At 10:31 PM 9/13/2007, Richard Wampler wrote:
Of course I have had this same problem with
Hypersteels - 19º does just fine but when I use
the 15º I can't get it in the air.
I don't remember that there is a 15* Hypersteel.
IIRC the lofts were 13, 16, 19, and 22. (I assume
you're talking about the now-discontinued
Dynacraft hybrid head. If you mean a different Hypersteel -- never mind...)
Will a softer shaft get it into the air for
me? And if so won't I lose the yardage I want because of the softer shaft?
Today shaft manufacturers know how to make shafts
to flight the ball lower or higher. While it is
somewhat related to butt frequency, it has a lot
more to do with the flex profile towards the tip.
So it is possible to make a high-launch S-flex or
a low-launch R-flex shaft. I have clubs with both of the above in my own bag.
I think TFlan The Empirical, would say there is only one way to find out.
And he would be correct.
I can tell you what I have done with my
Hypersteels. It was motivated by theory, but the
empirical results have kept them in my bag for more than 4 years.
All my fairway woods have the Hypersteel heads.
For whatever reason, I seem to hit a hybrid more
reliably than a full-depth fairway wood. So my 3w
is a 16* hybrid, my 5w a 19* hybrid, and my 7w a 22* hybrid.
I decided early on that 3* is not nearly enough
spacing between fairway woods of the same basic
design. So I spread out the distances they
covered by shafting them differently.
* The 19* has a conventional fairway-wood
graphite shaft. I get a towering flight from it.
* The 16* has a low-launch (but relatively
butt-soft) R-flex shaft. It hits low bullets that
cheat the wind and roll forever on normal (or, of course, hard) fairways.
* The 22* has a steel shaft to cut off some ball
speed (due to higher total club weight, and also
to the resulting shorter club length).
This works for me. I just got back from RSG-Ohio.
On the last hole of the last round, I had over
200 yards of gradual uphill to the green. I hit a
low rope with the 16*. It was on the front apron when it stopped.
I am so jealous when I see others hit nice high
arcing 3 woods or 13º to 18º clubs. Other than
working on my swing is weenie flex the answer?
I no longer have the clubhead speed to make 13*
work off the ground. (It's great off a tee.) But
my 16* bullet gets me more total distance (at
least if I keep it out of the rough) than the
same head does with a shaft that gives it a "nice high arcing" trajectory.
Hope this helps,
DaveT
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