Cutting down fairway woods?

[Calvo90]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering: Shorter driver lengths are quite common and topic of cutting down driver to obtain more control without sacrificing much of the distance (if any) has been debated ad nauseaum both on forums and on youtube. The results are clear and pretty much consistent across all testers (even MGS did a test a couple of years back). But when it comes to playing shorter fairway woods, I noticed there is little to no debate. I managed to found some on WRX forum but the debate seems to have stopped in paleolitic age. So I was wondering what MGS forum members' experience with shorter fairway wood shafts is?

I am asking because I am seriously thinking about cuting down my 3 and 5 wood Taylormade SIM fairway wood for about an inch, so 3 wood (43,25'') would basically play at 5 wood length (42,25'') and 5 wood at 7 wood length (41,25''). I don't really seek better contact because I strike fairway woods pretty good, but because my tendency with fairway woods is to hit a draw, which has about 30% chance of turning into nasty hook off the tee or pull/draw off the fairway. Turning the loft on 5 wood on low setting which opens the face helps quite a bit but the downside is it turns 5 wood into 4 wood and not weak 5/6 wood I was hoping for. The main problem is with my 3 wood, which I cannot turn much lower because it is simply not functional off the fairway. When it comes to 3 wood I have to choose between standard loft setting with looming dreaded hook or lower settings which straighten my shots but lower my ball flight and turn my shots into devastating low spin smother hooks when hit on the toe of the club. If I didn't otherwise love my 3 wood I would simply get rid of it but I am convinced both of us can smooth out turbulent relationship and with a little adjustments have something special. 

I think shortening fairway wood shafts could be the solution to my problems.  Shortening fairway wood shaft for 1'' would usually result in about 2° flatter dynamic lie angle (closer to 3° PING's flat setting), plus I would have to increase head weight with about 12g of rat glue I could position in the toe of the club to give it even more fade bias. These changes would theoretically made the woods more fade biased and allow me to play with higher lofts (14,25°-15° 3 wood and 18,25°-19° 5 wood) which would add more spin to the ball and more importantly mitigate dramatic curvatures on poor strikes.

Any imput would be greatly appreciated.

[MattF]

I don't have an issue with my 3 wood simply because it is a shorter shaft than driver. (I choke about 1.5" down on the driver) The best thing you can do before you start cutting anything is choke down and test drive it that way. If it works, great, cut it down. If it doesn't, run what you brung but at least you're not cutting up a shaft for nothing.

[cnosil]

IMO, the longer the club the hard they are to hit.   Shortening the 3 woods is why 4 woods are more popular.   I would say that the larger headed hybrids are the replacement for longer shafted fairway woods.    As we start moving to clubs beyond the driver max distance becomes less of a focus and we seek specific distances.   Tweaking lofts and clubs lengths are ways to hit distance targets, gaining more control of the clubs, and improve ball striking.    I think we talk driver length the most because it is the longest club in the bag and we hear about how shaft length has been increased.   The same thing has happened throughout the set as people chase more distance.  

[revkev]

The above post really contain all the answers that you need - 

 

I would not go hacking off shaft length on a club that I paid $250 plus for without trying it first and that's easily accomplished by griping down - you could even measure from the butt and put tape down 1/2" and another 1" inch.  It could be that you need more loft on those clubs though rather than a shorter shaft.  Fitting is the best way to go but if you wish to do it yourself experiment in ways that aren't permanent - 

 

This is coming from the voice of experience - I've ruined many a club and purchased others chasing the latest fad only to discover the fad didn't suit my game. 

[Shapotomous]

I love to experiment more than most, but if I didn't have a spare in the boneyard bag to try first....

before shortening the gamer shaft I'd try choking down on the grip or try a higher lofted club with the face adjusted open to get you away from the hook bias.  

 

[Calvo90]

3 hours ago, cnosil said:

IMO, the longer the club the hard they are to hit.   Shortening the 3 woods is why 4 woods are more popular.   I would say that the larger headed hybrids are the replacement for longer shafted fairway woods.    As we start moving to clubs beyond the driver max distance becomes less of a focus and we seek specific distances.   Tweaking lofts and clubs lengths are ways to hit distance targets, gaining more control of the clubs, and improve ball striking.    I think we talk driver length the most because it is the longest club in the bag and we hear about how shaft length has been increased.   The same thing has happened throughout the set as people chase more distance.  

