for what might replace the GAPR. I demo'd the Hogan UiHi a few weeks back, and that would definitely be a contender for me.

And fwiw, I hit a few with the Super Hybrid and holy crap that was a total no-go. That thing is weird... Felt like swinging one of those orange ball trainers.

[cnosil]

4w is a great option over a 3w. A little more loft and shorter shaft make it easier to hit and get airborne. Sounds like a 4w would be a more versatile club to put in your bag.

[cnosil]

4w is a great option over a 3w. A little more loft and shorter shaft make it easier to hit and get airborne. Sounds like a 4w would be a more versatile club to put in your bag.

[RickyBobby_PR]

Flexes never surprise me because there’s no standard between brands or in some case within the same brand. The two shafts you listed have different profiles.

No surprise with the 4w vs 3w. Many amateurs get better launch characteristics from the added loft that helps distance be on par with 3w.

I have found the 4w to be a good fit for off the deck and off the tee without sacrificing anything  

[GregGarner]

Well alrighty then. The MGS Forum has spoken: 4w it is!

Stay tuned for the review. I've got a few mini-tourneys coming up, so hopefully it'll arrive with enough time to tackle a few range sessions and get an idea for distance and flight.

Appreciate y'all giving your input; I'm really indecisive when it comes to dropping coin. (My driver fitting a couple years back lasted 90 minutes plus a half-day hemming and hawing trying to decide even though the Epic Flash SZ was the clear winner with 11 more yards and a tighter dispersion than what I was gaming...)

[keveng]

I replaced my 3&5 wood last year with a Tour Edge CBX t3 at 16.5.  Lost about 5 yards off the tee, but it’s great from the fairway.  This allowed me to at a 60 wedge to the bag.  All around great improvement to my game.  
I’m somewhat surprised with the x flex.  I’m in the 101-103 range with mine and it’s the hzrdus yellow stiff.  But, that is the advantage of the fitting and why it is so important. 
good luck

[GregGarner]

18 hours ago, keveng said:

I’m somewhat surprised with the x flex.  I’m in the 101-103 range with mine and it’s the hzrdus yellow stiff.  But, that is the advantage of the fitting and why it is so important. 
good luck

Same. Thankfully he had the exact same shaft available in stiff and X and I absolutely hit it better with X. Lower, less spin, more carry, straighter, less dispersion. Hard to argue with results.

But then again, one company's X is another's stiff, particularly when you start factoring in kick-point, butt and tip stiffness, etc.

[GregGarner]

Welp. My 4 wood arrived. Took it for a spin and was absolutely booming it. Arccos had my smart distance at 262 (compared to my 3 wood at 253). But I noticed it was flying very high and seemed to float far too long (too much spin?) And on the 16th hope of my second round with it, a discovery... Callaway sent the regular Mavrik and not the sub zero...

Replacement is another 2-4 weeks out. Sigh... (But if the SZ is the same or better performance, I'll be a happy camper!)