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Do you remember when Vijay Singh was playing that Callway 9-wood bent to 5-wood specs (loft)?

I'm thinking of doing something similar. I want to bend a 15 degree 3-wood to 10 or 11 degrees. In doing this, I understand that the sole will no longer be flat with the turf and I might have a problem with digging of the leading edge.

Does anyone have experience doing this?

There's an older gentleman that I've played with several times that did this. He has a 13 degree Mizuno mp-001 3 wood that he bent to 11 degrees. I remember asking him about it, because the club looked burnt near the hosel. He said he had used a torch to heat the head so he could bend it, and hadn't repainted it yet. I'm not sure that's the preferred method of doing it, but I guess that's what he did.

Being as how there isn't much of a hosel sticking out of a fairway wood, I can't see how you could bend it very much. Most of the shaft will be inside the head, so how would that work if the top of the hosel was at an angle to the inside section? I think if I was going to try this, I'd mill out the hosel at the required angle to allow the shaft to be installed at an angle equal to the angle you want to bend the loft. Then install the shaft with plenty of epoxy and shaft beads for fill any void due to the oversize hole.

First of all, I think bending a 15 to 11 or 10 is a recipe for disaster. 4 or 5 degrees is a lot. Start with a strong 3 wood that is 13 or 12 degrees in the first place. Otherwise you are just going to have a broken head.

Secondly, have you looked through some of the component heads? There are a few that are 13 degrees that you may be able to ask to find a hand-selected one at 12 or 11.5 or maybe even 11 degrees. At the very least, similar to the first point, start with a 13 degree head that was hand picked at 12 and then bend it to 11 -- just in terms of minimizing chances of failure.

Lastly, have you seen those adapter ferrules?
Loft & Lie Adapter Ferrule - Callaway
Loft & Lie Adapter Ferrule - Taylor Made

I don't know how well they work, but they claim to be able to adjust the loft a few degrees.

Find a 13 degree head and an adapter give you another 2, you may be able to get to 11 degrees without bending at all.

Just buy an 11* driver?

The problem with buying an 11 degree driver is that all of the new 460 cc Titanium offerings have a CG that would be above the equator of the golf ball when addressing a ball lying on the ground. I can hit a 9 degree original Big Bertha driver off the fairway, but hitting even a 12 degree driver of today's standards wouldn't produce an optimal shot.

I think I am going to pursue a 9 or 10 degree original Big Bertha War Bird driver and stick a mid-bend shaft in it.

In that case, why not see if you can find an older component head that's smaller and more the size of what a modern 3 wood is. I've got an older 11 degree driver and it's 260cc. I also have a 12.5* 260cc titanium driver sitting around. Is this about what you're looking for?

Yeah, that sounds like it would fit the bill.

My local course has a bunch of 280-ish yard par 4's and the course dries out in the late Summer. My heavy steel-shafted, 15* 3-wood won't reach and driver becomes too much as the ground gets hard.

...or you could go 7 iron and wedge, but that's just me...

Another option might be to get a 13* Strong 3 wood. That might give you a few more yards and reach those 280 yard par 4's. We don't have any par 4's that short were I play. Have some 350 ish, but only played one just over 300. Played a 245 yard par 3 last fall. That wasn't much fun.
Have you tried any graphite shaft 3 woods?

Most of the courses I play don't have many par-4's that short. I play in a league at a course that's only about a mile from my house for convenience reasons and all the par-4's are driveable or in some cases a little short for driver.

I think I'm going to jump on a Mizuno F50 for $100 on TGW. They have a 13.5 degree model that I might stick a NV85 shaft in. My 904 with a 130 gram shaft just can't reach out there.

The 7-iron and wedge idea is kind of out the window because it's a Cap'N'Mate scramble league.

Go to Rockbottomgolf. You can get the 13 degree F-50 with a steel stiff shaft for $60 now.

Thanks!!!

I just checked Callaway Pre-Owned (www.callawaypreowned.com). They need to have their heads examined with the prices they list. $120 for a Steelhead III in very good condition. They cost $99 brand new at Dick's last year.

Always glad to help a fellow golfer save some hard earned coin