Turn Down a 5w or Turn Up a 3w?

[Shrek74]

I'm needing to "translate" one my woods into a 4w without buying yet another club at this time (I'm redoing that part of the bag in the Spring), especially as the season comes to a close.

Here are my two options:

1. Turn my 15* 3w up to become 16.5*.
2. Turn my 19* 5w down to become 17*.

Below is the diagram of what happens to the club when I adjust the head to be either more or less loft. I know that looking at the change in lofts also adjusts the lie angles and face angles as well (come on TM, get a dual cog system like Titleist/Callaway).  I'm leaning towards delofting my 5w mainly due to the fact that the face angle is somewhat countered by the increase in lie angle. Where increasing my 3w loft closes the face and increases the lie angle, which could be a double-whammy left.

Those in the industry and/or those with experience, how much does the face angle and lie angle really alter the ball flight when adjust loft like I'm looking at? Also, what would you do in this situation (yes, I know everyone's game and swing are different, I'm just trying to get opinions before I finalize mine)?

[GolfSpy_APH]

So the answer is pretty simple is do you struggle with a fade/slice or draw/hook?

The one that could be the problem is the one you want to avoid. Struggling with a slice? Turning down a 5 wood is going to open the face and make that more exaggerated.

At least in my eyes it seems pretty straight forward.

Hope that helps!

[Shrek74]

1 minute ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

So the answer is pretty simple is do you struggle with a fade/slice or draw/hook?

The one that could be the problem is the one you want to avoid. Struggling with a slice? Turning down a 3 wood is going to open the face and make that more exaggerated.

At least in my eyes it seems pretty straight forward.

Hope that helps!

I do worry about overdoing the hook. I don't typically have an issue with the right side of the course as I have a baby draw with my irons and don't have a slice swing with woods. The 5w makes the most sense as it doesn't bring the over-hook into play like the 3w does (3* face closed + 1.75* more upright lie angle). The turned down 5w has a 2* upright lie angle w/ a 4* open face, which sort of cancels each other out (almost). I'm just not sure how much these adjustments actually affect the ball flight in reality.

[The TXBexar]

16 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

I do worry about overdoing the hook. I don't typically have an issue with the right side of the course as I have a baby draw with my irons and don't have a slice swing with woods. The 5w makes the most sense as it doesn't bring the over-hook into play like the 3w does (3* face closed + 1.75* more upright lie angle). The turned down 5w has a 2* upright lie angle w/ a 4* open face, which sort of cancels each other out (almost). I'm just not sure how much these adjustments actually affect the ball flight in reality.

Could always do both, since it's just an adapter setting change for both clubs, and head to the range and see what comes of it. In my practice sessions, I've found the face angle has the most affect for my swing, rather then the lie angle of the shaft. 

I'd lean toward agreeing with @GolfSpy_APH though, as I have a slicing habit I can't kick, so I'd want to go with turning up the 3W and get me a little help in the process. Plus, any draw looks better then the nicest Fade any day of the week, in my opinion. 

Edited October 16 by The TXBexar
forgot a sentence

[Josh Parker]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

So the answer is pretty simple is do you struggle with a fade/slice or draw/hook?

The one that could be the problem is the one you want to avoid. Struggling with a slice? Turning down a 5 wood is going to open the face and make that more exaggerated.

This was my question as well....  Then I just read further down...

I would probably go with the 5w turned down but I also play my 4w at a 5w length.  I like the control a little more.

[Shrek74]

3 hours ago, Josh Parker said:

This was my question as well....  Then I just read further down...

I would probably go with the 5w turned down but I also play my 4w at a 5w length.  I like the control a little more.

I don't disagree with the control factor. But like virtually everything else, which OEM 5w length? I tend to like the lengths the way Sub70 does it. Clean and simple. 3w/5w/7w, 43/42/41 inches. But mine are TM, so they're 1/4" longer. But it's fine with me.