 

1 hour ago, revkev said:

I would not go hacking off shaft length on a club that I paid $250 plus for without trying it first and that's easily accomplished by griping down - you could even measure from the butt and put tape down 1/2" and another 1" inch.  It could be that you need more loft on those clubs though rather than a shorter shaft. 

This is coming from the voice of experience - I've ruined many a club and purchased others chasing the latest fad only to discover the fad didn't suit my game. 

 

46 minutes ago, Shapotomous said:

I love to experiment more than most, but if I didn't have a spare in the boneyard bag to try first....

before shortening the gamer shaft I'd try choking down on the grip or try a higher lofted club with the face adjusted open to get you away from the hook bias.  

 

Thank you for advice. May I ask what length fairway wood shafts are you playing?

Gripping down does not feel the same to me but luckily shafts in my 3 and 5 wood can be swapped. What I will probably do is that I will put 5 wood shaft into 3 wood, which is 1'' shorter, put appropriate amount of lead tape on toe of the club to keep the same swing weight and play with the club for a couple of weeks. That should give me more insight if cutting down works as should on the paper.

[cnosil]

1 hour ago, Calvo90 said:

 May I ask what length fairway wood shafts are you playing?

My fairway is stock which I think is 43".   Driver is 44.5

[Shapotomous]

I like your idea of using the 5w shaft as an experiment to start with. 

Measured at address position my 3w is 42.75" .  If I remember correctly D1 adapter setting opens the face about 1* and results in a 15.75* loft.  This club goes about 10 -15 yards further than my 15* hybrid which is shorter at 41.5".  The 15* hybrid is like a 5w distance for me.  Both were selected to fit a yardage I was looking for.

 

[revkev]

5 hours ago, Calvo90 said:

 

 

Thank you for advice. May I ask what length fairway wood shafts are you playing?

Gripping down does not feel the same to me but luckily shafts in my 3 and 5 wood can be swapped. What I will probably do is that I will put 5 wood shaft into 3 wood, which is 1'' shorter, put appropriate amount of lead tape on toe of the club to keep the same swing weight and play with the club for a couple of weeks. That should give me more insight if cutting down works as should on the paper.

Great question - my longest fairway wood is a 5 rather than a 3 so it’s only 42.5

My driver is 45

 

I was fit for both 

[pakman92]

Another option would be to use a 3 hybrid instead 5 wood. At 41.25, it's same or 1/4 shorter than a 3 hybrid which would also have similar loft.  Does your cut down 5w fly higher than 3 hybrid at full length?  Do you prefer the shape and the look of FW enough that you'd never play a hybrid?   If you haven't tried a 3 hybrid, you should consider it.

[AndySP]

I play a standard/longer driver at 46 in, but by fairway is a 4 wood cut down an inch from standard. As was sort of mentioned above, one thing that was difficult to get right was the head weight, so there was some lead tape experimentation to sort that out.

I never liked longer fairway woods. I already struggle with them and the extra length only made it more difficult for me personally. I don’t really ever use it off the tee, so its just got be a little longer than my hybrid. Granted, save the driver, all of my clubs are cut down because I hit them better that way. I’m short though. 

[RI_Redneck]

You can make your FWs any length you want. You just have to re-weight them IF they feel too light after doing it. My recommendation is take your 5w shaft and put it in your 3w (provided they are the same adapter) and see how you like it.

 

BT

[NC Golfer]

I would cut down a half an inch at a time, maybe even a quarter. I have this bad problem of thinking I need a senior shaft when I don't. I end up shortening clubs to make it feel stiffer.

[Calvo90]

Update on my experiment: I changed shafts and put 5 wood shaft in my 3 wood (Taylormade SIM Ti OG). I weighted both 3 wood and 5 wood head and put enough lead tape on the toe side of the V-sole to match 3 wood head weight to 5 wood head weight. Just to make it pretty I colored the lead tape with black sharpie so you have to really look carefully to see the lead tape.

I played two rounds on the course and a couple of hours on tha grass field in front of my house. I am happy to report two things: First, I managed not to smash any of the house windows and second, my experiment worked as expected. Previously, at standard length I had to lower the loft on my 3 wood by at least 1,5 degrees to stop the ball from hooking, which made the club unusable from fairway. Now I can play the fairway wood at standard loft to play lovely baby fades from the fairway that are more than capable of holding the green and high straight ball from the tee which is unheard of for me. I even increased loft by one click which produced dead straight and high ball flight (even on mishits) from the fairway and 5 yard draws from the tee. Additional bonus is the fact that 3 wood sits lovely, flush to the ground, and even with just 1 inch of length difference the head looks even bigger which inspires even more confidence.

