Driver and 3w

[Shank Aaron]

I have an idea for my buddy and thought it would be a good idea to post about it for opinions, insights, or similar experiences and findings from y 'all. 

 

The golfer- 13 handicap, consistent 108 driver swing speed, 

 

The clubs- Sim Max 9* driver with a Diamana S Lim 60 stiff, and the matching Max Titanium 3W with the same shaft but the FW model in 75g stiff.

 

The stats/background-

1. The driver is his biggest dragon to slay. One day he's drilling it 275-285 with anywhere from a 5-30 yard mid trajectory fade, the next he comes in crazy shallow and                    beats the ball into the box for 9/14 driver holes. 
2. With the 3W he's automatic. I play a lot of rounds with this guy and I have seen him miss with this club twice in 2020. Piercing mid trajectory, almost always straight,                        but if it curves its never more than 5 yards right. Total distance is usually in the 235-255 range.

 

My idea/question- Both of these clubs are stock OTS with zero adjustments, and dude plays with all settings at standard/neutral. So what is grinding my gears is why the extreme difference between the two clubs with the same shaft make? The only real outward difference between the two shafts is 2 1/2" and 15 grams. My idea is to build a driver shaft at 44 1/4" in different weights and flexes from shafts I have at the house and see if his driver performance improves, or at least see how it's affected by the -1.5" difference.

 

I give this post about 2 hours before someone with way too much urine content in his cornflakes makes a really long, unnecessary post about getting fit. Please try to remember that some of us were affected more by COVID than others in your "go get fit" comments, and thanks to all in advance. 

 

 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Shank Aaron

[golfinnut]

Now that last part made me laugh 

[THEZIPR23]

You can definitely try it. However he is capable of hitting it well, so it is not an equipment issue. 

[MaxEntropy]

I can relate to the dilemma - I am very inconsistent with a D with a two-way miss that rears its ugly head way too often, while a 3W is as close to "automatic" as it gets for an old(er) fart with around a 15 handicap. For a year+ I have wanted to get a real driver fitting to see if it is just an ill-fitting driver, but I suspect I could make more use of a few lessons so my swing would (hopefully) be a little more repeatable. In the meantime, I mostly use a 3W off the tee unless there is plenty of bail-out room for me to pull D.

[jaskanski]

At the risk of chewing on some salty cornflakes - I would say: They are not the same shaft, they are not the same length, they are not the same loft, they are not the same weight distribution, they are not being delivered at the same AoA. It's probably and extreme difference (in your own words) because there is an extreme difference between a driver and a 3W for the factors previously mentioned. You're comparing apples to oranges, so any comparison is not really worth getting your gears ground about. 

[cnosil]

1. The driver is his biggest dragon to slay. One day he's drilling it 275-285 with anywhere from a 5-30 yard mid trajectory fade, the next he comes in crazy shallow and                    beats the ball into the box for 9/14 driver holes. 

 
 

I doubt there is as drastic of a difference in the good and bad swing. There is most likely a swing fault and depending on how he is timing the swing that day he is getting good or bad results.

Don’t change the club, have him get a lesson.

[Shank Aaron]

9 minutes ago, jaskanski said:

At the risk of chewing on some salty cornflakes - I would say: They are not the same shaft, they are not the same length, they are not the same loft, they are not the same weight distribution, they are not being delivered at the same AoA. It's probably and extreme difference (in your own words) because there is an extreme difference between a driver and a 3W for the factors previously mentioned. You're comparing apples to oranges, so any comparison is not really worth getting your gears ground about. 

This is hands down the best "go get fit" response without saying "go get fit" I have ever seen. You, Sir, win.

 

Jokes aside, I totally understand what you mean, and the differences. I just cant compute how he can swing the 3W so right and the driver so wrong. I know its his swing and mechanics and that equipment wont fix that, but I'm an engineer by background. Stuff like this is what kicks around in my head 24/7. The shorter shaft can maybe be viewed as a placebo, but if this simple change somehow works......Personally, I still believe firmly that he needs to be in an X-Stiff, but that is an entirely different subject. 

[Micah T]

More loft is easier to hit, shorter length clubs are easier to hit, but before “Stensonizing” or putting a 3wood head on a driver shaft, has he (cover your cereal) tried choking down or adding some loft to that 9 degree driver?


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[Shank Aaron]

3 minutes ago, Micah T said:

More loft is easier to hit, shorter length clubs are easier to hit, but before “Stensonizing” or putting a 3wood head on a driver shaft, has he (cover your cereal) tried choking down or adding some loft to that 9 degree driver?


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I've tried to get him to choke down (I do with my own driver as the norm), but it doesn't work well for him for one reason, or another. That's why I planned to just cut down on a spare shaft, or two that I already have to force the issue. 

[golfinnut]

I was going to say to choke down & "Think" that it's a 3 wood in his hands.  Other than looking down & seeing a larger head, he should just imagine he's swinging the 3 wood.   If it's not swing mechanics, then it's psychological in his head .... "I can't hit the damn driver!"   

[Micah T]

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[Micah T]

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[ChitownM2]

Not super familiar with the TM adapter, but can you not just put the 3W shaft in the driver and give that a try just to see what happens? 

[Shank Aaron]

On 1/6/2021 at 8:29 PM, ChitownM2 said:

Not super familiar with the TM adapter, but can you not just put the 3W shaft in the driver and give that a try just to see what happens? 

Different adapters. Wish they were the same. Would save me a ton of work, but I have more than a few shafts gathering, dust and plenty of adapters. Since I love club building I'm looking at it like an opportunity to get some peace and quiet, lol.