The 5w is a Stealth+ and the 3w is a Stealth2+, so I'll slide the weight forward, turn down the loft and see if I can get a strong 3w off the tee box with it.

Edited October 17 by Shrek74

[hckymeyer]

Shrek you've been around long enough to know the real answer!  Ignore all of us and just go to the range and try both!  That's the beautiful thing about adjustable clubs, it takes 30 seconds to change it and try something new  

Plus you already know you should just buy the 3hl head 

Edited October 17 by hckymeyer

[RichL85]

8 hours ago, The TXBexar said:

Could always do both, since it's just an adapter setting change for both clubs, and head to the range and see what comes of it. In my practice sessions, I've found the face angle has the most affect for my swing, rather then the lie angle of the shaft. 

I'd lean toward agreeing with @GolfSpy_APH though, as I have a slicing habit I can't kick, so I'd want to go with turning up the 3W and get me a little help in the process. Plus, any draw looks better then the nicest Fade any day of the week, in my opinion. 

[The TXBexar]

29 minutes ago, RichL85 said:

That's right I said it, and meant it too! Lol

All I do is fade the ball though, so being able to draw it back would save me so many missed Fairways! So anytime I see good draw, or even an aggressive draw, it just looks so damn pleasing to the eye.

[Josh Parker]

7 hours ago, Shrek74 said:

I don't disagree with the control factor. But like virtually everything else, which OEM 5w length? I tend to like the lengths the way Sub70 does it. Clean and simple. 3w/5w/7w, 43/42/41 inches.

Haha. Good point!  Go with the length you like.  I would have to look at my Newton shaft to see what length it is. 

[Hoyoymac]

I’ve done both in the past.  

Right now I’m playing a Cobra LTDx 15 degree 3 wood lofted up to 16.5 which is great for me off the turf and tee.  Best fairway wood I’ve ever had paired with a TPT Golf Power Range 17 HI shaft.

The 3 wood length shaft vs a 5 wood length shaft helps me with my yardage gapping.

My next club is a 7 wood. Then a 5 hybrid.

As others have said, there is no substitute for getting them out on the course and range and seeing what the differences are.

[Shrek74]

Well, I got to test the turned down 5w on the course yesterday. Once off the tee box and once off the deck. The tee box was a bit of a mishit, but still went nice and straight. I hit a frozen rope off the deck and almost went too far. I'll try to swap out for the turned up 3w this Sunday to see if it's any different/better/worse. I think the slightly open face, balanced with the increased lie helped the turned down 5w. So we'll see what the turned up 3w does with those adjustments.

[Josh Parker]

3 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

Well, I got to test the turned down 5w on the course yesterday. Once off the tee box and once off the deck. The tee box was a bit of a mishit, but still went nice and straight. I hit a frozen rope off the deck and almost went too far. I'll try to swap out for the turned up 3w this Sunday to see if it's any different/better/worse. I think the slightly open face, balanced with the increased lie helped the turned down 5w. So we'll see what the turned up 3w does with those adjustments.

The third and fourth options are:

Put 5w shaft in 3w turned up.  

Put 3w shaft in 5w turned down. 

[Shrek74]

5 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

The third and fourth options are:

Put 5w shaft in 3w turned up.  

Put 3w shaft in 5w turned down. 

I have  feeling the 5w turned down will win this one, mainly due to what happens to the face/lie when they're adjusted. The 5w down balances out with a little opened face but increased lie. The 3w up closes the face and increases lie. That could be a hook monster. The longer shaft in the 5w does make an interesting option as most 4w's are longer than a 5w but shorter than a 3w.

[Josh Parker]

4 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

I have  feeling the 5w turned down will win this one, mainly due to what happens to the face/lie when they're adjusted. The 5w down balances out with a little opened face but increased lie. The 3w up closes the face and increases lie. That could be a hook monster. The longer shaft in the 5w does make an interesting option as most 4w's are longer than a 5w but shorter than a 3w.

It's worth giving it a go. I have done it with my mini and put the driver shaft in it.