Before I cut down the shaft on my 5 wood I will play a bit more golf to get more data and give the golfing gods enough time to show me any problems I have not yet noticed. Regardless I am exstatic with the results and recommend this experiment to anyone who is struggling with overhooking their fairway wood.

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Calvo90

[Mdrnsamurai]

Honestly this should be a no brainer, especially these days... (ie... One Length (Cobra) and Increased Club Lofts across all club makers) Sure you may sacrifice some club speed at first but if you're puring every shot and gaining more control and consistency with a shorter fairway wood or hybrid then why not?? Distance is great but accuracy and control is premium imo. 

[BostonSal]

When you shorten fairway woods, do you use shaft plugs or lead tape to re-adjust the swingweight or just not bother?

Little chance of the club becoming too flat, I suppose, since they're udually too upright to begin with.

It's been a while since I could choose a model with flatter rather than rocker soles

because the upright lie would then become a problem.

 

[Calvo90]

1 minute ago, BostonSal said:

When you shorten fairway woods, do you use shaft plugs or lead tape to re-adjust the swingweight or just not bother?

Little chance of the club becoming too flat, I suppose, since they're udually too upright to begin with.

It's been a while since I could choose a model with flatter rather than rocker soles

because the upright lie would then become a problem.

 

For me it is necessay to adjust swing weight with any changes of club length that exceed 0,25 inch. Adjusting swing weight can be done in a number of ways, some are simpler than others.

I don't like tip weights because I prefer to add weigh somewhere behind strike point on the head hence I use shaft tip weights as a last resort when i don't want lead tape on the head (like in irons). For the purposes of testing I used lead tape because it is easier to add it and remove it on the go. Since I painted the lead tape and camouflaged it onto the clubhead i will probably leave it as is but I was also thinking about using Rattlestop to discretely add some weight inside the head through the weight port but that takes a bit more experience and caution because correcting mistakes is incredibly hard.

The other option is also changing weights on the club. On Taylormade SIM Ti OG (like on many other clubs) there is single front weight that can be removed and changed for a heavier one. Stock weight was only 2g whereas it is possible to buy heavier weights in 2g increment up to 10 or 12g. I was worried that adding more weight toward the front of the club would reduce the spin too much and make my problems with shape even worse so I passed on this option.

[BostonSal]

1 minute ago, Calvo90 said:

For me it is necessay to adjust swing weight with any changes of club length that exceed 0,25 inch. Adjusting swing weight can be done in a number of ways, some are simpler than others.

 

Not being a do it yourselfer, I wouldn't be the one shortning the club myself.

When we order clubs short, however, how so we knoe if swingwight ws adjusted or not?

Do we actually need a scale?

[Calvo90]

8 minutes ago, BostonSal said:

Not being a do it yourselfer, I wouldn't be the one shortning the club myself.

When we order clubs short, however, how so we knoe if swingwight ws adjusted or not?

Do we actually need a scale?

I know some OEM adjust weights to accomodate length changes on orders of new clubs but i wouldn't say that is necessary the case with other vendors. I would suggest measuring the swing weight yourself using at least internet swing weight calculator (like: https://www.hirekogolf.com/golf-clubfitting-assembled-swingweight-calculator) or preferably swing weight scale.

Adjusting swing weight is simple: Just add 2g of weight to the club head to increase swing weight by 1 point but rather than going deep in the numbers i would suggest trying the club as is and in case it is too light or it overdraws, add 2g to the head and make a couple of swings again etc.

[BostonSal]

13 minutes ago, Calvo90 said:

I know some OEM adjust weights to accomodate length changes on orders of new clubs but i wouldn't say that is necessary the case with other vendors. I would suggest measuring the swing weight yourself using at least internet swing weight calculator (like: https://www.hirekogolf.com/golf-clubfitting-assembled-swingweight-calculator) or preferably swing weight scale.

Adjusting swing weight is simple: Just add 2g of weight to the club head to increase swing weight by 1 point but rather than going deep in the numbers i would suggest trying the club as is and in case it is too light or it overdraws, add 2g to the head and make a couple of swings again etc.

Thank you.