3 Woods with Steel Shafts

[whiskey golf]

Would a 3 wood with a steel shaft be a good combination?

Do you guys use one?

Would it play more like a hybrid/iron? (stupid question)

 

I heard Gary Woodland uses one but I haven't heard or seen anybody else game one.

[GolfSpy WD]

Would a 3 wood with a steel shaft be a good combination?

Do you guys use one?

Would it play more like a hybrid/iron? (stupid question)

 

I guess my first reaction is why would you want to?

 

I heard Gary Woodland uses one but I haven't heard or seen anybody else game one.

 

Gary Woodland also hits the ball like a truck. I think 99/100 times, the graphite shaft will be better.

 

1) Graphite shafts tend to be lighter and very few people use 100+ gram shafts in their 3 wood

2) Way more options in graphite shafts

3) Literally zero options in steel shaft without boring out the clubhead to .355, and zero options intended for a 3 wood.

 

The reason to go for steel is consistency over distance, but to do that you really need massive distance to begin with. While I have a steel shaft in my hybrid, it was made specifically for hybrids and so the argument is different and comes down to what kind of flight and feel you want. Plus the hybrid is a transition club by nature.

[Matt Saternus]

Would a 3 wood with a steel shaft be a good combination?

Do you guys use one?

Would it play more like a hybrid/iron? (stupid question)

 

I heard Gary Woodland uses one but I haven't heard or seen anybody else game one.

 

Steel in a 3W could be good for some people, but probably not the majority. The thing about graphite is that it gives the shaft makers a lot more options/possibilities in terms of design, and that covers everything from weight, bend profile, etc.

 

No reason to think that a steel shaft would make a 3W play like a hybrid or iron (at least none I can think of). At the end of the day, you still have very little loft and you need to have a shallower AoA to hit it well/consistently.

[Shambles]

Would a 3 wood with a steel shaft be a good combination?

Do you guys use one?

Would it play more like a hybrid/iron? (stupid question)

 

I heard Gary Woodland uses one but I haven't heard or seen anybody else game one.

 

 

I doubt there is a significant difference between the two these days. Modern steel shafts have become lighter, thereby reducing the necessity of cutting them shorter, and graphite shafts have improved tremendously in durability and reliable accuracy. Even their prices are approaching convergence, though steel continues to have an advantage.

 

 

Shambles

[hckymeyer]

Just save the hassle and go with the Graffalloy BiMatrx.

 

I did try an S300 2i shaft in an old V-Steel 3w head for a little bit last year, I didn't like it at all. Ball flight looked like a 747 dipping a wing to the right.

 

I switched the BiMatrx after reading Rookie's review of it and I couldn't be happier. I even put one in my backup driver and based off an early simulator session last week there is a pretty good chance it could beat out my gamer.

[RoverRick]

I put a KBS Hybrid shaft in a Titleist 909F 15.5* FM, and I loved it. However, you really need to decide what you are wanting in a 3 wood. A 3 wood is one of the hardest clubs to hit in the bag. I do not think that a high handicapper should carry a fairway metal less than 17 or a lob wedge more than 58 degrees. I see more bogies made on par 5's by high cappers who pull out the FM and try to reach a par 5 in two. They pull out the FM and top it or even worse make contact and knock it out of bounds or into the hazard.

 

I said that I loved this combination and did. It made that FM much more playable for me. I later found that the R11 was a better fit and I also had to decide what I wanted in a FM. I found that while I can hit the 3 wood 250 off the tee, I rarely can hit it more than 200 off the deck. I hit the hybrid and the 2 iron much better off the deck. So therefore, I only want a FM for hitting off the tee when the driver is too much and the hybrid is not enough. I have actually been wrestling with the idea of dropping it all together and adding an additional wedge but I use that off the tee on 3 holes and I am getting by without the wedge.

 

I did put the steel shaft in a 19* Rescue 11. shortened of course. But look at the difference between a steel and a graphite shaft. KBS has done amazing things with steel shafts and unlike the curtain rods of old the newer steel shaft designs can add extra kick like a graphite, but when you talk about graphite shafts you have shaft torque, or the amount that the shaft twists during the swing because the head. Steel shafts do not have that and therefore you have to assume the shaft twisting with a steel shaft is minimal. All I can say is that you better be aiming at the flag because these go where you point them. Not that you can not work the ball but they are a lot straighter than a graphite shaft.

[ZenGolfer]

Whats the advantage to steel? Graphite is lighter and today's graphite shafts arent nearly as whippy as they have the reputation of being. Honestly, if I were getting a new set of clubs and had the choice, Id go graphite in all the clubs simply because the performance nowdays is better.