Do I need a fairway wood?

[LockStock666]

I currently own a pretty standard 10.5 degree driver with regular flex shaft.

I have probably hit 3 decent shots with it since I bought it about 4-5 years ago. Most shots are heavy slices. I slice with the consistency that others could only dream of. The shots that do go straight are usually thanks to topping the ball and getting very lucky with the roll. Or the proper shots that I get to go straight I have slowed down so much that I might as well be using my 6 iron.

I also own a 7 wood. 21 degrees of loft. I am usually hitting 200+ yards with it. On occasions at the range I have known it to carry 250 and roll out to 300 but that is more luck than judgment!

On course I'd say I hit about 20% dead straight. Around 40% with a light to med fade, that if I anticipate will end up ok. And the other 40% are sliced OOB.

Off the tee I tend to hit this club worse than when I play a shot out of light rough. I think it’s because in the rough I attack the ball from the correct descending angle and it seems to fly high and straight.

So my question is, if you were me with a driver that I can’t use and a 7 wood that is successful some of the time what club would you buy next? Would a traditional fairway wood i.e. a 3 or a 5 be easier or harder for me to hit? I'm guessing harder but any advice would be welcomed.

[mr3856a]

One thing that could help is an offset fairway wood - that will help you square the face. I assume as well that offset fairway woods also have a pretty substantial draw bias, too. Something like this is what I'm thinking:

Cleveland Launcher Steel Offset fairway wood

You can get some pretty wicked draw-biased, hook-face drivers nowadays as well, which may be substantially more useful to you than your current driver, depending on what it is.

[Bulls9999]

You may want to examine the things that make you slice a ball. Do a search on Youtube.com for some video instruction....may find some video help there.

I have a natural fade shot (long ago used to be a 'banana slice'), so I "know your pain".

-Cutting across the ball, outside to in, can put sidespin causing it to 'slice'.
-Even if you were to hit the ball straight down the line, if you had an open face, it can put sidespin.

There's probably a half dozen ways to slice the ball to various degrees.

One thing I'd look at, the tee marks on the bottom of the driver....if they're not going down the middle, perpendicular to the face, then that's one indication of either hitting with an open face or cutting across the ball. If the tee marks are starting near the toe and going toward the middle/rear of the driver....

If you have an opportunity to video tape yourself (I've often taken a camcorder on tripod to our driving range), you can more readily see/convince yourself what you are doing.

Or, put a row of 2-3 tees on a line just inside what you would consider a club head path through the ball....if you are cutting outside to in, you will 'take out those tees' with your swing, lol.

Originally Posted by LockStock666

I currently own a pretty standard 10.5 degree driver with regular flex shaft.

I have probably hit 3 decent shots with it since I bought it about 4-5 years ago. Most shots are heavy slices. I slice with the consistency that others could only dream of. The shots that do go straight are usually thanks to topping the ball and getting very lucky with the roll. Or the proper shots that I get to go straight I have slowed down so much that I might as well be using my 6 iron.

I also own a 7 wood. 21 degrees of loft. I am usually hitting 200+ yards with it. On occasions at the range I have known it to carry 250 and roll out to 300 but that is more luck than judgment!

On course I'd say I hit about 20% dead straight. Around 40% with a light to med fade, that if I anticipate will end up ok. And the other 40% are sliced OOB.

Off the tee I tend to hit this club worse than when I play a shot out of light rough. I think it’s because in the rough I attack the ball from the correct descending angle and it seems to fly high and straight.

So my question is, if you were me with a driver that I can’t use and a 7 wood that is successful some of the time what club would you buy next? Would a traditional fairway wood i.e. a 3 or a 5 be easier or harder for me to hit? I'm guessing harder but any advice would be welcomed.

[straightshooter]

40% sliced OOB isn't exactly a conservative strategy with the 7-wood! I'd say, keep practicing the 7-wood on the range, but you might want to be more conservative off the tee on the course for now. You mention how you might as well hit your 6-iron.... Perhaps you should, because '40% OOB' penalties add up really fast!

[LockStock666]

Ok 40% OOB is a slight exadgeration. But 40% slices isnt.

I am not a long Iron hitter. For me the 6 iron is 150 yds and 40% would still be way off target.

I like the idea of video taping, I will be making an effort to do that the next time i play.

