3 wood shaft, driver head - An experiment

[Sats]

Really struggling off the tee at the moment, and in the process of lessons. I was duffing it left and about 10-15 yards with the driver, then had a lesson and can launch it now, albeit with a HUGE slice - unfortunately this slice isn't a cut and pretty much unplayable.

I've had a little devilish idea to put a 3 wood shaft in my driver. I don't know if it will psychologically make a difference or whether having that shorter shaft will do anything. At this point I'm up for seeking the advice of crystals Has anyone else done this and what were your results?

Again, I will continue with lessons as I believe that is my route to success, but you never know do you.

 

[AAC]

About 25 years ago I had a ping Eye 2 driver with a 3 wood (or shortened driver shaft ?) shaft, it worked ok, however shafts have moved on from the old uniflex regular steel so I guess it could be completely different now.

 

[clubchamp98]

It’s a good thing but you will lose some distance.
The shorter shaft will reduce your clubhead speed so 20yds is common.
The big difference I found was the weight of a wood shaft is heavy compared to modern drivers.
You do feel the difference.
You must stop the urge to thrash it to get more distance as this leads to more pain.
Trying anything that is different always feels strange ,and I always thought the driver head looked massive with a shorter shaft.
But it was definitely easier to hit.
The only thing is make sure the shaft is similar to your driver shaft, as a badly fitting shaft can make things worse.
Good luck.

 

[Sports_Fanatic]

This may be daft but have you just tried gripping it a bit lower on the driver to shorten the shaft and make it more controlled. Seen it discussed as an approach in places for a stock shot.

 

[spongebob59]

I tried a 44 inch driver and it didn't alter my slice at all, worked it out with lessons.

have you a 3 wood and how does this go ?

go and see Gary at Stonelees ?

 

[Sats]

This may be daft but have you just tried gripping it a bit lower on the driver to shorten the shaft and make it more controlled. Seen it discussed as an approach in places for a stock shot.

I haven't yet, but I'm willing to give it a go.

 

[clubchamp98]

I haven't yet, but I'm willing to give it a go.

Just make sure the grip is thick enough.
Going down the grip where it gets thinner can lead to you gripping to tight.

 

[Sats]

I tried a 44 inch driver and it didn't alter my slice at all, worked it out with lessons.

have you a 3 wood and how does this go ?

go and see Gary at Stonelees ?

I was hoping you'd say "Yeah, results went brilliantly!!!"

I do have a 3 wood it goes well enough

Stoneless wasn't that Jude place beforehand?

 

[clubchamp98]

I was hoping you'd say "Yeah, results went brilliantly!!!"

I do have a 3 wood it goes well enough

Stoneless wasn't that Jude place beforehand?

To be honest a well struck 3 wood was almost as good as a driver with 3 wood shaft in.
I have a negative AOA and always have struggled with driver.
But I can almost hit my 3 wood as far but not quite .
Give it a go you might be pleasantly suprized.
It’s all in the shaft though.

 

[Rlburnside]

After a flight I went straight to a course to play and found my driver shaft damaged in transit.

I always thought driver shafts were to long so I asked the pro to put a 3wood shaft in, I found overall the distance was not that much shorter than the driver and much straighter, I played with that club for 4 years before I got fitted for my currant driver.

 

[spongebob59]

I was hoping you'd say "Yeah, results went brilliantly!!!"

I do have a 3 wood it goes well enough

Stoneless wasn't that Jude place beforehand?

Not sure Jude has ever coached at Stonelees, he's at Manston.

Which pro are you seeing ?

 

[Sats]

Not sure Jude has ever coached at Stonelees, he's at Manston.

Which pro are you seeing ?

I had a lesson with Jude at Stonelees about 3-4 years ago - he may have moved since.

Atm I'm having lessons with Bruce at Sene Valley

 

[spongebob59]

I had a lesson with Jude at Stonelees about 3-4 years ago - he may have moved since.

Atm I'm having lessons with Bruce at Sene Valley

If you fancy a change, he's the man

http://www.gbgolfcoaching.co.uk/index.html

 

[spongebob59]

Found a thread from a few years back

https://forums.golfmonthly.com/threads/mini-driver-larger-head-3-wood.98930/

 

[davidy233]

Found a thread from a few years back

https://forums.golfmonthly.com/threads/mini-driver-larger-head-3-wood.98930/

I've got a Taylor Made SLDR mini driver (2014-15 era) - it's very easy to hit from the tee. I've just put it back in the bag as insurance for when recent struggles with my driver emerge. Loses a good bit of distance but pretty reliable at getting me in play.

 

[jim8flog]

Really struggling off the tee at the moment, and in the process of lessons. I was duffing it left and about 10-15 yards with the driver, then had a lesson and can launch it now, albeit with a HUGE slice - unfortunately this slice isn't a cut and pretty much unplayable.

I've had a little devilish idea to put a 3 wood shaft in my driver. I don't know if it will psychologically make a difference or whether having that shorter shaft will do anything. At this point I'm up for seeking the advice of crystals Has anyone else done this and what were your results?

Again, I will continue with lessons as I believe that is my route to success, but you never know do you.

As others have said

Just hold the driver lower down the grip. You may want to change the grip so that is fatter further away form the butt (use a plus 4 or similar) or add some grip thickening tape whilst you experiment

The other differences between a driver shaft and fairway wood shaft is the tip is shortened by one to half an inch to give a slightly stiffer shaft (with most makes of shaft) and a fairway shaft might be heavier.

 

[RichA]

This may be daft but have you just tried gripping it a bit lower on the driver to shorten the shaft and make it more controlled. Seen it discussed as an approach in places for a stock shot.

When struggling recently, I've been gripping down to the extent that my right index finger is actually below the grip and using a shorter but faster iron type swing. I've found it easier to hit straight and the loss of distance is minimal. It's ugly, but it works.

 

[Ethan]

Really struggling off the tee at the moment, and in the process of lessons. I was duffing it left and about 10-15 yards with the driver, then had a lesson and can launch it now, albeit with a HUGE slice - unfortunately this slice isn't a cut and pretty much unplayable.

I've had a little devilish idea to put a 3 wood shaft in my driver. I don't know if it will psychologically make a difference or whether having that shorter shaft will do anything. At this point I'm up for seeking the advice of crystals Has anyone else done this and what were your results?

Again, I will continue with lessons as I believe that is my route to success, but you never know do you.

The shorter shaft should help control. Hitting the sweet spot is the biggest contributor to distance. There is no harm in giving it a try and it very possibly will be a lot better for you.

Traditionally the fairway wood shaft has been about 10 grammes heavier than the driver shaft, but some brands don't do this nowadays and offer quite light fairway shafts.

 

[sweaty sock]

Will probably end up with a really light swingweight, so you might find strike is erratic.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

If you fancy a change, he's the man

http://www.gbgolfcoaching.co.uk/index.html

I also go to Gary.
He has a very good way of giving you information in an easy to understand way.