Has Technology Developed So Fast?

[Dock]

Wont bore you but Have had a 7 year break from golf through illness. I was playing off 12 and heading for single figures. Struck down and then allowed to start playing again with restrictions a year ago. I have a different swing due to surgery and wearing a hernia tube. Being a senior and a long lay off it was a strange game again, but plenty of fun and surprised myself and now playing off 20.8 under the new handicap system?

I am struggling with my 5 iron and 3 wood, so spoke to a very good golfer who told me my swing speed was probably not fast enough for those clubs. He told me to dump them and get a 7 and 9 wood and leave my 5 wood in the bag. I went onto golfbidder to see if I could pick up a bargain and see if it worked without spending a bomb on a new club. I bought a Wilson Dynapower 7 wood. Wow the height and flight is amazing, but I now have a bigger problem. I am hitting the 7 wood further than the 3 or 5 wood, so it sort of messes the gapping a bit. My clubs were custom built probably 12 years ago and the woods are Tom Wishon with shafts to suit my swing at the time, but now seem to be obsolete after trying out the Wilson 7 wood with senior shaft.

Have things moved on so quickly or have I just been lucky with this second had bat. It looks like I am going to take out 5 iron, 3&5 woods. Will my 5 hybrid plug the gap to the 7 wood or should I go for the 9 wood

 

[Crazyface]

In my opinion, and please take this as not having a go, but your off 20+. Does it matter that much at the moment? I was tinkering when I was at 12, not that it helped. I'm now up to 18. I'm more concerned with hitting it straight. To hell with distance. Enjoy playing again. Well done on playing off 20. If you get down to 12 again, and with this system it's not easy, then start looking at certain clubs for distance. Oh, and all newer clubs go further.

 

[Imurg]

It sounds like you've lost swing speed.
3 wood and 5 iron are quite plausibly beyond your speed now so don't worry about them - get rid!
If the 7 wood goes so well I'd be inclined to get the 9 and base the rest around those....5h, depending on the loft, might fit in somewhere.
Your iron shafts may not be helping you...too heavy and/or too stiff could be robbing you of distance
Change in technology over the last few years has been more about retaining ball speed from off centre hits.
We don't hit the middle most of the time but retaining ball speed helps to keep distances up.

 

[Mandofred]

I've pretty well given up on long irons. Current set up is driver, 5w, 9w, 11w and then 6+7 hybrids.....covers me down to about 125yds.....usually only go with a 7 or 8 iron as my longest iron. Got down to 5.4 this last summer with this setup......6.1 at the moment.

 

[Crow]

Your 7 iron probably is a long iron though.

@BiMGuy

 

[Dock]

It sounds like you've lost swing speed.
3 wood and 5 iron are quite plausibly beyond your speed now so don't worry about them - get rid!
If the 7 wood goes so well I'd be inclined to get the 9 and base the rest around those....5h, depending on the loft, might fit in somewhere.
Your iron shafts may not be helping you...too heavy and/or too stiff could be robbing you of distance
Change in technology over the last few years has been more about retaining ball speed from off centre hits.
We don't hit the middle most of the time but retaining ball speed helps to keep distances up.

Never had a fast swing and my irons are still hitting the distances they were when I had them made. Obviously struggled with the 5 iron though for some reason. banjofred has a different slant on it too by including an 11 wood. So woods all the way to 125 yards.

The main point of the OP was how the hell a 7 wood off the peg can outdistance a 3 wood that was custom fit

 

[BiMGuy]

Your 7 iron probably is a long iron though.

@BiMGuy

You rang?

 

[jim8flog]

7 years means 7 new and better Taylormade drivers in that time

I have got a 30 year old 7 wood in my bag, Wilson Staff Invex (went back in a couple of weeks ago)and the only difference that I see is that I hit it about 30 yards shorter than I did 30 years ago