I know how I slice, I know why I slice, I just cant seem to fix it. Maybe seeing me do it will help a lot.

[jwaldrop]

I agree with the advice to get a fairway wood with some offset to help make the slices managable.

[LockStock666]

I am terrible for wanting to give the complete story of my golfing outings but that might bore you so I'll keep it as short and as sweet as possible.

Yesterday I played 18, at first I played very badly. At the 7th hole my friend handed me his F speed, 12* King Cobra Driver. I addressed the ball and realised something. Something very profound. I realised that maybe I had been holding my driver incorrectly; maybe my grip and address encouraged my extreme slicing. I made a conscious effort to address the ball with a closed clubface so that by the time I take a 1/2 -3/4 smooth swing at it the club should be straight. I didn’t try to straighten the club face through my swing; I just made sure I was gripping the club firmly and at the correct position at address and swing as smoothly and as naturally as possible.

It was incredible. I used the Cobra fro the rest of the round I fell in love with the King Cobra Driver and will definitely be buying one. Basically the rest of the round - 12 holes I missed one fairway. For me that is simply unheard of.

Not only did I hit almost every fairway but my drives were longer than ever! I even hit one ball right off the heel end of the face, it shot left and then faded back onto the fairway and was as long as all the rest. My friend picked up his club used off eBay and I am definitely hoping to do the same.

Due to my terrible score in the first few holes and some terrible putting throughout on very fast greens that I was no used to, I managed to shoot 100.

Still the satisfaction I was getting from hitting 250 yds effortlessly and straight was fantastic. I did try to use my old driver but the club head was small and it felt so heavy compared to the huge light cobra. I also loved the huge clang it makes on every strike.

The club wasn't even offset so I think that using my new technique with draw bias would now turn my almost beautiful fades into stunning draws.

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by LockStock666

I currently own a pretty standard 10.5 degree driver with regular flex shaft.

I have probably hit 3 decent shots with it since I bought it about 4-5 years ago. Most shots are heavy slices. I slice with the consistency that others could only dream of. The shots that do go straight are usually thanks to topping the ball and getting very lucky with the roll. Or the proper shots that I get to go straight I have slowed down so much that I might as well be using my 6 iron.

I also own a 7 wood. 21 degrees of loft. I am usually hitting 200+ yards with it. On occasions at the range I have known it to carry 250 and roll out to 300 but that is more luck than judgment!

On course I'd say I hit about 20% dead straight. Around 40% with a light to med fade, that if I anticipate will end up ok. And the other 40% are sliced OOB.

Off the tee I tend to hit this club worse than when I play a shot out of light rough. I think it’s because in the rough I attack the ball from the correct descending angle and it seems to fly high and straight.

So my question is, if you were me with a driver that I can’t use and a 7 wood that is successful some of the time what club would you buy next? Would a traditional fairway wood i.e. a 3 or a 5 be easier or harder for me to hit? I'm guessing harder but any advice would be welcomed.

I'd save the money and take a lesson...

Serioulsy though, equipment only does what you have it do, and while some clubs carry a bias or are somewhat forgiving for some negative tendencies, learning how to swing so that you don't slice ob on a regular basis will not only save you on ball costs, but will make your experience more enjoyable (unless you enjoy looking for your ball in the rough...)

[PA PLAYA]

I personally think you benefitted more from the higher loft. Higher loft generally equals more backspin and less side-spin.

I went from 10.5* to 12* with my driver, and I've never hit the ball further or straighter in my life. I did that two years ago and have never even looked at another driver since.


So don't discount the benefits of additional loft!

[LockStock666]

Yes Playa I think it is the conbination of extra loft, the more forgiving head and the lighter, yet stiffer shaft compared to my old beast.

I played another 9 hole with my friend on Tuesday, and used his driver again.

2 drives that went slightly wrong were due to me forgetting myself and trying to drive too hard, ending up the same distance except in the nasty rough.

The drives where I relaxed, addressed the ball correctly, smooth long takeaway, and swung it straight through the sweet spot were effortless, long and straight.

My favourite of the day was at the 9th as it carried the apex of a 330 yd, slightly curved par four and came to rest one ft short of the stream that runs accross the hole at 260 yds.

That's what I'm talkin about!

Now I need to get a good deal off ebay for a club of my own.